Atlanta FaZe win CDL Champs 2021: Final placements, highlights

Theo Salaun
cdl champs 2021 faze

The Call of Duty League’s 2021 season grand finale, CDL Champs, ended much the way it started — with Atlanta FaZe asserting their dominance. With a $2.5 million prize pool and legacies at stake, FaZe overcame a formidable Toronto Ultra to win the org’s first-ever CoD Champs.


  • FaZe take down Ultra 5-3 to win Grand Finals.
  • Atlanta leave with $1.2 million and the org’s first CoD Champs trophy.
  • Ultra finish 2021 in second place, earning $650,000.

After four days of CoD Champs, Atlanta FaZe have finished atop the mountain. The CDL’s scariest lineup, Simp, aBeZy, Cellium, and Arcitys proved why they’ve long been the league’s most worrisome foes by going undefeated through the bracket and taking down the Toronto Ultra in the Grand Finals.

CDL Champs 2021 prizing & final placements

Place Team Prize
1 Atlanta FaZe $1.2 million
2 Toronto Ultra $650,000
3 Dallas Empire $300,000
4 Minnesota ROKKR $150,000
5-6 OpTic Chicago $75,000
New York Subliners $75,000
7-8 Florida Mutineers $25,000
LA Thieves $25,000

CDL Champs 2021: results, recaps, and highlights

DAY 4 — SUNDAY, AUGUST 22

Group Match Hardpoint S&D Control Hardpoint S&D  Control S&D   Hardpoint  S&D
Grand Finals Atlanta FaZe 5-3 Toronto Ultra TOR 250-175 (Moscow) ATL 6-5 (Express) ATL 3-0 (Raid) ATL 250-78 (Raid) TOR 6-2 (Miami) ATL 3-2 (Garrison) TOR 6-5 (Raid) ATL 250-147 (Apocalypse) N/A

Grand Finals: FaZe fend off Ultra

The most highly anticipated match of the season, the CDL’s two best teams met for a 2021 grand finale and did not disappoint. After Toronto took the first map off FaZe through the entire Champs event, Atlanta returned the favor by rattling off three straight wins.

But Ultra weren’t going to sit back and lose 5-1, as Cammy and Co. went off to bring the series closer.

In the end, though, FaZe proved to be too formidable a group — as Cellium and Champs MVP aBeZy showed out and secured FaZe the org’s first-ever Championship.

DAY 3 — SATURDAY, AUGUST 21

Round Match Hardpoint S&D Control Hardpoint S&D
Winner’s Finals FaZe 3-0 Empire ATL 250-118 (Garrison) ATL 6-5 (Raid) ATL 3-1 (Raid) N/A N/A
LR3 ROKKR 2-3 Ultra TOR 250-83 (Checkmate) MIN 6-5 (Standoff) TOR 3-2 (Raid) MIN 250-188 (Raid) TOR 6-4 (Moscow)
Loser’s Finals Empire 2-3 Ultra DAL 250-141 (Garrison) TOR 6-3 (Standoff) TOR 3-2 (Raid) DAL 250-248 (Raid) TOR 6-3 (Express)

Match 3: Empire denied as Ultra clutch up

One of the greatest matches of the year, Empire and Ultra shocked the entire CoD community with a legendary Hardpoint before Toronto clutched up in Game 5 and set themselves up for the Grand Finals.

Match 2: Ultra get revenge on ROKKR

The Battle of the North rematch started similarly, with an Ultra 100-point club, but then ended in favor of Toronto — as the Ultra denied ROKKR and earned a trip to Loser’s Finals.

Match 1: FaZe demolish Empire

Like their first match, FaZe ended this one in the blink of an eye. With Cellium and Simp combining for a 1.5-plus K/D through the series, Atlanta demolished Dallas to secure their spot on Championship Sunday.

DAY 2 — FRIDAY, AUGUST 20

Round Match Hardpoint S&D Control Hardpoint S&D
WR2 Empire 3-2 Ultra DAL 250-183 (Raid) TOR 6-4 (Express) TOR 3-1 (Checkmate) DAL 250-118 (Moscow) DAL 6-5 (Raid)
WR2 Subliners 0-3 FaZe ATL 250-149 (Raid) ATL 6-3 (Miami) ATL 3-0 (Garrison) N/A N/A
LR2 Ultra 3-1 OpTic TOR 250-176 (Checkmate) TOR 6-3 (Moscow) CHI 3-2 (Raid) TOR 250-230 (Raid) N/A
LR2 Subliners 1-3 ROKKR MIN 250-122 (Garrison) NY 6-4 (Raid) MIN 3-2 (Garrison) MIN 250-218 (Checkmate) N/A

Match 4: ROKKR knock out Subliners

The rookie SMG duel did not disappoint, as both Standy and HyDra proved to be menaces on the map. But ROKKR won Major V for a reason and that teamwork prevailed in the end.

