Thieves take down Heretics to win CDL Stage 3 Minor

The Los Angeles Thieves won a best-of-five semifinal match and then rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the grand final of the Call of Duty League Stage 3 Minor on Sunday.

Los Angeles beat OpTic Texas 3-2 in the semis and met the Miami Heretics in the grand final later in the day. The Thieves lost two straight maps before ripping off three wins in a row to clinch the championship and the $20,000 reward.

All 12 CDL teams competed in the tournament in a single-elimination bracket, seeded based on teams' standing following Major 2. All matches were best-of-five until the best-of-seven grand final.

On Sunday, the Thieves beat Texas 250-216 on Den Hardpoint and 6-2 on Gridlock Search and Destroy to get the semifinals started. OpTic answered back with a 3-2 win on Scar Overload and a 250-216 result on Colossus Hardpoint to force the winner-take-all fifth map. The Thieves sailed away, 6-2 on Fringe Search and Destroy.

Meanwhile, Miami swept FaZe Vegas 3-0 in the other semifinal match, taking Colossus Hardpoint 250-224, Fringe Search and Destroy 6-3 and Den Overload 4-3.

The Thieves opened the grand final with a 250-199 triumph on Sake Hardpoint, before the Heretics prevailed 6-3 on Fringe Search and Destroy and moved ahead with a narrow 7-6 win on Exposure Overload.

That's when Los Angeles flipped the script as it won 250-161 on Colossus Hardpoint, 6-2 on Scar Search and Destroy and 5-2 on Scar Overload to put the tournament away.

Call of Duty League's Stage 3 Minor prize pool

1. $20,000, 30 CDL points -- Los Angeles Thieves

2. no money, 20 CDL points -- Miami Heretics

3-4. no money, 10 CDL points -- OpTic Texas, FaZe Vegas

5-8. no money, no CDL points -- Toronto KOI, G2 Minnesota, Riyadh Falcons, Paris Gentle Mates

9-12. no money, no CDL points -- Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Vancouver Surge, Boston Breach

--Field Level Media