The Los Angeles Thieves opened Week 2 of qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major on Friday with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto KOI, improving to 3-0 to sit alone atop the standings.
Also on Friday, FaZe Vegas improved to 2-1 and the Riyadh Falcons earned their first victory to improve to 1-2.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
On Friday, Los Angeles prevailed 250-221 on Scar Hardpoint and 6-5 on Colossus Search & Destroy before Toronto got on the board 4-1 on Den Overload. The Thieves avoided a decisive fifth map with a 250-159 victory on Colossus Hardpoint.
Thomas “Scrappy” Ernst of the United States led the way for the Thieves, posting 95 kills and a plus-8 kill-death differential. For Toronto, Toobias “CleanX” Jonsson of Denmark posted 90 kills and an even K-D differential.
Vegas breezed to a 3-0 sweep of the winless Vancouver Surge, notching a 250-189 victory on Colossus Hardpoint and following it up with a 6-4 win on Den Search & Destroy and a 3-1 victory on Den Overload.
Zachary “Drazah” Jordan of the United States paced Vegas in the victory, collecting a match-high 67 kills with a plus-12 K-D differential. Noah “Lunarz” Whillock of the United States was the lone Vancouver player with a positive K-D differential, posting 63 kills and 59 deaths.
In their 3-1 win over Cloud9 New York, the Falcons opened with a 250-210 victory on Colossus Hardpoint, but New York responded with a 6-3 triumph on Scar Search & Destroy. The Falcons put the match away with a 7-2 win on Scar Overload and a 250-83 rout on Den Hardpoint.
For the Falcons, Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley of the United States notched the most kills at 92, but teammate and countryman McArthur “Cellium” Jovel posted the best K-D differential at plus-27 with 89 kills and 62 deaths. New York was led by Jacob “Hide” Bustillos of Mexico, who collected 78 kills and 90 deaths. No New York player finished with a positive K-D differential.
The remaining Week 2 matches:
Saturday
–Toronto KOI vs. G2 Minnesota
–Los Angeles Thieves vs. Boston Breach
–Paris Gentle Mates vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
–OpTic Texas vs. Miami Heretics
Sunday
–Riyadh Falcons vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
–Vancouver Surge vs. Boston Breach
–OpTic Texas vs. Cloud9 New York
–G2 Minnesota vs. FaZe Vegas
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)
1. Los Angeles Thieves, 3-0, +7
T2. OpTic Texas, 2-0, +4
T2. Paris Gentle Mates, 2-0, +4
4. FaZe Vegas, 2-1, +3
5. G2 Minnesota, 1-1, +2
6. Miami Heretics, 1-1, +1
7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 1-1, even
8. Boston Breach, 1-1, -1
9. Riyadh Falcons, 1-2, -2
T10. Cloud9 New York, 0-2, -5
T10. Vancouver Surge, 0-2, -5
12. Toronto KOI, 0-3, -8
–Field Level Media
