It’s almost poetic that the Dallas Empire found themselves playing the Florida Mutineers in the semifinals of the London Royal Ravens Home Series.
Florida seemed like world beaters after winning their last two tournaments and in becoming the first team to tally three tournament titles. Dallas, meanwhile, hadn’t won a tournament since the end of April but were sticking close in the standings.
But as any poet will tell you, sometimes the setup isn’t matched by the result. And so it was for the Empire, who quickly removed the drama from the matchup by dismantling the Mutineers 3-0 on Sunday.
Outside of that cathartic victory, the rest of the teams in the path of the Empire fared no better than the Mutineers. On Friday, Dallas downed the Paris Legion 3-1 and then blanked the New York Subliners 3-0 to set up their showdown with Florida.
Meanwhile, the Paris Legion booked their spot in the final after a close 3-2 semifinal victory over the London Royal Ravens.
In the tournament final against Paris, Dallas opened game one, Hardpoint on Hackney Yard, with a dominant 113-2 run. They would eventually win that game 250-145.
With @Shotzzy and @Huke in peak form, @DallasEmpire start the series up 1-0 with that 250-145 win over @ParisLegion. https://t.co/XwqesSDEDY#BuildAnEmpire | #CDL2020 pic.twitter.com/S8lkIKxehY
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 19, 2020
Dallas then won game two, Search and Destroy on Gun Runner, by a 6-1 margin.
An overwhelming 6-1 S&D from @DallasEmpire advances their series lead to 2-0.@ParisLegion on the ropes here in the finals: https://t.co/XwqesSDEDY#BuildAnEmpire | #CDL2020 pic.twitter.com/srFBqN2oCH
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 19, 2020
In game three, Paris looked like they might make a match of it with a solid first half of Domination on Gun Runner, in which they held an 84-69 lead in the final five minutes. But the Empire once again found another gear, taking control of the map to secure the sweep.
With just one tournament left before playoffs, the Empire are the latest team to remind us of the true poetry of competition: no team is unbeatable!
Bullet Points
- CDL Champs and Team Supporter Packs Are Still Available. Don’t let me see you in the lobby without them!
Show the world you’re ready for the Call of Duty League postseason.
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 10, 2020
Get the CDL Champs 2020 pack now and equip weapon blueprints, player signature stickers, and more! Available for a limited time only. https://t.co/RCL2E6AdeI #CDL2020 pic.twitter.com/D3nX5EU47X
- Contracted for Success. The Warzone Weekend event was a Kill Race Trios, where teams earned points for kills, bounties, and more. A Minnesota Røkkr trio won the day, but you really need to see how it happened, as no amount of words could give this pulse-pounding event justice.
- Legion Finally Find Their Rally Cry. The Legion haven’t reached a CDL Sunday since the beginning of February, but you wouldn’t have thought that watching them sweep the Subliners and then stun the Royal Ravens in the semis. This could be a defining moment for Paris, but their unexpected victories also had a significant impact on the standings. Speaking of which...
Standings Intel
As of today, the Atlanta FaZe, Chicago Huntsmen, Florida Mutineers, and Dallas Empire are all guaranteed at least a one-round bye in the 2020 Call of Duty League Playoffs. Ultimately, this week’s Toronto Ultra Home Series will determine the final seeding for the four top seeds.
Here’s the simplest scenario that I can think of for how the final tournament results could impact seeding: if Atlanta makes the final, they’d get at least 30 CDL Points and would lock up one of the two-round byes.
As for the rest?... It’s complicated, thanks to the Empire’s win. Dallas, along with Chicago and even Florida, can all still lock in two-round byes with the right combination of results. Of those three, the Mutineers have arguably the toughest path.
Towards the middle of the pack, New York are the only other team locked into the Winners Bracket. At the bottom, the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Seattle Surge have their fate sealed in the Elimination Bracket.
The other five teams? Again, it’s complicated, and again, it’s thanks to Paris’ unexpected success this weekend.
Theoretically, if the Toronto Ultra win their own Home Series, they will be in Winners Round 1. Same goes for OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, who could also just reach the finals to guarantee a Winners Round 1 spot.
Minnesota, meanwhile, just need to win one match. Simple, right? Well... Bad news: they have Atlanta, Florida, and Dallas in their group.
What about Paris and London? They’re done for the regular season and can only watch and see what happens next weekend.
There’s a lot at stake in the Toronto Ultra Home Series. I suspect it’s going to be a wild one.
Combat Record
155 – The number of matches played in the Call of Duty League so far this season.
177 – The number of days since the first match of the season at Launch Weekend, hosted by the Minnesota Røkkr.
Challengers Commendation
This weekend, the Renegades were human. Mostly.
After 15-straight regional Challengers event victories, the Renegades found themselves in a best-of-three series final against Chiefs Esports Club.
Like the European event from last weekend, it almost seemed as if we might see a changing of the guard. The Chiefs, who have two promising young guns and three talented veterans of their own, won the first Grand Finals series against the Renegades 3-2.
But, just like TrainHard last weekend, they failed to close out their lofty opponent, ultimately losing the series to the Renegades.
So that's now 16 for the Renegades. Pretty impressive. One has to wonder that, if they don’t ultimately win the APAC Championship, if all these victories—assuming they also win the final in-season tournament next weekend—won’t mean anything. But that’s a question that has to be left open until August.
Elsewhere, in the EU region, defending champions Team WaR lost (!!!) to the unsigned Connect 5, and in North America, here’s how the top teams did a week after UYU claimed the crown last weekend at the New York Open.
Next Map
We’ve reached the final weekend of the regular season, and the third tournament in three weeks. On July 24-26, the Toronto Ultra host a Home Series with plenty on the line for every team involved.
The groups and first-round matches are as follows:
In Group A, Toronto faces OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, and Chicago plays Seattle. In Group B, Florida and Dallas meet in a rematch of this weekend’s semifinals, and Atlanta takes on Minnesota.
I’ll see you online on Friday for all the action and drama!
