By Schuyler Millar
Published: Jun. 26, 2024 at 4:09 PM EDT|Updated: 15 hours ago
(Gray News) - The qualifiers for the Call of Duty League’s fourth and final regular season Major ended on Sunday, and teams have been placed into their starting brackets. Some teams are under intense pressure to make the most of their seeding, as it’s their last chance to earn the CDL points they desperately need for postseason qualification.
Four teams have already secured their spots in the postseason thanks to a wealth of CDL points. Atlanta FaZe sits first in the standings, with 485 CDL points; Toronto Ultra is second, with 450; OpTic Texas is third, with 415; and the New York Subliners are fourth, with 295. Ultra, FaZe, and OpTic have all won a major this year, helping their points advantage, while the Subliners have done well in qualifying and placed well at Majors.
One team, Boston Breach, faces a near-impossible entry barrier for the post-season. Thanks to the six qualifying matches they won this season, they currently have 60 CDL points. The Playoff Qualification Cutline leading into Major IV currently sits at 150 points. Vegas Legion and the Carolina Royal Ravens are straddling that line, tied at 150 points. The Legion is above the line, while the Royal Ravens sit below the line. To qualify for the postseason, Breach would have to win Major IV and hope that the Royal Ravens, Legion, RØKKR, and Guerrillas all fail to earn a single CDL point in Major IV. If they do it, then it will be the greatest turnaround in Call of Duty League history, but having only won six matches all season and starting Major IV in the loser’s bracket, it’s safer to bet on the Breach ending their 2024 season at Major IV.
The meat of the postseason qualifying race lies between 5th and 11th place in the regular season standings, as they are only separated by 30 CDL points. The Miami Heretics and the Seattle Surge are 5th and 6th, respectively, but tied at 170 CDL points. The Los Angeles Thieves are 7th, with 165 CDL points. As mentioned earlier, Legion sits in 8th place, the final spot above the cutoff line, but are tied in CDL points with the Royal Ravens, who are in 9th. The Los Angeles Guerrillas and the Minnesota RØKKR are 10th and 11th, tied at 140 CDL points.
The Heretics and Surge can rest the easiest, as for them to possibly be knocked out of postseason contention, the Royal Ravens, Legion, Guerrillas, and RØKKR would all have to place 6th or higher in Major IV. The Royal Ravens and RØKKR are starting Major IV in the loser’s bracket, and the Guerrillas are going against Ultra in their winner’s bracket opening match. The loser of that match must also play the Royal Ravens in the first round of the loser’s bracket. So it’s highly likely that two of the four teams needed to dethrone the Heretics and Surge will exit Major IV without earning a single point. And realistically, the Guerrillas and RØKKR would need to place higher than 5th to truly knock out the Heretics and Surge, as they would not overtake them if they tie in CDL points.
The Los Angeles Thieves are next on the potential chopping block. They only have a 15-point lead over the Royal Ravens and Legion and a 25-point lead over RØKKR and the Guerrillas. The Royal Ravens and Legion only need to place 8th or higher to tie the Thieves in the standings, given the Thieves crash out of Major IV without earning a single CDL Point. The Royal Ravens would have to advance to 5th-6th if they wanted to guarantee a spot in the postseason, though, as their other stat lines wouldn’t hold up against the Thieves if it came down to a tie in points. The Guerrillas and RØKKR would also have to place higher than 6th to surpass the Thieves.
The team most in trouble of losing their playoff berth is the Legion. Being tied with a team below the cutoff line and only 10 points above two others gives them zero wiggle room in Major IV. Legion has to outperform the other three to guarantee their tickets to Dallas. If the Guerrillas and RØKKR crash out early, the Legion only need to tie the Royal Ravens at Major IV to remain in the playoffs.
There is a lot on the line at Major IV, and teams will be fighting tooth and nail to get theirs. One of the closest races to qualify for the CDL Postseason is nearing the finish line, and teams will be rounding the turn and sprinting to the finish when Major IV kicks off on Thursday, June 27th.
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