FaZe demolish OpTic, Mutineers start hot – CDL OpTic Home Series highlights, results, recap

The 2021 Call of Duty League season has reached Stage 4, and the action kicked off with Week 1’s OpTic Chicago Home Series! Here’s how it all unfolded, with highlights, results, recaps, and more.

• FaZe destroy OpTic to go 2-0 in Stage 4 and ruin Chicago’s Home Series.
• Mutineers finally reaching form? Florida undefeated to start Stage 4.
• Ultra sweep revamped Empire, bouncing back from Mutineers loss.

The CDL Playoff race continues to tighten and, if the OpTic Home Series was any indication, things could get spicy in Stage 4. Refusing to be ignored, the Florida Mutineers threw all predictions into disarray by beating the formerly dominant Toronto Ultra on Day 1.

But, while Florida — with serious improvements from SMGs Havok and Neptune — showed up for all underdogs, the CDL’s top teams put their foot on the gas as well. Restoring balance in the world, the Ultra bounced back and swept a Dallas Empire squad whose Vivid signing has yet to impress. And, to cap it all off, the league-leading, Stage 3 champion Atlanta FaZe went undefeated on the week — demolishing OpTic Chicago in the final match of the week.

The first CDL Stage 4 Group standings following Week 1.

CDL OpTic Home Series results, recaps, highlights

DAY 4 – SUNDAY, MAY 29

Match 1: Mutineers storm through Royal Ravens

While the Royal Ravens kept things tight over the first two maps, the Mutineers simply could not be denied. With Havok controlling the map and Neptune making plays, Florida’s SMG duo looked more cohesive than ever in a comfy sweep.

Match 2: Ultra bounce back and quickly sweep Empire

This could have been a series, as Empire regained from an ugly Hardpoint and took a 3-0 lead in S&D. But, then, iLLeY somehow killed Vivid and himself, throwing momentum to Toronto. Ultra took that, ran, and got the quick sweep.

Match 3: FaZe ruin OpTic Chicago’s Home Series

Sorry, OpTic — there’s no home field advantage online. It was the week’s most highly anticipated matchup, but also one of the shortest — as FaZe made (very) quick work of a formerly revitalized OpTic squad.

https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1399125283765096449

DAY 3 – SATURDAY, MAY 28

Match 1: ROKKR hold off Legion comeback

Two revamped rosters hoping to regain, but only one could snap their losing streak. Despite the Legion’s best efforts in Map 4, Minnesota shut down the chance for a Map 5 and finish off their week at 1-1.

Match 2: Thieves edge out Surge in TJHaLy’s return

After a wild back-and-forth affair, the Thieves capped off TJHaLy’s return with a win. Despite Seattle looking stronger with Classic replacing Decemate in the lineup, the Surge simply couldn’t get over their Raid struggles.

Match 3: Subliners stay hot vs LAG in first match of Stage 4

While LAG mixed things up by fielding a QBZ and FFAR, NYSL was unbothered and kept up their Stage 3 momentum. The Guerrillas kept things competitive early, but New York dominated the last two maps for an easy win.

DAY 2 – FRIDAY, MAY 28

Match 1: Empire get clutch win in Vivid’s debut

Both the Royal Ravens and Empire came into Stage 4 with revamped rosters, but — despite Afro and Alexx helping London to a lead — the reigning champion Empire regained and clutched up a win in Vivid’s debut.

Match 2: OpTic kick off Home Series by dominating ROKKR

After a day full of delays, OpTic made up for lost time by quickly sweeping the ROKKR. While Hardpoint was close, big plays from Envoy and Chicago made the rest of the series a speedy affair and a comfortable start to their Home Series.

DAY 1 – THURSDAY, MAY 27

Match 1: FaZe start Stage 4 off with win over new-look Legion

Legion’s decision to replace Classic with Zaptius may pay off down the line, but it fell short of helping them beat the league’s top team to kick off Stage 4 and the Chicago Home Series. While Paris did look very good on the season’s first Standoff S&D, FaZe’s respawn ability was just too much for them to handle.

Match 2: Mutineers clutch up for big upset over Ultra

Mutineers came out strong in their opening match of Stage 4, winning the first two maps convincingly. However, a big Control win for Toronto got them back in the series, and the reverse sweep looked inevitable when they went up 3-0 in the game five S&D. That’s when Florida kicked it up a gear and stunningly won six straight rounds to seal the big upset over the Stage 2 Major champs.

Watch now: Why LAN won’t save OpTic Chicago

CDL OpTic Home Series format & details

• Location: Online
• Prize Pool: N/A
• CDL Points: 10 per win
• Maps & Modes:
  • Hardpoint: Apocalypse, Checkmate, Garrison, Moscow, Raid
  • Search & Destroy: Standoff*, Express, Miami, Moscow, Raid
  • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid
• Matches are best-of-five (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D)

*Standoff replaces Checkmate in S&D rotation for Stage 4

Watch now: Can FaZe FINALLY become a Dynasty?

CDL OpTic Home Series teams & lineups

Despite it already being past the midway point of the 2021 season, several teams have still made roster moves heading into Stage 4. Surge have replaced Decemate with former Legion player Classic, while Empire opted to bring on benched Guerrillas pro Vivid in place of FeLo.

GROUP A

GROUP B

Check out our CDL 2021 Season hub for everything you need to know about this season, including a full event schedule, the latest standings, and more.