CDL Major III, hosted by Toronto Ultra, is set to kick off this afternoon (2024)

Published: May. 16, 2024 at 11:56 AM CDT

(Gray News) - Twelve CDL teams are finally ready to compete in the third major of their regular season, having solidified their seeding through five weeks of qualifying. Toronto Ultra is hosting CDL Major III at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in the heart of Toronto. Luckily for Ultra fans, their team is coming home in phenomenal form, finishing second in qualifying. But FaZe and OpTic fans also travel well, so we must wait to see how much of a home-field advantage the Ultra will have.

CDL Major III starts today at 1:30 PM EST and will continue throughout the weekend until a winner emerges Sunday afternoon.

Schedule for Thursday, May 16:

• Los Angeles Thieves vs. New York Subliners - 1:30 PM EST / 12:30 PM CST / 10:30 AM PST
• Atlanta FaZe vs. Miami Heretics - 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
• Toronto Ultra vs. Seattle Surge - 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
• OpTic Texas vs. Carolina Royal Ravens - 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST

Major III starts with a matchup between two teams that have only played each other once this season. The Los Angeles Thieves and New York Subliners have not been pitted against each other since January 14th in the third week of Major I qualifiers. Is this partly due to both teams failing to surpass elimination round one in that tournament, or that the Thieves have yet to make it out of the first round in a major so far? Possibly. But don’t count out the Thieves just yet, as they have continued to best their previous seeding in qualifying coming into each Major.

This time, they claimed the fourth seed, one above the Subliners. The Subliners, however, took the win in their only regular-season meeting. It’s time for the Thieves to finally capitalize and break into the second round of a Major, but the Subliners won’t be a pushover, and fans won’t be disappointed in this hot start to Major III.

Atlanta FaZe versus the Miami Heretics is next on the schedule and follows suit in backstory. These two teams have only faced off once. On February 17th, in the first week of Major II qualifiers, these two teams met for the first and only time this season. FaZe grabbed the win that day.

The Heretics find themselves in a very similar place to the Thieves, as they have also failed to find a way out of the first round at the first two Majors. However, I wouldn’t hold out hope for the Heretics as they are pitted against the CDL steamroller that is Atlanta FaZe. As always, anything can happen, but it seems foolish to bet against FaZe, and the Heretics may have to try and fight their way into round two of the elimination bracket to break their streak.

In match three, we finally get a matchup between two teams with some history. Unfortunately for one team, that history has heavily favored their opponent. Seattle Surge is taking on Toronto Ultra for the fourth time this season and has yet to win a single map in any of those series. It’s not too hard to see why, as Ultra currently sits second in the regular season standings while Surge sits eleventh, one spot away from dead last. The Surge showed some fight in Major I, making it to the third round in the elimination bracket, but have not done much else this season. Ultra has the home-field advantage, and with a 3-0 record of sweeping Surge 3-0, I don’t see them losing this match. Hopefully, the Surge can get at least one map off Ultra this time.

OpTic Texas will face the Carolina Royal Ravens to close Thursday’s matches. Today’s match signifies the first Major the Royal Ravens have started in the winner’s bracket. OpTic, on the other hand, has started every Major this season in the winner’s bracket. Both teams have met twice this season: once in Major I qualifiers and once in Major II qualifiers. Both times, OpTic has come out on top. OpTic’s ravenous fan base, the Greenwall, also travels well, so they can always depend on fan support when the going gets tough. The Royal Ravens have a tough match ahead of them and are the underdogs.

Tune into the official Call of Duty League YouTube Channel to watch the action unfold. Coverage should start 30 minutes before the first match of the day.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.

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