The Atlanta home series is all done and dusted. Atlanta FaZe became the first team in the Call of Duty League to win their home event after taking down the Florida Mutineers in the finals of the tournament.
Now three events in, all 12 teams have competed at the opening weekend and at least one home series event this season, giving us a better idea of how the teams stack up against each other.
As the season moves towards the Los Angeles home series, we take a look at the Call of Duty League Power Rankings ahead of the fourth event of the season.
Power Rankings
- Atlanta FaZe
- Chicago Huntsmen
- Florida Mutineers
- Dallas Empire
- Minnesota RØKKR
- London Royal Ravens
- Paris Legion
- New York Subliners
- Los Angeles Guerrillas
- Toronto Ultra
- Seattle Surge
- OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
12) OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
What is happening with OpTic Gaming Los Angeles?! On paper, this team is filled with talent but it is clear that something is not clicking with this team.
Despite showing signs of improvement in online practice before Atlanta, the Green Wall only managed to win one map throughout the entire weekend.
As one of the two teams rumoured to be making some form of roster change, it will be interesting to see whether a roster move changes the fortunes of a team that has fallen short in nearly every aspect.
11) Seattle Surge
Although Seattle was not in attendance in Atlanta, their slow start to the season is one that wasn’t expected given the amount of talent and experience on this team.
Ian “Enable” Wyatt has been demoted to the bench with Casey “Pandur” Romano taking his place on the team.
Is this change going to be the difference as the Surge return to action in LA? Or will it be the same story of Sam “Octane” Larew dragging his team towards the finishing line?
Hopefully, Pandur brings some improvements to Seattle as they look to join a highly competitive midfield battle.
10) Toronto Ultra
Toronto came so very close at causing a massive upset at the hands of the Chicago Huntsmen.
Ultimately the Ultra still fell short, leaving them with just a solitary series victory on the board.
The addition of 2016 world championship runner-up Ben “Bance” Bance has added some much-needed aggression into the team and it has certainly made a difference.
Expect further improvements in future events as the team continues to display improvements and may even begin to contend in the hectic mid-table battles.
9) Los Angeles Guerrillas
Like Seattle, the Guerrillas were not in attendance in Atlanta.
Despite this, there appears to be some unrest in the team, as the team is rumoured to be making changes ahead of the Los Angeles event.
Whether these changes come to any fruition is another question but it does seem strange that the Guerrillas are considering change after a relatively solid opening to the season.
Currently, in 8th place in the league, there is potential for this team to move up the standings if they stick together.
Change doesn’t always lead to immediate improvement.
8) New York Subliners
Photo courtesy of Katy Eyre/ESPAT Media
The Subliners missed out on Atlanta, giving them additional time to fix the issues that have plagued them at Launch Weekend and in London.
With plenty of talent on the team, it seems strange that the likes of Donovan “Temp” Laroda and Trei “Zer0” Morris aren’t up towards the top of the statistic sheets.
Hopefully, the extra practice will see New York bounce back after a turbulent beginning to the season.
7) Paris Legion
Paris Legion are still one of the better teams in the CDL but in Atlanta, the only win for the legion came against Toronto, nothing to ride home about given their recent form in previous weeks.
The two losses came at the hands of an in-form Minnesota team, where the Legion did put up a fight but it was not enough.
The Australian trio of this team is still impressing. Once all three find consistency, then expect Paris to be moving back towards the top of the rankings.
6) London Royal Ravens
The Royal Ravens seem to be stuck at the top of the mid-table madness.
After showing signs that they could be considered championship contenders in London, expectations were high for the UK roster heading into Atlanta.
A win against Florida followed by a close defeat to Atlanta and a game-five defeat to the Mutineers in their second encounter saw the Royal Ravens finish in the top six.
There is plenty of potential that has yet to be tapped into for this team. Once the SMGs of Dylan “Dylan” Henderson and Jordan “Jurd” Crowley find some levels of consistency, then London will be in contention for potential championships later in the season.
5) Minnesota RØKKR
Minnesota is one of two standout teams from Atlanta. The team looked extremely balanced with Adam “GodRx” Brown gelling well as the aggressive AR player alongside the SMG players of Obaid “Asim” Asim and Alex “Alexx” Carpenter.
The RØKKR were on the verge of securing a place in the finals, going up two maps against Atlanta but the FaZe completed the reverse sweep, securing them a top-four finish.
Consistency is the biggest question surrounding Minnesota. If they can keep playing well in the next events they play in, then it will be hard not to rule them out as one of the stronger teams in the league.
4) Dallas Empire
Dallas still has a lot of improving to do if they want to be back in the conversation with Atlanta and Chicago.
Missing Atlanta could be a blessing in disguise for the Empire, giving them extra time to refine strategy and giving Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castron and Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal additional time to find their feet on Modern Warfare.
Last time out, the team made it to the finals of CDL London but if they’re not anywhere near that position again, it could be a slippery slope down the rankings for a team that had such a strong start to the year in online competition.
3) Florida Mutineers
The biggest climber of the league is the Florida Mutineers. At the start of the season when the roster formed, they have been billed as the dark horses of the league and maybe starting to live up to the hype.
Only losing to London and the FaZe in Atlanta, Florida have put a spanner in the works, potentially establishing themselves as a top team.
With a rematch of the Atlanta finals as the first game of the Los Angeles event, can Florida really prove themselves against the very best?
2) Chicago Huntsmen
After taking home the first tournament back in London, Chicago appeared to have consolidated their position at the top of the Call of Duty esports mountain.
With the community primed for a showdown between Atlanta in the finals, many were surprised when Florida came back from two maps down to eliminate the Huntsmen from the tournament.
Chicago also had a very close series against Toronto, one that perhaps the Ultra should’ve won, but nonetheless, the Huntsmen are still a very solid team and with another chance of a clash with Atlanta at Chicago’s Home Series event in April, that may be the time where we get to see the top two teams face off for the first time this season.
1) Atlanta FaZe
After securing the win in their backyard, Atlanta is the best team in the league, plain and simple.
The whole team looked to be on the same page, with all players showing incredible levels of aggression, often bullying their way into Hardpoint hills and onto bombsites in Search & Destroy.
Although there was no showdown with Chicago, the FaZe went one better after the Huntsmen fell in the semi-finals, sweeping aside Florida on their way to securing the trophy.
There were some signs that the team could be beaten when playing London and Minnesota, but for now, Atlanta are sitting very pretty as they head into the Los Angeles Home Series as the best team in the world.
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