2021 Call of Duty League Resumes on April 22

The Call of Duty League (CDL) returns with Stage 3 of the season on Thursday, April 22. The third stage of the 2021 season will begin with London Royal Ravens Home Series, followed by Paris Legion and the Dallas Empire Home series.

No Surprises in CDL Stage 1 Major

After the first stage of the CDL season, Atlanta FaZe emerged as the undisputed best team in the league. The Atlanta-based roster went undefeated in the regular season and dropped only two maps en route to the title.

Finishing second in Stage 1 were the reigning CDL champion Dallas Empire. Ian “C6” Porter and co. did not disappoint in the regular season but were unable to defeat FaZe, who beat them 3-0 in the semis and 5-2 in the grand finals.

The gap between the top two teams and the rest was fairly large. Even New York Subliners and OpTic Chicago were unable to match FaZe and Dallas, finishing Stage 1 in third and fourth, respectively.

Ending Stage 1 on the opposite side of the table were Florida Mutineers and Toronto Ultra. The two managed a poor seventh-eighth place finish after winning the opening three bouts of the lower bracket.

Mutineers failed to improve in Stage 2, failing to make it past the second round of the lower bracket. Ultra, however, were a completely different story.

Toronto Ultra’s Resurgence

Toronto Ultra ended CDL Stage 2 Group A in third, behind Subliners and Atlanta FaZe. They managed a 2-3 record with wins against Royal Ravens and LA Guerrillas.

Entering Stage 2 as the top seed from Group A, Ultra first had to face off against Group B runners-up OpTic. And the underdogs did not disappoint, beating the veteran lineup 3-1.

In the second round of the winners’ bracket, Ultra faced FaZe, who handed them a devastating 1-3 loss. Still, the Toronto squad’s story didn’t stop there.

After dropping to the lower bracket, Ultra shifted into a higher gear and demolished everyone in their path. A 3-0 sweep of Thieves, 3-1 victory over Minnesota RØKKR, and a shock 3-1 win against Empire has earned Toronto a spot in their first Call of Duty League Major finals.

Waiting for them in the final match of the stage was no other than Stage 1 champions FaZe. But unlike how it was in the reverse fixture, Ultra came prepared.

FaZe started the series strong and won Garrison-Hardpoint 250-198 but proved inefficient against Ultra on the next two maps. The Toronto squad stunned FaZe on Miami – S&D (6-3) and Checkmate – Control (3-2) to take the series lead.

FaZe struck back on Apocalypse – Hardpoint (250-147) and Moscow – S&D (6-5) to go 3-2 up. But the reigning champions weren’t prepared for what Ultra had in store for them on the final three maps.

After dropping the lead, Ultra turned on their jets and produced their best performance of the season. They shook FaZe with clean sweeps on Raid – Control (3-0) and Express – S&D (6-0) to reclaim the lead.

Sitting on a match point, Ultra did not need long to close out the series. They edged out FaZe on Checkmate – Hardpoint (250-156) to win their first Major 5-3.

Ultra Face Mutineers in Stage 3 Opener

After their remarkable run through Stage 2 Major, Toronto Ultra got seeded into Group A for Stage 3. There they’ll face Dallas Empire, Florida Mutineers, LA Guerrillas, Minnesota RØKKR, and Paris Legion.

Their first match of CDL Stage 3 is scheduled for the opening day of the London Home Series. The fixture will play out on Thursday, April 22, at 13:30 PST, when they face off Mutineers.

Odds for Toronto Ultra vs. Florida Mutineers match

Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:

Ultra -172
Mutineers +126
Ultra -1.50 -109
Mutineers +1.50 -204
Over 4.50 Maps +148
Under 4.50 Maps -204

Ultra and Mutineers met only once before, way back in February during Stage 1 regular season. Ultra won that match 3-1, albeit with a different roster.

Since then, Ultra replaced Anthony “Methodz” Zinni with Jamie “Insight” Craven. On the side of Mutineers, Josiah “Slacked” Berry got replaced with Colt “Havok” McLendon, who joined their starting roster on Thursday, April 15.

Having finished both stages in the last place, Mutineers will have a lot to prove this week. However, it remains to be seen whether they can be the ones to derail the in-form Ultra.