The Final Showdown: CDL Major 4 Promises High-Stakes Drama and Unpredictable Outcomes

And just like that, another Call of Duty League season comes to a close. Modern Warfare 3’s regular season has seen a whole host of jaw-dropping plays, hotly contested rivalries, and heart-stopping competition — all on the most even playing field in years.

The big four are still running the show. Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra, OpTic Texas, and New York Subliners have once again proven to be the cream of the crop, but between them, the contest is as wide open as ever. The results have been more lopsided for everyone else in the field, but a few teams have found their footing as the curtain falls. Is it too little, too late? Let’s see what fans can expect when CDL action kicks off this week.

For Atlanta FaZe, Major 4 should be business as usual. Having gone three for three in MW3 Grand Finals appearances, Cellium’s boys remain ruthless in their pursuit of improvement. FaZe's success was written in the stars from the moment Drazah signed on the dotted line in the off-season, and they’ve been as good as advertised every step of the way. Scorching hot individual stats only paint a small part of the picture, but they illuminate some interesting truths all the same. It’s hard to find a category where a FaZe player isn’t in the Top 3. Still, Major 4 will see them tested right out of the gate with a first-round contest vs. the Subliners — a matchup that has produced some all-time classic moments in recent years. 

Trailing just behind FaZe in the standings is Toronto Ultra. Scrap, Insight, Envoy, and CleanX are Hardpoint juggernauts, winning over 75% of their HP maps this season. Very few teams can hold a candle to them when the momentum is flowing, and they’re coming into this event fresh off a dominant win against an ailing OpTic Texas squad.

Major 1 showed the world exactly how oppressive they can be at the top of their game, and if their Search & Destroy performance can meet the same standards as their respawn modes, Ultra may be in for a spectacular end to the year. For them, it starts with a meeting against a motivated Los Angeles Guerrillas team, who’ll be playing for the fate of their season. Ultra holds a 3-0 advantage in this head-to-head matchup, but all stats go out the window when Champs is on the line. 

OpTic Texas will be starting in the Elimination Bracket for the first time this season after winning Major 3 only a month ago. That explosive victory feels all but forgotten at this point. A catastrophic qualifier saw them win only their first series of the stage, and now all eyes are on the Green Wall as they look to right the ship. Guided by the steady hand of Kenneth “Kenny” Williams, it seems all but inevitable the star-studded squad will find their way again, but the time for adjustments has run out. It’s officially now or never. 

Things are not as dire for the New York Subliners, but they are facing big problems of their own. It has been a story of ‘almost there’ all year long. There’s no doubt this group has the talent to make a solid run to end the year, but repeated run-ins with Atlanta FaZe and OpTic Texas have stunted their chances at every turn. The opening-round matchup with FaZe is NYSL’s best shot yet to get the boogeyman off its back and begin its campaign to defend the crown. 

Further down the line, every team outside the top four will fight tooth and nail for the last CDL points of the season, so Major 4 competition will be electrifying right out of the gate. 

Sixth place Seattle Surge has found new life since the arrival of rookie standout Jovan "04" Rodriguez, and with Jordan "Abuzah" François taking over the Main AR reins, this team’s ceiling has risen exponentially over the last two qualifying cycles. Surge is still hunting for a big win against the Top 4 on LAN, but the potential is tangible, and even one upset could open up the floodgates. The veteran presence of Cuyler “Huke” Garland could be the X-factor that Surge needs to outlast the competition and crack into the top echelon with the big four. 

Standing in Surge’s way is the Las Vegas Legion, and they won’t go gentle into that good night. Legion is deadlocked with the Carolina Royal Ravens at 150 CDL points. Every map played at this event could be the difference between a shot at Championship glory or an extended summer vacation. Legion has thrown everything at the wall this season, making change after change in the hunt for a winning formula. Now, Attach and Nero must show that it was all worth it. Backed up by rookies Gio and oJohnny, the representatives of Sin City can take control of their fortune with a win.

Miami Heretics sit in fifth place after the season’s final weekend of online play. A handful of roster changes to start the year have set the league’s newest team behind pace in the standings — but not on the map. Vikul’s squad plays with a furious pace. Their goal is often to overwhelm the opposition, throwing caution to the wind at every turn. This approach took three Majors to work on LAN, but if Major 3 was an indication of their potential, the South Beach boys are finding their feet at the right time. 

Los Angeles Thieves will meet Heretics on the opening day of Major 4, marking another matchup with serious Champs implications. For Thieves, 15 CDL points stand between staying in the game and falling out of contention. However, the arrivals of Kremp and Nastie have put them on the right track, and a Winner’s Bracket berth at the most important tournament of the regular season means their pulse is still strong. Still underdogs in the grand picture, it’s unwise to count out Daniel “Ghosty” Rothe in the big moments. Thieves have their work cut out for them, but even a singular series win could be all they need to ice out the competition. 

The Carolina Royal Ravens and Minnesota RØKKR aren’t out of the picture yet. Both teams lurk in the Elimination Bracket, waiting to leapfrog whichever teams fall to them after the first day of action. Where Boston Breach would need a miracle to make it through, every team above them only needs a little luck. 

All it takes is one upset, risky map pick, or big play for the landscape of the tournament to change entirely. The margin of error is paper-thin. With so much on the line, every minute of Major 4 will be overflowing with drama. All will be settled when the event gets underway on June 27, so don’t miss a moment of the action.