Falcons, Royal Ravens resume CDL Stage 1 Major qualifiers with wins

The Riyadh Falcons and Carolina Royal Ravens flew to victory Friday to kick off Week 3 of Call of Duty League 2026: Stage 1 Major qualifiers.

Riyadh battled past G2 Minnesota 3-2 for the Falcons' third win of the qualifiers, while Carolina surged past the Miami Heretics 3-1.

A group of 12 teams will play seven matches during qualifying, each win earning them 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, Minnesota opened its match against Riyadh with a narrow 250-234 win on Colossus Hardpoint. The Falcons answered with a 6-4 win on Exposure Search and Destroy and a 2-1 result on Den Overload. G2 survived by the slimmest of margins, winning Den Hardpoint 250-249 to force a fifth map, but the Falcons finished the job 6-3 on Colossus Search and Destroy.

Like Minnesota, Miami won its opening map before its opponent rallied. The Heretics took Blackheart Hardpoint 250-198, but the Royal Ravens ran the table from there with a 6-3 result on Den Search and Destroy, a 4-3 win on Scar Overload and a 250-216 triumph on Exposure Hardpoint.

Week 3 of qualifiers continues Saturday with three matches:

--OpTic Texas vs. FaZe Vegas

--Vancouver Surge vs. Boston Breach

--Paris Gentle Mates vs. Cloud9 New York

Call of Duty League 2026: Stage 1 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)

1. OpTic Texas, 3-0, plus-6

2. Riyadh Falcons, 3-2, plus-1

3. Paris Gentle Mates, 2-1, plus-5

4. Toronto KOI, 2-1, plus-3

5. Los Angeles Thieves, 2-1, plus-2

6. Boston Breach, 2-1, plus-1

7. FaZe Vegas, 2-1, minus-1

8. Cloud9 New York, 1-2, plus-1

9. Carolina Royal Ravens, 1-2, minus-3

T10. G2 Minnesota, 1-3, minus-3

T10. Miami Heretics, 1-3, minus-3

12. Vancouver Surge, 0-3, minus-9

--Field Level Media