The final weekend of the Call of Duty Stage 4 qualifier matches have concluded. The Major IV Lan tournament for Stage 4 will now take place this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
The bracket is out and by the looks of it almost certain to create drama and excitement. As we get closer to the tournaments start on Thursday, there are some things to preview. In this article take a look at my bracket predictions for the weekend. Also, read about all 12 CDL teams most positive and negative attribute heading into Major IV.
First, a quick preview of every team.
1st seed, Optic Texas:
- Positive: OpTic Texas are the first team to finish a stage 5-0 in qualifier matches this season. After gaining more experience with newest member, Dan “Ghosty” Rothe, OpTic have undoubtedly been the best hardpoint team in the league and currently are the most consistent overall in the CDL. This surely makes them one of the odds on favorites to win the weekend.
- Negative: OpTic are known to start slow on LAN and in today’s Call of Duty tournament format, starting slow can be the catalyst to an earlier exit than expected.
2nd seed, Los Angeles Thieves:
- Positive: Very similarly to past seasons, LAT is hitting form at the right time. As fans and teams know, LAT always gains a bit of a team buff when competing on LAN.
- Negative: Thieves have one of the better map pools in the CDL, currently. But, is it deep enough to contend with the likes of OpTic, Surge, or Faze?
3rd seed, Seattle Surge:
- Positive: The Surge have drastically improved there S&D game since their abysmal start to the season in that game mode. With that said, we know how good their respawn always is.
- Negative: The story of this Surge team since hit was formed is their inconsistency. Will that continue to be the story?
4th seed, New York Subliners:
- Positive: NYSL has been very good online recently, showing they have the potential to return to their form form the start of the season. They are also returning to Columbus, Ohio for Major IV where they won the first LAN tournament of this season.
- Negative: Since their tournament win to start the season, they have placed Top 12 & Top 8, respectively. Preston “Priestahh” Greiner seems to be their X-factor, when he plays well the team plays well and vice versa.
5th seed, Las Vegas Legion:
- Positive: The addition of Eli “Standy” Bentz has catapulted this team into their first winners bracket start since the creation of the CDL four years ago. They are looking to continue their recent run of good form on LAN.
- Negative: Legion, although currently playing well, are still very new to this position. The winners bracket is a gauntlet and winning series is going to be difficult for a team competing on LAN for the first time together.
6th seed, Atlanta Faze:
- Positive: There is always positives to this team, despite their recent form. Chris “Simp” Lehr, Tyler “abeZy” Pharris and McArthur “Cellium” Jovel are the most successful trio in the CDL era. In this game alone, Faze have placed 3rd, 1st and 3rd, respectively. That is the best average of any team this season.
- Negative: The drag on this team recently has been their hard point performances. They just can not seem to consistently iron out their mistakes in the game mode against other top teams. If they continue to struggle, this could potentially be their first tournament without a top 3 finish in a couple of years.
7th seed, Minnesota ROKKR:
- Positive: This team always seems to be a bit better when playing on LAN. After a 0-5 finish in stage 3 qualifier matches, ROKKR are back in the winners bracket.
- Negative: Unfortunately, even though they are back into the winners bracket, this team still has little upside. Their only wins in stage 4 qualifier matches came at their home event against two teams that finished a combined 0-10. From the start of the CDL 4 years ago, ROKKR’s problem has been the same, their respawn is abysmal.
8th seed, Boston Breach:
- Positive: The addition of Kyle “Kremp” Haworth has shown some upside as they once again start in winners bracket for Major IV. Along with that, their other three players are all usually better on LAN.
- Negative: The narrative around this team has always been the same. No matter how good they perform, top 6 – 8 is inevitable. Breach are very consistent against teams at the bottom of the league but they can never immerse themselves into the race for tournament titles amongst the league’s best.
9th seed, Toronto Ultra:
- Positive: Ultra are the defending Major III champions. Undoubtedly, this team still has the ability to compete amongst the leagues top teams.
- Negative: A losers bracket start at Major IV was not something anyone expected. Could it be complacency? Or maybe the significant drop in performance from SMG duo, Tobias “CleanX Jonsson and Charlie “Hicksy” Hicks? Either way, the major drop in form from this team is alarming heading into this weekend.
10th seed, London Royal Ravens:
- Positive: Ravens showed, in some capacity this stage, they have the ability to beat some better teams after they took down the Vegas Legion. Byron “Nastiee” Plumridge has continuously shown he can compete with some of the game’s best individual players.
- Negative: This team has been bad all year, very bad. They are currently last in overall CDL points and there chance for a CoD Champs spot at the end of the season is already almost out of reach. How much motivation will this team have in Columbus for Major IV?
11th seed, Los Angeles Guerrillas:
- Positive: LAG have one of the games best AR’s, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson. Along with Arcitys, second AR, Adam “Assault” Garcia, is one of top individual performers in stage 4 thus far.
- Negative: This team just went 0-5 in stage 4 qualifier matches. Their parent organization is backing out of the CDL completely after this season. They also sit right near the bottom in points for Champs qualification. There is really nothing to like about this team right now.
12th seed, Florida Mutineers:
- Positive: This team has shown some competitiveness as of late. They are also all relatively new players to the CDL and want to continue to try and prove that they deserve a spot in the league.
- Negative: Similar to Royal Ravens and LAG, this team really struggles in all facets of the game right now. They to, sit right near the bottom of the league in overall points and a CoD Champs spot is virtually out of the question.
After a quick preview of all 12 CDL teams, take a look at how I see the Major IV Tournament playing out this weekend.
Prediction:
After the best team performance in the CDL in stage 4 qualifier matches, OpTic Texas will lift the trophy at Major IV. However, I do believe the Los Angeles Thieves will give OpTic a run for money, beating them in the Winners Bracket Final. But, ultimately, OpTic will take the the best-of-7 series in the Grand Final to win their first tournament since Major I of last season.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Call of Duty Esports Wiki- Fandom
Stay Connected!
You can find more pieces like “ CoD League: Major IV Bracket Predicted, Team Previews ” and you can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Harvey !
“From Our Haus to Yours”