Atlanta FaZe Is Ready For CDL Champs Redemption

The Call of Duty League 2025 Regular Season has come to an end, and for the first time since the league’s inception, Atlanta FaZe has not finished first in the standings. It’s a strange place to be after a dominant start to the year. Drazah’s squad largely cruised to victory at Major 1. Major 2 was much the same, with the team claiming another trophy after crushing Seattle Surge in the Grand Finals. They’ve played in another Grand Final since then, ultimately losing to LAT in the long-awaited rematch. 

Once again, the FaZe camp enjoyed a remarkable run of success in a season that has proven to be topsy-turvy for nearly everyone else. So, how does the squad keep itself at the top of the game? According to Coach Crowder,  it’s all about the environment his guys have worked hard to establish behind the scenes.

“Way more than the talent—because there are other talented teams in this league, for sure—it’s just the culture we try to build behind the scenes. During practice, outside of practice, and what happens at events, and how we act and handle ourselves at events as a team...I think that goes a really long way.

“Whether it’s communication between teammates, coaches, and staff to make sure we’re becoming our best version of ourselves in and out of the game, or even just playing the game and finding the best strategy to win. I think that helps our consistency a lot through the ups and the downs.”

That winning mentality means a lot, but for Drazah, an extra year to build chemistry has made all the difference. Now in their second year playing together, it seems like things are coming together in a way that they didn’t in Modern Warfare 3. 

In Drazah’s words, “I feel like the first year, we won Major 2, and by the end of the year, we got a lot closer. But going into the next year after winning EWC, we were pretty locked in. Just rebuilding that trust and the winning mentality for this year. Then we started it off 0-3. We were getting shit on in the first half [of Major 1 qualifiers]. Bringing that back—winning Major 1 and 2, going for the threepeat—and even the way we lost at Major 3. I think it was a tough fucking loss, and we bounced back again. So, having the first year for us, being able to bounce back the entire year no matter what happened in the tournament before, was pretty big for us, or at least me.” 

Preparing for CDL Championship Weekend

With all of that behind them, the team has all eyes on Champs. The last two years of this event have been disappointing for FaZe. In Modern Warfare 3, a tough loss to the New York Subliners in Winners Round 2 saw them drop into the lower bracket to face off against a surging Toronto Ultra team that ultimately fell just one series short of the Grand Finals. What could have been a special run for the boys in red-and-black ended in stunning fashion. 

Now, Crowder looks back at that tournament as the last domino to get them back into their winning ways.

“Those losses showed us exactly what we need to do better as a team—from the coaching staff to the players to everything—and I think it’s a really big reason why we won EWC and went on a little bit of a run,” he admitted. 

It’s not all reflection, there’s a lot of looking ahead too — including, Drazah tells Monster, adding a new performance coach to help the FaZe crew finally claim that Champs title.

“The players get along with him well. We’ve done a really nice thing with him, too, with how we approach matches and prep and all of that stuff. So, I think we’ve only gotten better from those last two years from the top down.” It’s hard to argue against the results. A 34-11 series count on the year proves they’ve got everything they need to win at the highest level—so long as they can keep the right focus across all the game modes. 

“Just keep adding on to all of your game modes. I don’t think we’re focusing solely on any one game mode, we’re just staying ahead of Hardpoint, working our S&D man-advantages, taking the risks we normally take, and staying consistent in scrims…our Controls have been pretty bread and butter for us also this year.” 

The Greenwall opener

Despite finishing second in the league, FaZe has drawn a brutal opening hand to kick off the tournament. OpTic Texas’ year has been one to forget. A bevy of roster changes has hampered the defending World Champs since Pred briefly departed from the team in December 2024 but their last roster shakeup saw them go from fighting to qualify for Champs to sitting firmly in control of the 7th spot in the standings. 

Dashy, Huke, Shotzzy, and the young upstart Mercules will fight tooth and nail to redeem the season in the eyes of the Greenwall. It’s never a walk in the park to take down three former Call of Duty champs, but especially not in a rivalry as layered as this one, when the other side has so much to fight for. The personal stakes also run high for Drazah, the self-proclaimed ‘CEO’ of OpTic. He’s had their number more often than not on the biggest stages, but Merc makes it a whole new matchup.

“I’m always looking forward to playing those guys,” he said. “They’re always a fun matchup. But I feel like it’s every other tourney. They got better with Merc, and if we’re not on our A-game, we can lose that series. It’s a hard first round, in my opinion. But that’s a great way to start the tournament, getting that out of our way.”

The Thieves endgame 

The challenges don’t end there either. A potential rematch with LAT looms in the distance, and the FaZe camp is all too aware of how difficult it is to win when such high-caliber teams square off on the mainstage. So, with the year on the line, it’s all about the fine details. 

Every day of practice is spent fine-tuning situational awareness, honing in on the same intensity and communication that led them to an EWC victory. They know the exact distance between history and heartbreak, and they know that if OpTic is a tough first step, chances are that the LA Thieves could be an even tougher final one. 

“[Los Angeles Thieves] are just a great team. When you play a team as good as them, and I’m sure people feel the same when they play us or OpTic, or just a bunch of other talented teams in the league—if they come out and they’re shooting, you have to come out and play really good Call of Duty. On top of that, even if you’re playing good, you also have to be shooting too. 

“They’re just a hard team to stop when they’re playing well. We’ve stopped them a few times this year, and they’ve obviously done the same to us. So, we have to make sure we’re bringing the best version of ourselves to this tournament every single day.” 

Seeing all of this through is easier said than done, but arguably no team is more the favorite to do it than FaZe—the CDL’s original superteam. A team that, despite all its successes still has things to prove, too: A third ring for Simp and aBeZy would cement their legacy among the greatest of all time. A second ring for Cellium and Drazah would silence their critics. It’s all within reach; all that’s left to do is win.