The first Major of the 2023 Call of Duty League season is finally here, as the 12 CDL franchises and 4 Challenger teams are set to go head-to-head for their share of the $500k prize pool. Here are the updated CDL power rankings ahead of the event.
The Modern Warfare 2 season has already proven to be an eventful one, with a huge mix of results, some shock wins, drama over Gentleman’s Agreements, and more.
Going into the Major, some teams have looked better than others, and with the amateur teams fighting tooth and nail to prove they deserve to be in the league, the event could be a good one.
With that said, let’s take a look at the power rankings after two weeks of play.
CDL power rankings after Major 1 Qualifiers (Week 2)
12. Vegas Legion(-1)
Despite their victory over Minnesota Røkkr, Vegas Legion find themselves rooted to the bottom of our power rankings really through no fault of their own.
The team clearly has some issues to iron out — as proven by their absolutely helpless loss to Atlanta FaZe — but there’s also more to be proud of in this team than this placement would suggest.
11. LA Guerrillas (-2)
Similar to Vegas, the LA Guerrillas drop in our power rankings more due to the better performances of the team around them than anything else.
With Seattle and New York both looking markedly better — including a quick 3-0 loss to the Subliners — this Guerrillas side still has some work to do to get to where they want to be.
10. Seattle Surge (-)
Seattle looked a lot better in Week 2 of qualifiers than Week 1, but we’ll need to see some consistency to credit them with a complete turnaround.
With Pred still looking as good as he did in 2022, the team just needs to give enough to let him fly, and they’ll be working their way back up the rankings in no time.
9. New York Subliners (+3)
Subliners looked like one of the biggest beneficiaries of the removal of the M4 assault rifle from the meta, beating both Boston Breach and the LA Guerrillas.
Whether this is just early success as they adapted to the new meta faster, or a legitimate fight to push up the standings, remains to be seen.
8. London Royal Ravens (-1)
London have looked much better in the opening two weeks than many expected, but they failed to get a win on the board in Week 2, with losses to both Seattle and OpTic Texas.
There are definitely positives to take away from it, though. While they struggled in Search & Destroy against OpTic, their respawns were looking very solid, and minor improvements could see them really push on.
7. Florida Mutineers (+1)
After the Mutineers’ loss to Minnesota Røkkr, they followed it up quickly with a victory over LA Thieves.
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Again, Florida find themselves in a position similar to most previous seasons: able to get big victories occasionally, but not actually good enough to consistently be among the best. It’s still early days, though, and fortunes can change.
6. Minnesota Røkkr (-2)
Minnesota Røkkr are indisputably a top team with a season marred early on by the SAE controversy against OpTic Texas.
They’re one of several teams that have a realistic chance of taking home the trophy this weekend, but their loss to Las Vegas Legion was definitely a setback, and one they’ll want to take back to the drawing board.
5. OpTic Texas (-)
OpTic are evidently one of the best teams in the game, and when the Major rolls around, they’ll definitely be one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
With a loss to LA Thieves and being held very close by London Royal Ravens, however, there are definite fixes to be made ahead of their first LAN outing of the season.
4. Boston Breach (-3)
Boston topped the standings after Week 1, but seem to have been held back the most with the loss of the M4.
Don’t expect this to be a permanent drop-off, however, as the team clearly has a spark about them — and the Major could be a defining moment for them.
3. Atlanta FaZe (-1)
Atlanta FaZe are always going to be a considerable threat, but there have been some gaps in their gameplay in the opening couple of weeks.
This was highlighted in their loss to Toronto Ultra, which was kept very close, but ultimately proved that the CDL is no longer just a one- or two-horse race.
2. Toronto Ultra (+4)
Toronto were heavily favored heading into the season, but with a new-look roster and uncertainty over how they would gel, it was hard to see exactly where they would fall when Majors starting rolling around.
As it turns out, we’ve got a team in incredible form, each player living up to their potential, and one that could be ready to take on the biggest names in CoD to earn the organization’s first championship since April 2021.
1. LA Thieves (+2)
Despite a shaky start to Major 1 qualifiers, the 2022 world champions are still the team to beat.
Their victory over OpTic Texas was enough to forget about their loss to the Mutineers, and a dominant performance against London Royal Ravens in their tiebreaker match on LAN proved there’s still some serious firepower behind this squad, and they have definitely not become complacent after picking up their CDL Championship trophy.
Be sure to check out our CDL Major 1 hub as we provide live updates and the latest scores from Raleigh, North Carolina.