Match 3: OpTic fall to their Toronto kryptonite

When does OpTic play? Not until 2022. Chicago historically struggles against Toronto and Day 2 was no exception, as Ultra ruined an incredible Scump performance and sent OpTic packing.

Match 2: Angry FaZe embarrass Subliners

Someone joked that this was the first VoD that could be made into a YouTube Short. And they weren’t lying. Simp came out shooting bodies, Arcitys was talking smack, and FaZe demolished NY.

Match 1: Empire edge out Ultra in R11

Dallas continued to impress, narrowly defeating a formidable Ultra squad. But one thing stood out above all else: Shotzzy just might be the best player in Call of Duty.

DAY 1 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 19

Round Match Hardpoint S&D Control Hardpoint S&D
WR1 ROKKR 0-3 Empire DAL 250-147 (Moscow) DAL 6-1 (Raid) DAL 3-1 (Raid) N/A N/A
WR1 Subliners 3-2 OpTic NY 250-110 (Checkmate) NY 6-1 (Express) CHI 3-2 (Checkmate) CHI 250-96 (Apocalypse) NY 6-4 (Raid)
LR1 ROKKR 3-2 Thieves LAT 250-213 (Checkmate) MIN 6-3 (Standoff) MIN 3-2 (Control) LAT 250-194 (Garrison) MIN 6-3 (Miami)
LR1 OpTic 3-1 Mutineers CHI 250-102 (Moscow) FLA 6-2 (Standoff) CHI 3-1 (Checkmate) CHI 250-159 (Apocalypse) N/A

Match 1: Empire sweep ROKKR in rematch

The first match of CDL Champs 2021 ended almost as quickly as it started, as reigning MVP Shotzzy laid waste to a formerly upsurging ROKKR roster — kicking Minnesota down to the Loser’s Bracket.

Match 2: Playoff Paco leads NYSL past OpTic

Champs Clayster, Playoff Paco — whoever you want to credit, the Subliners came out and shocked fans by starting their forced honeymoon phase off with a big 3-2 over OpTic. Scump and Co. made it close, but the rookie HyDra was in demon form.

Match 3: ROKKR outlast streaky Thieves

The Thieves made it a wildly competitive series, but a lack of cohesion ultimately proved their downfall as ROKKR survived the Hardpoint slaying to keep their CDL Champs hopes alive.

Match 4: FormaL wakes up and OpTic put Mutineers to bed

Boy oh boy, fans at the arena got treated to an entirely different OpTic team in the team’s elimination match. The team came out hot and everyone, including the notoriously inconsistent FormaL, absolutely popped off to secure a W.

CDL Champs 2021 bracket

champs final bracket cdl 2021
The final bracket for CDL Champs 2021.

Watch now: Arcitys: FaZe “Do It Different” From OpTic


CDL Champs 2021 format & details

  • Location: Los Angeles
  • Prize pool: $2.5 million
  • Format: Double-elimination bracket
  • Seeding determined by 2021 regular season standings:
    • Top two seeds start in Winners Round 2
    • Third-Sixth seeds start in Winners Round 1
    • 7th and 8th seeds start in Losers R1
  • Series are best-of-five (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D)
  • Grand finals is best-of-nine (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D, Control, S&D, Hardpoint, S&D)
  • Maps & Modes:
    • Hardpoint: Apocalypse, Checkmate, Garrison, Moscow, Raid
    • Search & Destroy: Standoff, Express, Miami, Moscow, Raid
    • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid

Watch now: Simp: “Atlanta FaZe NOT A Dynasty… Yet!”


CDL Champs 2021 teams & lineups

Team (Record coming in) Lineup
Atlanta FaZe (34-7) Simp, Cellium, aBeZy, Arcitys
Toronto Ultra (29-17) Insight, Bance, Cammy, CleanX
Dallas Empire (26-18) Crimsix, Shotzzy, Vivid, iLLeY
OpTic Chicago (26-18) Scump, FormaL, Envoy, Dashy
New York Subliners (24-17) Clayster, Asim, Mack, HyDra
Minnesota ROKKR (20-17) MajorManiak, Attach, Priestahh, Standy
Los Angeles Thieves (18-21) Kenny, SlasheR, John, Drazah
Florida Mutineers (17-19) Skyz, Owakening, Havok, Neptune


Check out our CDL 2021 Season hub for everything you need to know about this season, including a full event schedule, the latest standings, and more.

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About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.