CDL Seattle Day 2 recap: Huntsmen & OpTic dominate, playoff bracket set

Day two of the Call of Duty League’s Seattle Home Series wrapped up on May 23, leaving just four teams to battle it out on Championship Sunday.

Eight teams came into the Seattle Home Series but only four are left, following the six Saturday matches on that put half the field on the chopping block ahead of the final day of action.

Chicago Huntsmen, London Royal Ravens, OpTic Gaming LA, and New York Subliners all made it to Championship Sunday, while Paris Legion, Seattle Surge, Minnesota ROKKR, and LA Guerrillas fell short in group play.

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Group A

London Royal Ravens 3-0 New York Subliners

It seems that the addition of Zer0 to their roster is all Royal Ravens needed to regain their spark, at least for now, as they’ve made it to their first semifinals since all the way back at CDL London.

• Read More: Latest final placements for CDL Seattle

The former Subliners player got his revenge, as a relentless effort saw them take the Hardpoint 250-180, S&D 6-3, and Domination 156-148 – all played on Gun Runner. They never gave New York a chance to find their footing, and it was undoubtedly one of London’s best and most complete performances of the season.

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Los Angeles Guerrillas 3-1 Seattle Surge

Somehow, this matchup ends up taking place at pretty much every Home Series that these two teams attend, with this being already their fifth meeting this season. The difference this time, however, is that Guerrillas finally came out on top for the first time.

• Read More: CDL Day 1 recap & highlights

A 250-217 win on Rammaza HP and 6-1 on Picadilly S&D had Los Angeles up 2-0, and despite Seattle pulling out a 167-149 victory on Hackney Yard Dom, a final 250-165 result on Hackney Yard HP sealed the series win for LAG.

With the result, Guerrillas got the much-needed win and advanced to play Subliners for a spot in the semis, while Surge were eliminated in the first round at their own Home Series.

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Surge were all over the place this weekend, it must be said; their first-ever mid-series substitution on Friday didn’t work, and it was followed by a decision to bench Enable on Saturday and move Pandur back into the starting lineup.

On top of all that, the team has now dropped to 4-12, one of the worst records in the league, as they failed to make any kind of noise at their own event.

Following the loss, star man Octane took to Twitter to express his frustrations, saying he “didn’t want to play anymore” and “wants this year to end.”

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New York Subliners 3-1 Los Angeles Guerrillas

Eager to put their 3-0 shellacking at the hands of Royal Ravens behind them, Subliners couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to face with the final semifinal spot on the line.

That said, the series wasn’t as easy as one would think; New York took a 1-0 lead with a 250-191 win on Gun Runner HP before Los Angeles answered back with an expert 6-3 on Arklov Peak S&D.

• Read More: ZooMaa hits back at CDL Seattle ‘snaking’ allegations

However, as most would expect them to do, Subliners took care of business on the subsequent respawn modes – 158-149 on Hackney Yard Dom and 250-187 on St. Petrograd HP – to seal the series victory.

For the boys in yellow, it’s now back-to-back semifinal berths after their slow start to the season. As for their opponents, however, despite their improved performance this weekend, it’s yet another Home Series that ends in the group stage.

Group B

Chicago Huntsmen 3-0 Minnesota ROKKR

Whatever Prestinni has added to the Huntsmen roster seems to be working perfectly, as they steamrolled past ROKKR to advance to their fifth straight semifinals.

However, the series was a lot closer than the final scorelines would suggest; Chicago won Azhir Cave HP 250-233 and it took 11 rounds for them to take Gun Runner S&D 6-5. The Dom, on Hackney Yard, was the only one-sided game of the match, the final scoreline being 176-123.

As you’d expect, the S&D was a highlight reel of its own, especially when Alexx and Scump traded some impressive clutches in back-to-back rounds.

OpTic Gaming Los Angeles 3-1 Paris Legion

OpTic regained from their tough day one loss to ROKKR by putting in a very strong performance against Legion, who lost despite taking a 1-0 lead in the series with a 250-175 win on Azhir Cave HP.

Just two maps away from elimination, OGLA turned on their extra gear and won the next three games: 6-4 on Rammaza S&D, 170-143 on Hackney Yard Dom, and a tight 250-240 on Rammaza HP.

• Read More: OpTic players blast CDL servers following ROKKR loss

While Los Angeles got to advance to the next round, this was the end of the line for Paris, whose struggles continue for yet another Home Series. This was their fifth consecutive loss, and what was once such a promising start to the season has now turned into a string of disappointing results.

OpTic Gaming Los Angeles 3-0 Minnesota ROKKR

Whatever bitterness the OpTic players had from their tough loss on Friday, they used it to fuel their revenge effort, and it saw them bulldoze through ROKKR in the final match of day two.

A massive 80-point comeback win on Azhir Cave HP (250-241), followed by victories on Arklov Peak S&D (6-2) and Hackney Yard Dom (171-157) not only saw the Green Wall exact sweet vengeance but also clinched them a second-straight semifinal berth.

• Read More: Could Gunless be on the verge of joining OGLA?

As for Minnesota, this is the second straight Home Series that they’ve failed to get out of their group, which could mean that their long-held status as the “fourth-best team” could be slipping away.

Looking ahead to Championship Sunday

The playoff bracket is now set – London Royal Ravens will be taking on OpTic Gaming LA in the first semifinal while Chicago Huntsmen will face XXX in the second.

All four teams have been in this position before, but only the Huntsmen have won a Home Series this season, so we’re either going to see them become the third team with multiple trophies (Dallas & Atlanta) or there will be a new champion crowned on Sunday.

Brackets & schedule

Group A Bracket

Group B Bracket

Playoff Bracket

Day 3 schedule

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

Also, make sure to check out the CDL Seattle final placements to see who’s in and who’s out of the tournament, as well as the CDL Points they’ve earned.