First Blood: CDL Major 1 Preview

Sparks will fly when the elite of the elite face off at Call of Duty League (CDL) Major 1. Let us get you up to speed on each team ahead of the showdown.

There are no easy paths in the Call of Duty League. Every season, teams kick, bite, and claw their way to supremacy. That remains true so far in Black Ops 7. Now, Major 1 qualifiers are over, results are set in stone, and everyone can look forward to a new year of thrilling, high-octane action across the league.

Who will draw first blood on the road to the CDL Championship? There’s only one way to find out, and it all starts in Dallas, Texas. Before we get there, let’s take a ride and check out what you can expect from your favorite teams around the league ahead of the event.

FaZe Vegas Looks For a Hot Start

Who historically controlled early-season chaos better than Simp? The ‘dynasty’ roster is no more, but his former Atlanta FaZe squad got off to a hot start in the early days of Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 6. Now, early results in Black Ops 7 suggest he and Drazah could find themselves right back at the apex in their first event as FaZe Vegas.

As Crowder told Monster in our pre-Major 1 sit-down, this squad’s biggest obstacle is itself. There’s no doubt they’ve got the skill, but winning requires more. Each part of the team has to fit together. That’s where Simp can have the most impact. He’ll have to embrace his role as a leader and keep the squad in check when things get bumpy. That’s been a weak point for Simp and Drazah, as well as new squadmates 04 and Abuzah, who recorded four 2nd-place finishes in the Black Ops 6 season.

A win at Major 1 would silence the critics and firmly cement FaZe as contenders.

OpTic Texas Is Still a Threat

OpTic Texas is still a worldbeater. Shotzzy and Dashy are now back-to-back World Champions, pulling off the single most dominant run in Call of Duty League history after the arrival of the young prodigy Mercules late last season. The young star’s firepower was exactly what the team needed to step up to the next level, and that remains true ahead of Major 1. However, their qualifier hasn’t gone exactly to plan.

Two imperious performances from FaZe Vegas and Los Angeles Thieves put OpTic on the backfoot for the first time since last season’s Major 4. There are still moments of brilliance across the entire team, but with SMGs falling out of the meta, Huke and Shotzzy have struggled to adjust. The latter was even sitting near the bottom of the league in terms of Hardpoint Kill-Death ratio. Their path to victory is simple: don’t overheat. Some teams will be playing with four Assault Rifles on the map at this event. For OpTic to win, Shotzzy will have to hit the brakes, pick his spots carefully, and let his ARs answer the call. Huke has a similar job, and as a vocal leader, it very well may be up to him to dictate the flow of the game and set the Greenwall up for success.

Toronto KOI Searching For a Breakout

JoeDeceives is coming in fresh off a near-MVP level season in Black Ops 6, and his Toronto KOI squad upgraded in the off-season. The long-time duo of CleanX and Insight still anchors the lineup, but the arrival of ReeaL should unlock a new level of potential for this group. All in all, they will be chasing a statement win over anyone else in the Top 4.

If KOI is going to break through at Major 1, their primary AR players have to get involved early and create chances. Insight has been monstrously efficient in Hardpoint. His instincts for finding the right spot in the right moment are all but unmatched. He’ll need to keep the pedal down all tournament long to keep his team in the fight. Look for KOI to capitalize hugely if he can continue to stay in the Top 10 Hardpoint K/Ds all year.

Around The League

Several other teams around the league are making noise as well. Paris Gentle Mates have been at the top of the game since the earliest Black Ops 7 tournaments. Built around the former Thieves duo Ghosty and Envoy, it’s hard to ever count them out of a series. Sib’s slaying power, combined with Neptune’s electric playmaking, means every series can be flipped on its head at a moment’s notice.

A slow start cost Los Angeles Thieves some early CDL Points, but Kenny’s monstrous performance against OpTic may have put a much-needed battery in the team’s back. Few teams can match the takeover power provided by HyDra, Scrap, and aBeZy, so expect Nadeshot’s boys to turn up the heat as the season rolls on. One big map to start the tournament could be the catalyst for a new level of success for some of Call of Duty’s biggest names.

Finally, Riyadh Falcons have also jumped out to a quick start. Thanks to an off-season roster reset, this squad boasts as much star power as anyone in the league. Pred, Cellium, and KiSMET are all former World Champions and true veterans of the game. Exnid, the homegrown

SMG, will be desperate to prove he can compete at the very pinnacle of the game, and with this level of talent surrounding him, there’s no better time to do it.

Consistency has been an issue early in the year for this squad, but Cellium is the type of final-boss AR player who can take over a series and never look back. He did it all the time in Black Ops Cold War, and there’s no reason to think he can’t find that same success in another AR-dominant Treyarch title.

In Conclusion

The playing field may be more stacked than ever. There is no shortage of teams striving to break through and stamp themselves on the season first. Every single matchup will be electric, and that’s just the tip of the entertainment iceberg.

Those in attendance on Saturday have a shot at playing on the mainstage. The OpTic 1v1 Me Bro challenge takes place January 31, when fans will be invited to take their best shot against the big leaguers, collecting $100 per elimination throughout the contest.

Be sure to catch all of the action via the Call of Duty League’s official Twitch and YouTube channels when things get underway on January 29.