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

Field Level Media|published: Fri 9th January, 21:37 2026

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home. Jordan Woodruff

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