OpTic Texas, Paris, Riyadh, Vegas off to solid starts at CDL Championship

Field Level Media|published: Fri 17th July, 03:27 2026

Jul 19, 2019; Miami Beach, FL, USA; A general view of custom PlayStation controllers sold by a vender during the Call of Duty League Finals e-sports event at Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

OpTic Texas, the Paris Gentle Mates, the Riyadh Falcons and FaZe Vegas opened with victories in the first round on Thursday in the 2026 Call of Duty League Championship in Las Vegas.

This is the final event and the world championship of the Black Ops 7 competitive season.

Eight of 12 teams qualified for the CDL Championship in the regular season from Dec. 5, 2025 to June 28, led by first-place OpTic Texas (40-12, +69).

The format is a double-elimination bracket, with all matches best-of-five except for Sunday's grand final, which is best-of-nine. The prize pool is to be determined.

On Thursday, OpTic Texas swept the Miami Heretics 3-0, winning 250-202 on Hacienda Hardpoint, 6-0 on Raid Search and Destroy and 4-2 on Den Overload.

OpTic's Brandon "Dashy" Otell of Canada was match MVP with 65 kills and a plus-15 kills-deaths differential. No Miami players had positive ratios.

The Paris Gentle Mates blanked Toronto KOI, winning 250-237 on Scar Hardpoint, 6-4 on Raid Search and Destroy and 3-1 on Scar Overload.

Joseph "JoeDeceives" Romero of the United States was match MVP, pacing Paris with a match-high 88 kills and a plus-22 K-D differential.

The Riyadh Falcons got past the LA Thieves 3-1. The Falcons opened with victories on Sake Hardpoint (250-109) and Fringe Search and Destroy (6-1) before the Thieves stayed alive with a 3-2 win on Den Overload. Riyadh closed out with a 250-207 triumph on Hacienda Hardpoint.

The Falcons' Mohammed "Alluka" Bindal of Germany was match MVP after posting 93 kills and a plus-24 K-D differential, while teammate McArthur "Cellium" Jovel of the United States had a match-high 97 kills and a plus-28 differential.

FaZe Vegas downed G2 Minnesota 3-1 after opening with a 250-187 victory on Den Hardpoint. Minnesota drew level with a 6-4 win on Fringe Search and Destroy, then Vegas closed out the match with wins on Gridlock Overload (4-3) and Colossus Hardpoint (250-162).

Vegas' Jordan "Abuzah" Francois of Belgium was match MVP with a match-high 102 kills and a plus-30 K-D differential.

Friday's schedule

Winners Round 2

--OpTic Texas vs. Paris Gentle Mates

--Riyadh Falcons vs. FaZe Vegas

Elimination Round 1

--Miami Heretics vs. Toronto KOI

--LA Thieves vs. GS Minnesota

--Field Level Media

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