Gentle Mates shine as CDL Stage 2 Major begins

The Paris Gentle Mates won twice Friday as the Call of Duty League's Stage 2 Major got underway at Marston Green, England, and they advanced to the upper-bracket semifinal.

Paris topped the Carolina Royal Ravens 3-1 in the play-in round, then downed the Miami Heretics by the same score in the upper-bracket quarterfinals.

The Toronto KOI won the other play-in match 3-1 against the Vancouver Surge, but the KOI then fell 3-0 to OpTic Texas.

In the other upper-bracket quarterfinal matches, G2 Minnesota swept the Riyadh Falcons 3-0, and FaZe Vegas pulled off a reverse sweep to stun the Los Angeles Thieves 3-2.

Lower-bracket play also began on Friday, with the KOI ousting the Falcons 3-0 and the Thieves eliminating the Heretics 3-0.

The Stage 2 Major, part of the DreamHack Birmingham event, will award $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points to the champion. The runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.

After the single-elimination play-in, the double-elimination playoffs continue with best-of-five matches until the grand final on Sunday, which will be best-of-seven.

On Friday, the Royal Ravens opened with a 250-183 win on Exposure Hardpoint before the Gentle Mates prevailed 6-4 on Colossus Search and Destroy, 8-4 on Exposure Overload and 250-230 on Den Hardpoint.

The Surge started by claiming Den Hardpoint 250-226, but the KOI responded by capturing Raid Search and Destroy 6-5, Exposure Overload 8-0 and Scar Hardpoint 250-208.

The Gentle Mates took Den Hardpoint 250-202 before the Heretics equalized with a 6-3 victory on Scar Search and Destroy. Paris sealed the series by capturing Exposure Overload 4-3 and Exposure Hardpoint 250-240.

OpTic toppled Toronto 250-218 on Den Hardpoint, 6-1 on Raid Search and Destroy and 6-5 on Exposure Overload.

G2 took down Riyadh 250-228 on Den Hardpoint, 6-2 on Exposure Search and Destroy and 5-4 on Exposure Overload.

Los Angeles seemed poised to advance after taking Den Hardpoint 250-231 and Scar Search and Destroy 6-1. However, Vegas replied by capturing Den Overload 5-2, Scar Hardpoint 250-208 and Den Search and Destroy 6-3.

In the lower bracket, the KOI routed Riyadh 250-104 on Exposure Hardpoint, 6-2 on Colossus Search and Destroy and 5-2 on Exposure Overload.

The Thieves throttled the Heretics 250-141 on Den Hardpoint, 6-1 on Scar Search and Destroy and 5-4 on Exposure Overload.

The Saturday schedule:

--Upper-bracket semifinal -- OpTic Texas vs. G2 Minnesota

--Upper-bracket semifinal -- Paris Gentle Mates vs. FaZe Vegas

--Lower-bracket quarterfinal -- Toronto KOI vs. team TBD

--Lower-bracket quarterfinal -- Los Angeles Thieves vs. team TBD

Call of Duty League's Stage 2 Major prize pool, with money winnings and CDL points

1. $150,000, 100

2. $90,000, 75

3. $50,000, 60

4. $30,000, 45

5-6. $15,000, 30

7-8. $7,500, 15 -- Riyadh Falcons, Miami Heretics

9-10. no money, no points -- Vancouver Surge, Carolina Royal Ravens

--Field Level Media