In the opening fixtures of the ongoing Call of Duty League Championship, some huge upsets were landed across the board. While mostly predictable, one of the most stunning results came from LA Thieves, with the four-man squad punishing Toronto Ultra and booting the team into the elimination bracket.
Ultra, which historically has fallen short when it comes time to clutch up, will now need to fight tooth and nail in the lower bracket to make it to Championship Sunday.
Thieves Steal a Win
It wasn’t an easy win by any means, but the LA Thieves managed to stay icy and secure the victory over Toronto Ultra, with Thieves’ Ghosty throwing a few choice words across the stage at Toronto’s Thomas ‘Scrap’ Ernst.
Following a dominant opening Hardpoint, Toronto Ultra responded by sweeping Thieves 6 – 0 in the round of Search. That’s where it went awry for Ultra, with the team succumbing to a loss in both the Control and second Hardpoint. Now, the LA Thieves will try and score against OpTic Texas, while Toronto has been sent down into the elimination bracket to fight an increasingly capable Los Angeles Guerrillas.
Elsewhere, COD Champs is unfolding as we expected, which makes securing those predictions much simpler. Atlanta FaZe beat the Miami Heretics, and the New York Subliners secured a close win over Seattle Surge, with both losing teams being catapulted into the lower bracket.
Today, we’ve got some stunning matches on the line:
Miami Heretics vs. Seattle Surge (elimination)
Toronto Ultra vs. LA Guerrillas (elimination)
LA Thieves vs. OpTic Texas (winners)
Atlanta FaZe vs. New York Subliners (winners)
Remember – there’s a whopping $2.3 million on the line, and the winner will receive $1.2 million, one of the largest single-team prizes in esports. There’s so much to play for this weekend.