Minnesota RØKKR Win CDL Stage 5 Major

Minnesota RØKKR rounded up their miracle run with a superb comeback against Toronto Ultra (5-4) in the Call of Duty League Stage 5 Major to win the title. RØKKR defied all the odds and won their first Major tournament of the season, solidifying themselves as serious CDL Championship title contenders.

Good But Not Good Enough

Minnesota RØKKR haven’t had the most successful run through the 2021 season of CDL. The Minnesota-based esports organization struggled with their showings throughout the first months of the season, consistently falling short against CDL top dogs.

After crashing out of the first CDL Major in the second round of the losers bracket, RØKKR showed some life. They finished CDL Stage 2 Major in fourth but soon returned to their old ways.

RØKKR ended the CDL Stage 3 Major group stage in fourth and placed ninth-10th at the Major. There they lost against London Royal Ravens, who swept them 3-0 in the second round of the losers bracket.

RØKKR again found their stride during the fourth stage, finishing the group stage in third, securing an upper bracket seed. There they beat the New York Suppliers but would lose against Atlanta FaZe (0-3) and OpTic Chicago (1-3).

The team were content with finishing CDL Stage 4 Major in fifth-sixth and decided to run it back for the fifth stage, which proved to be the right choice. RØKKR emulated their run and ended CDL Stage 5 group stage in third, earning an upper seed for the Major.

Although RØKKR played well during the group stage, they entered the fifth and final Major of the season as heavy outsiders. However, they needed only one match to prove everyone wrong.

RØKKR’s Miracle Run

Atlanta FaZe entered the CDL Stage 5 Major as the odds-on favorites to claim the title. Having dominated the league throughout the entire season, FaZe were expected to sweep another Major title, but things didn’t go as planned.

FaZe’s first opponent en route to their fourth CDL major title were RØKKR, a team no one expected to win. However, RØKKR entered the fifth CDL Major with something to prove.

RØKKR stunned FaZe with a closely fought 3-1 victory, proving to everyone that they’re here to dominate. Many saw RØKKR’s win against FaZe as a fluke, but the Minnesota outfit was again ready to defy the odds.

In the second round, Preston “Priestahh” Greiner demolished Dallas Empire almost effortlessly. Even though RØKKR lost the first map 170-250 (Hardpoint – Garrison), they found their stride just in time to reverse-sweep the reigning CDL champions with 3-1.

Next up were CDL Stage 2 champions, Toronto Ultra, as the only remaining team that could stop RØKKR en route to the finals. But like FaZe and the Empire, Ultra were unable to achieve that feat.

RØKKR kept their momentum going and obliterated Ultra 3-0 to enter their first CDL Major finals of the season. There, they ended up playing a rematch with Ultra, who defeated OpTic (3-1) in the lower bracket finals.

RØKKR Win CDL Stage 5 Major in Style

There is no greater feeling than producing a reverse sweep. And the best place to do it is in the grand finals.

RØKKR’s run to the CDL Stage 5 Major finals was phenomenal, to say the least. However, RØKKR decided to take it one step further and completed their miracle run in style.

Following their 3-0 sweep of Ultra in the semis, Minnesota RØKKR were expected to crush Ultra in the finals. And while they ended up beating the Canadian side, RØKKR had to overcome what seemed like an insurmountable hurdle.

Ultra got off to a strong start in the finals, winning the opening four rounds with relative ease. RØKKR seemed lost as they could not keep pace with Toronto Ultra, who found themselves on match point.

After being 0-4 down, RØKKR mounted an epic comeback, eventually tying the series at 4-4. At that point, RØKKR had momentum on their side, which they used to its fullest to seal the deal with a 6-3 victory on S&D – Raid.

Having eliminated all of the top-three CDL teams and won the last CDL Major, RØKKR now enter CDL Championship as a team to watch. Most esports bookmakers have them priced as the third betting favorites at odds around +400.

CDL Championship kicks off on Thursday, August 19, when RØKKR take on Empire in the first round of the upper bracket.