Close matches dominate early qualifying for CDL Stage 4 Major

The Seattle Surge, Minnesota Rokkr and Los Angeles Guerrillas all opened with 3-2 victories on the first day of qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major on Friday.

The Surge defeated the Toronto Ultra, the Rokkr edged the Boston Breach and the Guerrillas knocked off the Carolina Royal Ravens.

All 12 teams taking part in qualifying will make the Major 4 bracket, to be held June 27-30 in Burbank, Calif. Seeding will be determined by the qualifying matches, which run through June 23.

The tournament will have a double-elimination format, with all matches best-of-five until the grand final, which is best-of-seven. The winner will get 100 CDL points and the runner-up gets 75. The prize money has not been announced.

The Surge had to pull off a big comeback after losing the first two maps. The Ultra prevailed 250-218 on 6 Star Hardpoint and 6-4 on Rio Search & Destroy. Seattle began its comeback with a 3-2 victory on Highrise Control, evened the match with a 250-203 win on Vista Hardpoint, and clinched on Highrise Hardpoint 6-2.

Jordan "Abuzah" Fancois of Belgium led the Surge with 103 kills and a plus-14 kills/deaths differential. Dylan "Envoy" Hannon of the U.S. led the Ultra with 104 kills, and teammate and countryman Thomas "Scrap" Ernst had a plus-14 differential.

The Rokkr won their first map, Vista Hardpoint, 250-155, but then fell behind when the Breach scored wins on Invasion Search & Destroy (6-2) and Highrise Control (3-1). Minnesota responded with a 250-144 win on 6 Star Hardpoint and clinched 6-5 on Rio Search & Destroy.

Thomas "Lyynnz" Gregorio of France led the winners with 87 kills, and teammate Peirce "Gunless" Hillman of Canada had a plus-10 differential. Ben "Beans" McMellon of Great Britain had match highs in kills (89) and differential (plus-12) for the Breach.

The Guerrillas and Ravens played a back-and-forth match. Carolina opened with a 250-185 victory on Karachi Hardpoint, but Los Angeles bounced back 6-2 on Rio Search & Destroy. The Ravens again moved ahead with a 3-1 win on Invasion Control, only to see the Guerrillas level the match 250-220 on Vista Hardpoint. The Guerrillas took the deciding map, 6 Star Search & Destroy, 6-2.

Justice "Estreal" McMillan of the U.S. finished with 85 kills for Los Angeles, and teammate and countryman Kevin "Fame" Bonanno posted a plus-16 differential. Thomas "TJHaLy" Haly of the U.S. led Carolina in kills with 82, while James "Clayster" Eubanks, also of the U.S., had a plus-14 differential.

Qualifying continues Saturday with four matches

--Los Angeles Thieves vs. Las Angeles Guerrillas

--Vegas Legion vs. Toronto Ultra

--Miami Heretics vs. OpTic Texas

--Carolina Royal Ravens vs. New York Subliners

T1. Los Angeles Guerrillas. 10 points, 1-0, plus-1

T1. Minnesoka Rokkr, 10 points, 1-0, plus-1

T1. Seattle Surge, 10 points, 1-0, plus-1

T4. Atlanta FaZe, 0 points, 0-0, even

T4. Vegas Legion, 0 points, 0-0, even

T4. Los Angeles Thieves, 0 points, 0-0, even

T4. Miami Heretics, 0 points, 0-0, even

T4. New York Subliners, 0 points, 0-0, even

T4. OpTic Texas, 0 points, 0-0, even

T10. Boston Breach, 0 points, 0-1, minus-1

T10. Carolina Royal Ravens, 0 points, 0-1, minus-1

T10. Toronto Ultra, 0 points, 0-1, minus-1

--Field Level Media