Huntsmen, Royal Ravens surge at CDL Seattle
The Chicago Huntsmen and London Royal Ravens each swept their winners’ bracket matches on Saturday to win their groups, as Week 8 of the Call of Duty League continued in the Seattle “home” series.
The Huntsmen dumped the Minnesota Rokkr in Group B, and the Royal Ravens dispatched the New York Subliners in Group A, both by a 3-0 margin.
The Subliners recovered in the lower bracket with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Guerrillas to reach Sunday’s semifinals, while the Rokkr were swept again, this time by Optic Gaming Los Angeles in the Group B lower-bracket final. The Ravens will face Optic on Sunday before the Huntsmen battle the Subliners in the other semifinal.
Ten CDL points are awarded for each match victory during the event, with Sunday’s minitournament winner earning another 10 points. The secondplace team will earn 30 points for the weekend, with 20 points each going to the third- and fourthplace teams and 10 points each
for the fifth- and sixth-place finishers.
All CDL action has moved online in light of the coronavirus pandemic, though teams that would have been at home for specific weekends are maintaining that designation for the virtual competition.
The first-place Atlanta Faze, second-place Dallas Empire, fifth-place Florida Mutineers and ninth-place Toronto Ultra are idle for the current Week 8 event. The Huntsmen, currently in third, could jump into first place by winning Sunday’s playoff bracket.
Chicago opened Saturday by dispatching Minnesota, taking Azhir Cave Hardpoint 250233, Gun Runner Search and Destroy 6-5 and Hackney Yard Domination 176-123.
London was perhaps even more impressive in its sweep against New York, taking Hardpoint 250-180, Search and Destroy 6-3 and Domination 156-138, with all three maps played on Gun Runner.
In Group B action in the lower bracket, Optic downed Paris Legion 3-1, dropping only a 250-175 result in Azhir Cave Hardpoint on the opening map.
They took the final three maps 6-4 on Rammaza Search and Destroy, 170-143 on Hackney Yard Domination and 250-240 on Rammaza Hardpoint. Next came the sweep of Minnesota, which L.A. took via a 250-241 win on Azhir Cave Hardpoint, 6-2 on Arklov Peak Search and Destroy, and 171-157 on Hackney Yard Domination.
In Group A, the Guerrillas dispatched the “home” Seattle Surge 3-1, but they couldn’t handle the Subliners in the lower-bracket final. New York opened with a 250-191 win on Gun Runner Hardpoint and the
Guerrillas responded with a 6-3 victory on Arklov Peak Search and Destroy. The Subliners then put it away with a 158-149 edge on Hackney Yard Domination and a 250-187 result on St. Petrograd Hardpoint.
The Surge, who benched Ian “Enable” Wyatt midmatch on Friday, finished their “homestand” with two 3-1 losses. They took the third map from the Guerrillas 167-149 on Hackney Yard Domination, but they dropped Rammaza Hardpoint 250-217, Piccadilly Search and Destroy 6-1 and Hackney Yard Hardpoint 250-165.