The Call of Duty League has left its penultimate (online) spot in London, and we’ve updated our power rankings following Dallas Empire’s dominant 3-0 win over Paris Legion in the grand final.
Paris’ qualification into the final was a shock to just about everyone, but the team looked to be back to their best after several winless months of competition.
Let’s take a look at where Dallas, Paris and their CDL opponents are in our power rankings following a weekend full of surprises and excitement.
12. Seattle Surge
Seattle Surge have really been somewhat of a sob story throughout the duration of the Call of Duty League. They’ve had very few redeeming performances and, despite Octane being one of the best players in the game, have struggled to work their way up the standings.
With just five wins so far this season, a strong showing at the final Home Series of the year — CDL Toronto — and Champs would be nothing short of a miracle.
11. Los Angeles Guerrillas
LA Guerrillas and Seattle Surge have been in a tight battle for bottom spot in the CDL standings since the league started, but the LA outfit currently take it thanks to their poor head-to-head record against the Surge.
Having won just one map at CDL London, and now three consecutive events without winning a match, the LAG that nearly made a grand final at CDL Minnesota in June seems like a completely different team.
10. OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
OpTic Gaming are another team that showed promise at one point in time, but the switch to online play has really put the nail in the coffin for this team.
At CDL London they took Florida to a game 5, and did take down Seattle Surge, but it wasn’t enough to improve their placement or help move them up our power rankings.
9. Minnesota RØKKR
The RØKKR’s fall from championship-contender to mid-table team has been a sad one to see, especially as they were initially a dark-horse team that everyone wanted to see take down the titans of the league.
Now, that doesn’t seem likely as they’ve slowly slipped downwards in the standings, with just one win in over two months: a 3-2 victory over OGLA.
8. Paris Legion
Paris Legion’s single win over the Guerrillas last weekend was nice to see, considering they hadn’t won a match since March, but their performance at CDL London was nothing short of extraordinary.
On their path to the final, Paris took down CDL New York winners, the New York Subliners, as well as London Royal Ravens, to book their slot in the final against Dallas Empire. They were convincingly beaten by the Texan side, but this is a Paris team that has really struggled online — and it looks like they’re finding form at the right time.
7. Toronto Ultra
Despite a tough go of it throughout the inaugural CDL season, Toronto Ultra appear to have found a starting squad that works and the results are starting to come their way.
The Canadian side will be hoping for a strong performance at their own Home Series, the last of the season, to improve their seeding for August’s CDL Playoffs.
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6. London Royal Ravens
The London Royal Ravens looked on the verge of glory at their own Home Series, with a 3-2 win over Florida Mutineers being their first over a top-tier team this season.
It all came crashing down shortly after, though, when they failed to capitalize on their strengths in a 3-2 loss to Paris Legion in a genuinely riveting matchup that seemed as though it could have gone either way; especially with both Search and Destroy maps going to a round 11.
5. New York Subliners
New York Subliners’ win at their own Home Series was quickly cancelled out thanks to a downright miserable performance at CDL London.
They drop from second place thanks to consecutive 3-0 sweeps at the hands of grand finalists Dallas Empire and Paris Legion, looking absolutely nothing like the side that made short work of Chicago Huntsmen just a week prior.
4. Atlanta FaZe
Atlanta weren’t in attendance at CDL London, but recent performances have left a lot to be desired — at least as far as the team’s potential goes.
They currently sit top of the overall standings thanks to their persistence on making top 4 at each event, but with the way things have been going lately, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see them knocked out of it.
3. Chicago Huntsmen
Having not played at CDL London, Chicago maintain their spot in the top three having made the grand final in New York.
At CDL Toronto, Chicago will be desperate to make a good run and earn themselves a top two seed for CoD Champs.
2. Florida Mutineers
There’s no denying that Florida Mutineers had a shaky weekend at CDL London, with a 3-2 loss to the Ravens and a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Dallas Empire, but it’s not quite enough to see them move down any further than second.
Though they’ve lost their grip on the top spot, the Mutineers will still be a serious contender by the time Champs rolls around in August.
1. Dallas Empire
Dallas Empire’s win at CDL London proved they’re still a force to be reckoned with, dropping just one match all weekend.
They’ve proved that they deserve to be seen as the best team in the game right now, but they’ll have to prove they’re better than the likes of Atlanta and Chicago when they face off at CDL Toronto this weekend. Right now, though, it’s hard to dispute their position at number one.
With CDL London out of the way, only one Home Series stands in the way of a team becoming world champions at the Call of Duty Championship in August; and it’s a stacked one. In Group A at CDL Toronto, Chicago Huntsmen are joined by Seattle Surge, Toronto Ultra and OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, while Group B sees Dallas Empire pitted against Florida Mutineers, Atlanta FaZe and Minnesota RØKKR.
With the all-important CDL points on the line, who will come out victorious before Champs?