OpTic Texas has posted another perfect qualifying stage ahead of Major V. Following massive wins against Legion (2-3), FaZe (0-3), Surge (0-3), Ultra (1-3), and Florida (0-3), OpTic Texas has now once again secured the top seed for the upcoming Major in back-to-back stages. There are huge expectations for what looks to be the best OpTic roster we’ve seen in years, but will the team manage to snatch a win, or will it be the third second-place finish of the year so far for the squad?
It was a dramatic weekend all around, with the mid-to-bottom-table teams being hyper-aware of the fact that it’s the last chance to qualify for Champs. No team is more desperate to qualify this year than Las Vegas Legion, hellbent on making it to Champs for the first time in franchise history. However, there’s a drastic fight to secure qualification against Minnesota Rokkr, a team that well and truly showed up during this qualifying stage.
Will Legion make it to Champs? Will OpTic Texas finally secure a chip at Major V?
It’s a Mad World
Much of this week couldn’t have been predicted if we tried our damndest to do it. For those taking part in Call of Duty betting, it was a wild one, and there were some huge upsets. For instance, the Florida Mutineers – the low-table team that won just five out of its first twenty matches of the year – effortlessly trampled over the top of the LA Thieves, winners of Major IV just weeks ago. That wasn’t all, though – Ultra, Subliners, and Minnesota all had a piece of LA Thieves.
It got so bad that Nadeshot, the owner of 100 Thieves – LA Thieves’ parent organisation – posted a telling meme on Twitter…
As we’ve already highlighted, Minnesota Rokkr established dominance at this stage, locking down some impressive wins in the fight to survive. It has been a less-than-desirable year for Minnesota, who once upon a time went on an eight-match losing streak. Following a switch-up that saw Attach returning to the squad, the roster sharpened up, right when Clayster’s Las Vegas Legion didn’t want (or need) them to.
In recent weeks, the quad-combination of Temp, Teej, Clay, and Standy has been beaming, with the squad winning some important match-ups. At the time of publishing, there are just twenty points separating Legion and Rokkr, and it’s as intense as it’s ever going to get. Major V will determine if Legion makes it to Champs.
Across The Board
LA Thieves won a chip then collapsed on themselves
Sadly, not every team had as powerful and dominant a stage as OpTic Texas, which once again remains the only team to put up a perfect stage. For instance, Seattle Surge only managed to close out the qualifiers with a record of 1 – 4, which was mirrored by the ever-floundering LAG. It could be lights out for LAG at the end of the season, as the team’s owners prepare to sell up shop.
The LA Thieves – who weeks ago won a Major and last year won Champs – also only managed to scrape up a record of 1 – 4. In a heart-breaking shutdown of the season, the London Royal Ravens failed to win a single match -during the qualifiers – and barely won a single map. With a 0 – 5 record, the Royal Ravens enter Major V at the very bottom of the loser’s bracket, and there are expectations that it’ll be a 0 – 3 loss for the team, and then there’s a risk that the organisation may be swallowed up during the post-season.
London is the last EU team represented in the Call of Duty League, and since 2020, the organisation has been on a backslide. There could be dire things ahead for the squad.