Falcons fly into tie for first in CDL Major 1 qualifying

The Riyadh Falcons moved into a tie for first place in Call of Duty League Stage 1 qualifying by beating the Paris Gentle Mates 3-1 on Friday as Week 4 got underway.

In the day's other match, the Miami Heretics swept the last-place Vancouver Surge 3-0.

The 12 teams will each play seven matches during qualifying, each win earning 10 CDL points. While all 12 qualify for Major 1, Jan. 29-Feb. 1 in Dallas, the results will determine whether teams begin the major in the upper or lower bracket.

On Friday, the Gentle Mates opened with a 250-55 win on Exposure Hardpoint, but the Falcons dominated the remainder of the match. Riyadh took Raid Search and Destroy 6-4, Den Overload 2-1 and Blackheart Hardpoint 250-231.

The Heretics downed the Surge 250-194 on Exposure Hardpoint, 6-3 on Den Search and Destroy and 2-1 on Exposure Overload.

Six more matches will be contested this weekend:

Saturday

--Miami Heretics vs. Boston Breach

--Toronto KOI vs. Carolina Royal Ravens

--FaZe Vegas vs. Cloud9 New York

Sunday

--Cloud9 New York vs. Boston Breach

--G2 Minnesota vs. FaZe Vegas

--OpTic Texas vs. Los Angeles Thieves

Call of Duty League Stage 1 Major qualifying standings (match record, map differential, points)

T1. OpTic Texas, 4-1, plus-5, 40 points

T1. Riyadh Falcons, 4-2, plus-3, 40 points

T3. FaZe Vegas, 3-1, plus-2, 30 points

T3. Toronto KOI, 3-1, plus-6, 30 points

T3. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-2, plus-4, 30 points

T6. Boston Breach, 2-2, even, 20 points

T6. Los Angeles Thieves, 2-2, minus-1, 20 points

T6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 2-2, minus-2, 20 points

T6. Miami Heretics, 2-3, even, 20 points

T10. Cloud9 New York, 1-3, even, 10 points

T10. G2 Minnesota, 1-4, minus-4, 10 points

T10. Vancouver Surge, 1-5, minus-13, 10 points

--Field Level Media