Atlanta FaZe win $500K CDL Stage 3 Major: Final placements, results, highlights

The Stage Three Major of the 2021 Call of Duty League season has wrapped up with Atlanta FaZe being crowned champions for a second time after beating New York Subliners in the Grand Final. Catch up on all the action with the final placements, results, daily recaps, and highlights

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• FaZe beat Subliners in Grand Final 5-2, take home $200,000 & 75 CDL Points.
• Stage 2 Major champs Ultra finish third after losing to FaZe in Losers Final.
• OpTic place 4th as Losers Bracket run ends with narrow loss to Ultra.

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JUMP TO SECTION:

• Final placements & prizing
• Grand Final highlights & recap
• Final Bracket
• Daily results, highlights, recaps
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
• Format & info
• Teams & rosters

CDL Stage 3 Major final placements & prizing

The $500,000 prize pool is divided between the top-eight teams. Those who finished between 9th-12th did not receive any prize money.

CDL Stage 3 Major Grand Final highlights & recap

The best-of-nine series kicked off with Subliners flexing their Hardpoint superiority, never giving FaZe a chance on their way to a 250-185 win on Garrison.

But just like how NYSL are incredible at Hardpoint, FaZe are just as stellar at S&D and that gave them just the slight edge they needed in Round 11 to tie the series up.

Things were a lot more one-sided on Garrison Control as FaZe continued their dominance of the Control game mode with a swift 3-0 of Subliners for their first lead of the series.

However, the script was strangely flipped for the next two maps: Atlanta cleaned up house on Moscow Hardpoint while NYSL answered back with a big win on Miami S&D, ensuring that the series would at least go to a seventh map.

What followed was a frantic and intense Checkmate Control, one that was mostly dominated by defense until the final round, which saw Arcitys win a huge gunfight at virtually the last second to secure the map win for FaZe.

With the following game being Raid S&D, a map-mode combo that FaZe are very comfortable in, it almost felt inevitable that the series would end there and that’s exactly what happened. Atlanta steamrolled NYSL with some of the fastest rounds in S&D history to secure the series victory and the Major.

CDL Stage 3 Major final bracket

CDL Stage 3 Major results, highlights, recaps

DAY 4 – SUNDAY, MAY 16

Match 1: Ultra slip past OpTic in five-map thriller

A battle between two of the league’s biggest heavyweights lived up to the billing, as Ultra vs OpTic played a five-map thriller that was full of intense moments. Ultimately, it came down to game five, round 11, and Toronto clutched it out to keep them alive in the tournament while also eliminating the Green Wall.

Match 2: FaZe deny Ultra a chance to go back-to-back

Last Major’s two grand finalists clashed in the Losers Final, and it was FaZe who came out on top after a dominant final S&D. The back-and-forth series saw the two teams trade maps all the way to game five, but Ultra never came close in the final map thanks to stellar plays from aBeZy.

DAY 3 – SATURDAY, MAY 15

Match 1: Thieves end Royal Ravens’ Cinderella run

Any hopes that Royal Ravens of making an improbable Losers Bracket run were dashed by LA Thieves, who delivered a sweep to advance to the fourth round. The Express S&D proved to be a crucial point in the series as Thieves blew a three-round lead before Kenny saved their bacon in Round 11.

Match 2: OpTic shred Empire to win second straight

OpTic’s resurgence seems to be coming into fruition after they eliminated Empire with a big 3-0 sweep, winning their second-straight elimination match. The series was all about Dashy, who posted a mind-boggling 2.15 series K/D while also leading the lobby with 71 kills and almost 13,000 damage.

Match 3: Ultra eliminate Thieves on back of historic Hardpoints

In a display of respawn dominance rarely ever seen in CoD esports, Ultra sealed a spot in the top-four with a 3-1 win over Thieves, eliminating them from the Major. The Hardpoints were especially one-sided, as Toronto 100-point clubbed LA in both, including a historic 250-14 victory in the opener.

Match 4: OpTic stay hot to secure top-four spot

Coming off a big sweep of Empire earlier in the day, OpTic maintained their much-improved form with another 3-0 against Mutineers, knocking them out of the tournament. Much like their two series prior, OpTic clutched up yet again in round 11 of the Raid S&D, thanks to a remarkable 1v3 from Dashy.

