Rokkr rally to hand Thieves first loss in CDL Major 3 qualifying

The Minnesota Rokkr rallied to beat the previously undefeated Los Angeles Thieves 3-2 on Saturday in qualifying for the Call of Duty League's Stage 3 Major.

The Thieves (3-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after winning 250-133 on Vista Hardpoint and 6-2 on Highrise Search and Destroy. But the Rokkr (2-3) responded with a 3-2 win on Invasion Control and a 250-132 victory on Sub Base Hardpoint. Minnesota finished the comeback on 6 Star Search and Destroy, pulling away 6-1.

In the day's two other matches, the Los Angeles Guerrillas (2-3) earned a 3-2 win over the Boston Breach (0-3) and the Toronto Ultra (3-1) pulled away for a 3-1 win over the Carolina Royal Ravens (2-3).

All 12 CDL teams will play seven qualifying matches ahead of the Stage 3 Major, scheduled for May 16-19 in Toronto. Every team will advance to the double-elimination tournament, with the qualifying matches determining seeding.

Each qualifier win is worth 10 points. The prize pool for the tournament (money and CDL points) has yet to be announced.

The Toronto Ultra won the Stage 1 Major in January. The Atlanta FaZe won the Stage 2 Major in March.

On Saturday, the Breach jumped ahead with a 250-168 victory on Rio Hardpoint, but the Guerrillas evened the match with a 6-5 win on Rio Search and Destroy. Los Angeles then took the lead with a 3-1 win on Highrise Control but couldn't put away Boston, which won 250-174 on 6 Star Hardpoint. The Guerrillas got the last word, winning 6-3 on 6 Star Search and Destroy.

The Ultra took the early lead over the Royal Ravens with a 250-156 win on Sub Base Hardpoint but Carolina showed some life with a 6-5 victory on Karachi Search and Destroy. Toronto made sure there would be no comeback, winning 3-1 on Karachi Control and 250-238 on Rio Hardpoint.

Qualifying continues on Sunday with three matches:

--Seattle Surge vs. Vegas Legion

--OpTic Texas vs. Miami Heretics

--New York Subliners vs. Atlanta FaZe

Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major qualifying standings (points, match win-loss record, map win-loss differential):

1. Atlanta FaZe, 30 points, 3-0, plus-8

2. Toronto Ultra, 30 points, 3-1, plus-4

3. Los Angeles Thieves, 30 points, 3-1, plus-2

4. OpTic Texas, 20 points, 2-1, plus-4

5. Seattle Surge, 20 points, 2-1, even

6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 20 points, 2-3, even

7. Los Angeles Guerrillas, 20 points, 2-3, minus-5

8. Minnesota Rokkr, 20 points, 2-3, minus-6

T9. Vegas Legion, 10 points, 1-2, minus-1

T9. New York Subliners, 10 points, 1-2, minus-1

11. Miami Heretics, 10 points, 1-2, minus-2

12. Boston Breach, 0 points, 0-3, minus-3

--Field Level Media