CDL New York Day 2 recap: FaZe survive to face Huntsmen, playoff bracket set

The Saturday portion of the Call of Duty League’s New York Home Series has wrapped up, and just four teams remain to battle it out on Championship Sunday.

Half of the field of teams at CDL New York saw their tournament dreams face an early end on Day 2, setting the playoff bracket for what should be an intense third day of Call of Duty action.

Toronto Ultra, Chicago Huntsmen, Atlanta FaZe, and New York Subliners all took care of business on Saturday, booking their tickets to the semifinals. That means Los Angeles Guerrillas, Minnesota ROKKR, Paris Legion, and London Royal Ravens fell short of reaching Championship Sunday, missing out on some valuable CDL Points.

Group A

Toronto Ultra 3-2 Atlanta FaZe

A major upset to start the day, as one of the league’s lowest-ranked teams managed to steal a match against the top-seeded FaZe. Atlanta had the advantage to start, winning the two of the first three maps to take a 2-1 lead, but Toronto stormed back with an impressive couple of games to round off the stunning victory.

• Read More: CDL New York Day 1 recap & highlights

For Ultra, the result meant that they’ll be playing in the semifinals for just the second time this season, while also handing their opponents a first-ever loss in group play (they were previously 13-0)

Furthermore, FaZe had won their last eight Game 5’s, an astonishing feat considering they seem to go the distance in every match nowadays, but that streak came to an inevitable end.

Paris Legion 3-0 Los Angeles Guerrillas

Faced with the extreme pressure of not having won a match in exactly three months, the Legion finally snapped their CDL-record nine-match losing streak against Guerrillas.

The series was a lot closer than the final scoreline would suggest, but a win is a win, and Paris were at least able to stem the bleeding that saw them drop all the way down to ninth in the season standings.

As for Los Angeles, it was a disappointing return to their lowly form after an encouraging performance last time out at the Minnesota Home Series, where they clinched their first semifinal berth of the 2020 campaign.

Atlanta FaZe vs Paris Legion

Unfortunately for Paris, their celebrations had to be cut short after their CDL New York journey came to a firm end at the hands of Atlanta. The series was as one-sided as it looks as FaZe flexed their top-ranked muscles and dominated all three maps.

It’s a seventh straight semifinal berth for the boys in red, who have yet to be eliminated in group play after improving to 14-1 in group-stage matches this season. As for the Legion, it’s yet another early end for them at a Home Series, as they’ve now failed to make the semis for the sixth straight tournament.

Group B

Chicago Huntsmen 3-2 New York Subliners

Following the disaster at CDL Minnesota which saw them get eliminated in group play for the first time this season, Huntsmen were given a chance at redemption and fully capitalized on it.

It didn’t come easy, however; despite a quick 2-0 start to the series, they almost found themselves on the wrong end of a reverse-sweep at the hands of the hosts, before clutching up on the Game 5 Gun Runner Search & Destroy.

For the first time in seemingly forever, Chicago won both S&Ds in the match, improving to 3-0 in the game mode this weekend, something that could be attributed to the new CDL meta that FormaL said was benefiting the squad.

London Royal Ravens 3-2 Minnesota ROKKR

The same script was followed for the Royal Ravens – ROKKR series; London dominated the firs two maps for a 2-0 advantage before they too were put to the sword of the dreaded reverse-sweep.

However, some key plays in the Game 5 Rammaza S&D really saved their bacon, as Minnesota’s comeback fell short and they got eliminated. The struggles continue for the northerners, who lost their sixth match in a row, a losing streak that dates nearly two months.

In fact, ROKKR failed to make it out of group play for the fourth straight Home Series after they had made three consecutive semifinals to start the season, including two back-to-back Grand Final berths.

New York Subliners 3-1 London Royal Ravens

Several recent Home Series tournaments have seen their hosts fail to qualify for Championship Sunday, but that will not be the case for CDL New York, as the Subliners grabbed the fourth and final semifinal spot by defeating their UK  counterparts.

The start of the series spelled doom for NYSL, but a Round 11 victory in the Game 2 S&D led to a massive turnaround, as instead of being down 0-2 they were able to rip off three straight maps and clinch the series win.

• Read More: Censor joins Triumph Gaming, Subliner’s new Challenger team

It’s the fourth straight semifinal berth for New York, who have really turned their season around now after the acquisition of Rookie of the Year frontrunner Mack. As for the Royal Ravens, it’s a second straight group-stage elimination, as their hopes for finishing in the top-four of the regular season standings continue to diminish.

Looking ahead to Championship Sunday

The headlines are already being written – after over five months and 11 CDL events, Atlanta FaZe and Chicago Huntsmen will finally be facing off in the Call of Duty League.

It’s hard to predict the outcome of this match; FaZe have had the better season but they’re not nearly the dominant force they were early on, while Huntsmen look sharper this weekend than they have in a very long time.

• Read More: CDL Champs Packs now available in Modern Warfare & Warzone

This especially applies for Search & Destroy – Atlanta were kings of the mode for long stretches but have been shaky recently, including 1-3 already this weekend. Chicago, however, are 3-0 in S&D and appear to have addressed the long-standing issues that plagued them in recent tournaments.

On the flip side of the bracket, Toronto UItra will face New York Subliners as both are looking for their first-ever Grand Final berth. It’s a golden opportunity for the hosts, who are looking to become the fifth different team to win a Home Series in 2020.

Day 3 Schedule – July 12

Group A Bracket

Group B Bracket

Playoff Bracket

Remember, you can keep up with all of the Call of Duty action and watch these matches live via our New York Home Series hub, which includes live streams, updated scores, brackets, and more.

Also, make sure to check out the CDL Paris final placements to see where each eliminated team finished in the standings and how many CDL Points they earned.