Match 5: Subliners edge past FaZe in Winners Final thriller

After going up 2-0 in the series, Subliners suddenly faced the very real threat of getting reverse-swept when FaZe dominated the next two maps to force a game five. Unsurprisingly, the final map went all the way to round 11, and it was the rookie HyDra who clutched the biggest 1v1 of his career vs a formidable foe in Simp.

DAY 2 – FRIDAY, MAY 14

Match 1: Royal Ravens stun ROKKR with big sweep

A massive early upset saw Royal Ravens eliminate ROKKR after beating them in dominant fashion, including a very one-sided 3-0 on Garrison Control. After the tight opening Hardpoint, London were the more aggressive and efficient the rest of the way, as Minnesota will now have to go back to the drawing board after such an early elimination.

Match 2: OpTic bounce back with much-needed win vs LAG

A one-sided opening Hardpoint loss spelled danger yet again for the struggling OpTic, who dropped their sixth straight in the mode and fifth map overall. But championship experience took over as Scump led his side to three straight map wins the rest of the way to snap a three-match losing streak, while eliminating Guerrillas in the process.

Match 3: FaZe snap Ultra’s winning streak in epic series win

Two of the best and hottest teams in the league clashed in the second round of the Winners Bracket as FaZe avenged their Stage 2 Final loss vs Ultra with a narrow 3-2 win, ending Toronto’s nine-match winning streak. Ultra put on a serious reverse sweep threat after forcing a fifth map, but Atlanta’s S&D was simply too strong for the boys in purple to handle.

Match 4: Subliners steamroll Mutineers to reach Winners Final

Subliners made it to their first Winners Bracket final after handing Mutineers one of the most dominant losses in 2021. A 100+ point win in Hardpoint, a 6-0 in S&D, and 3-0 in Control is as close as it gets to total domination, with Clayster & HyDra really stepping up and leading the charge.

DAY 1 – THURSDAY, MAY 13

Match 1: Royal Ravens throttle Legion in battle of Europe

A first-round all-European affair saw the Royal Ravens take care of business and eliminate the struggling Legion 3-1. After splitting the first two maps, the key swing came on the Checkmate Control, which London narrowly won, setting the stage for them to grab the victory in the following Hardpoint.

Match 2: Guerrillas pile on Surge’s struggles

Guerrillas handed Surge their seventh consecutive defeat with a 3-1 win in the first round, thanks to a super showing from their new starter Cheen. The veteran dropped a 1.38 series K/D, including a whopping 1.52 in the two Hardpoints, helping LAG win all three respawns to eliminate Seattle in last place.

Match 3: FaZe shred Empire apart in early matchup

A matchup that was set much earlier in the bracket than most would have expected, FaZe got their third win over Empire this season in a dominant fashion, sending the defending champs down to the Losers Bracket with a 3-0 sweep. Cellium was the star of the show for Atlanta, putting up some huge numbers while also being a one-man wrecking crew in the Control.

Match 4: Mutineers stay red-hot with narrow win over Thieves

Four-map series’ don’t usually get any closer than this after Mutineers eeked out a tight victory over Thieves to advance in the Winners Bracket. The story of the match was all about Neptune, as the Florida rookie closed out the first map with a monstrous streak before coming up clutch with a huge ace in Round 11 of the Express S&D.

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Watch now: Behind the OpTic & FaZe scandal

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CDL Stage 3 Major format & info

• Location: Online
• Prize pool: $500,000 (see prizing section above for breakdown)
• Format: Double-elimination bracket
• Seeding determined by Stage 3 standings:
  • 1st place teams start in Winners Round 2
  • 2nd & 3rd place teams start in Winners Round 1
  • 4th place teams start in Losers R2
  • 5th & 6th place teams start in Losers R1
• CDL Points: Based on placement (see placements section above for breakdown)
• Series are best-of-five (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D)
• Maps & Modes:
  • Hardpoint: Apocalypse, Checkmate, Garrison, Moscow, Raid
  • Search & Destroy: Checkmate, Express, Miami, Moscow, Raid
  • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid

CDL Stage 3 Major teams & rosters

For more information about the current Call of Duty League season, make sure to visit our CDL 2021 hub, where you’ll find a full schedule of all events, a breakdown of the season format, and more.