The sixth Call of Duty League Home Series of the season is well underway. Eight of the 12 franchise teams are competing for all-important CDL Points as well as the chance to become the latest team to be crowned champion.
The opening day saw the usual suspects ease into the qualifying matches and an underrated side defeat a team filled with momentum after the Chicago Home Series.
Toronto defeat New York
After stunning the Chicago Huntsmen at the previous Home Series, the New York Subliners were the talk of the league heading into this weekend full of confidence and momentum. Looking to get the upper hand over a Toronto team that has been unlucky not to have more wins on the board, the Subliners already had their eyes set on the qualification match.
The Ultra, known for its immense roster depth and Search & Destroy prowess, did fall short in game one but immediately answered back in game two to level the series. Toronto went on to win games three and four to take the series and put the brakes on the New York resurgence.
Atlanta ease past Paris
It could be argued that the Paris Legion could've beaten the Atlanta FaZe in this particular match. Atlanta took Azhir Cave Hardpoint by a narrow margin to kick off proceedings but the Legion managed to respond, taking St. Petrograd S&D to a deciding round 11 before Atlanta clutched to go 2-0 in the series.
Paris were by no means out of the series, managing to win Gun Runner Domination by a slender margin to close the deficit to 201 but it was not enough as Atlanta came out swinging in game four, winning 250-117 to wrap up a 3-1 win.
Like at the previous Home Series against London, there were certainly signs that the FaZe can be beaten. Paris had a prime opportunity to do what London couldn't but it was still a relatively solid showing given the changes to the in-game roles for Paris.
London edge past OpTic Gaming LA
Looking at past performances, many would consider the London Royal Ravens to make light work of OpTic Gaming Los Angeles but with the new addition of Martin "Chino" Chino to the Green Wall, this match was a lot closer than anticipated.
London struck first on Hackney Yard Hardpoint thanks to an inspired performance from Sean "Seany" O'Connor in the closing stages of the game but OpTic and Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat answered straight back on Rammaza S&D, taking the game 6-2 to level the series.
The momentum kept rolling for OpTic LA, comfortably beating London on Gun Runner Domination to take the lead in the series but the Royal Ravens managed to respond in game four to take the series to a deciding map five.
In a battle between Bradley "Wuskin" Marshall and Brandon "Dashy" Otell, the two snipers battled it out on Piccadilly as the rounds went back and forth. Wuskin managed to take the advantage to put London within a round of victory but round 10 almost crumbled for London as Seany was left in a 1v3. With minimal amount of time on the clock, Seany managed to take down the final OpTic LA member to wrap up the series 3-2 for London.
Despite a very impressive showing from OpTic LA, London somehow managed to hold on to advance to the qualifying match where they will play Atlanta once again.
Minnesota sweep aside Florida
The final match of the day saw the Florida Mutineers do battle with the Minnesota RØKKR in what was set to be a hotly contested series. The RØKKR secured Rammaza Hardpoint 250-210, drawing first blood in the series before moving onto a convincing 6-2 win on St. Petrograd S&D to take a commanding 2-0 lead. This was not the close match that many were expecting.
Florida did manage to show some signs of life on Hackney Yard Domination but it was Minnesota that managed to walk away with a victory to complete the 3-0 sweep.
The second day of the Florida Home Series begins at 10AM PST/6PM BST live on YouTube,
The regular season's top two teams, Atlanta FaZe and Dallas Empire, face off in the Call of Duty League Grand Final.
