The opening four matches of the Seattle Home Series were nothing short of phenomenal, laying the foundations for what is set to be another thrilling weekend of CDL action.
London edge LA Guerrillas
Trei "Zer0" Morris marked his debut with the London Royal Ravens with some flashes of brilliant play with the MP5 in his hands. London kicked off the series with a 250-159 win on Gun Runner Hardpoint to take the early lead against the team currently holding up the league table.
The Guerrillas weren't out of it yet, winning Piccadilly 6-3 despite Bradley "Wuskin" Marshall's heroic efforts with the HDR sniper rifle
London immediately responded on Gun Runner Domination, taking the game 159-135 to take the series lead. London threw everything they had at the Guerrillas but it wasn't enough to stop them from taking Rammaza Hardpoint to force a deciding game five, much to the surprise of the community.
London looked great on St. Petrograd S&D, taking the game 6-3 and the series 3-2 to advance to the qualifying match where they will face New York. The Guerrillas will play Seattle Surge in the first knockout match of group A.
Chicago overcome a tricky Paris team
Expectations were high as Preston "Prestinni" Sanderson made his return to competition as the newest recruit for the Chicago Huntsmen. Beating the Paris Legion would not be an easy task but certainly doable.
The Huntsmen came out swinging, securing a 2-0 lead after wins on Azhir Cave Hardpoint and St. Petrograd S&D.
Paris had it all to do but showed some signs of life, taking a 174-136 victory on Gun Runner Domination but their dreams of a fifth and final game were dashed as Chicago took a 250-236 win on Hackney Yard Hardpoint to secure the win.
The Legion are staring down the barrel of another first-round departure from a tournament. After starting the season with some solid showings, if another loss happens, is it time to turn to the substitute's bench?
New York win history-making match
History was made during the match between the New York Subliners and the Seattle Surge. For the first time in the history of the league, Seattle utilised the mid-series substitution rule for game two, bringing in Casey "Pandur" Romano for the returning Ian "Enable" Wyatt.
The Subliners kicked off the series with a comfortable win on Hackney Yard Hardpoint to set the ball rolling before Seattle opted for the substitution for the first S&D of the series. The Surge put up a fight on Arklov Peak S&D, but New York stood strong, taking the map 6-4 to move to within one of a clean sweep.
Seattle managed to stay alive on Gun Runner Domination, winning it 154-151 to push a fourth game.
Seattle looked to take the series to a final map but New York weren't having it. The Subliners sealed a 250-200 win on St. Petrograd Hardpoint thanks to some sublime movement from Thomas "ZooMaa" Paparatto.
New York advance to play London while Seattle will face off against the LA Guerrillas to stay alive in the tournament.
Minnesota defeat OpTic LA in thriller
The match of the night was the Minnesota ROKKR taking on an in-form OpTic Gaming Los Angeles.
Minnesota managed to draw first blood on Rammaza Hardpoint, taking it 250-194 to grab an early lead. The Green Wall managed to hold strong in game two, winning the deciding round on St. Petrograd S&D to level the series once again.
The ROKKR took the lead once again, winning a hotly contested Gun Runner Domination to retake the lead but OpTic responded in emphatic fashion on Azhir Cave, taking it 250-135 to force a game five.
Arklov Peak would play host to the final map of this epic series between two top teams. The game went all the way to a deciding round 11, with Minnesota clutching the win 6-5, wrapping up the series 3-2. Adam "GodRx" Brown led the charge once again for Minnesota, racking up over 10 kills in the final map of the series.
The regular season's top two teams, Atlanta FaZe and Dallas Empire, face off in the Call of Duty League Grand Final.
