The Call of Duty League 2021 regular season is over, with the Stage 5 Major being perhaps the most shocking rollercoaster of an event of the CDL era so far.
The Minnesota RØKKR — who have failed to truly make an impact over the last couple of stages — emerged victorious, taking down Toronto Ultra in a best of 9 reverse sweep in the grand final.
They also beat both Dallas Empire and Atlanta FaZe on their way to the final, taking down all of the CDL’s top dogs in a run of results literally nobody predicted.
But how has that impacted the Reverse Sweep power rankings? Katie Bedford and Jonathan ‘Pacman’ Tucker discuss what has been a huge change of the guard in the league.
CDL power rankings after Stage 5 Major
This week sees some of the biggest changes in the power rankings since the season started, with so many results going completely against the grain.
- Read More: CDL Stage 5 Major Highlights
Here’s how the Reverse Sweep crew picked their latest rankings.
12. LA Guerrillas (-)
Another rough year for the Guerrillas will have them seriously questioning what they have to do next season. No Champs, barely a win on the board, the LA outfit might need to splash the cash to see success in 2022.
Pacman: “Tough season for them, but I think we’ve beat down LAG enough.”
11. London Royal Ravens (-2)
London failed to win a map in their sole match against Seattle Surge, sending the team packing back to the UK and with some serious food for thought. With no Champs to think about, these players have a lot of time to figure out their next steps.
Pacman: “Since [Afro] played so well, I think that’s an obvious and solid potential building block for the future.”
10. Paris Legion (-)
Paris lost to Seattle in the opening round, seeing off what has been a disappointing and overall pretty dull year for the organization. They’ve got some work to do ahead of the 2022 season.
Pacman: “Individually they have the talent, it’s just as a unit they never clicked together.”
9. Florida Mutineers (-3)
Florida lost 3-2 to New York to see out their Major hopes, and their hot-and-cold gameplay continues to leave fans and critics alike completely baffled.
Pacman: “They lost to a team that has not looked good and, in general, Florida on LAN is a disappointment. I don’t think they scare anyone.”
8. New York Subliners (-)
The Subliners have been gradually dropping off since Clayster announced he was taking a break. Although they beat both LA Guerrillas and Florida Mutineers, they were both 3-2 scorelines that weren’t entirely convincing.
Pacman: “You have to feel for the New York organization and what they’ve been through. But there’s no time for that, they have to get the job done.”
7. Seattle Surge (+4)
Seattle Surge are LANimals? At both the Stage 4 and Stage 5 Major, Seattle looked considerably better, even taking down Atlanta FaZe to claim a 5-6th placement this past weekend.
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Pacman: “Seattle has proven to us that LAN makes a huge difference for them. It sparks something in them & their gameplay. They’re the only team that made this great LAN adjustment.”
6. LA Thieves (+1)
LA Thieves took Toronto to a game five and beat New York Subliners at the Stage 5 Major. They look like they’re getting better, but whether it’s enough to truly compete at the big one is a big doubt.
Pacman: “I think they can go beyond where they are now because their individual talent is absurd. If it clicks on the right day, it can work, just like we saw with RØKKR.”
5. Dallas Empire (-3)
After weeks of looking like they had improved drastically, even being coined as championship contenders, Dallas struggled relentlessly at the Major and will be back to the drawing board for Champs.
Pacman: “For me, everything was pointed in the right direction and looking good… Then when I watched them play, it was a very flat version of Dallas.”
4. OpTic Chicago (-)
OpTic look like they’ve made improvements, but they’re still not capable of breaking the upper echelon of teams. Victory over Dallas will be huge for the team, who achieved their highest placing yet in 3rd.
Pacman: “OpTic is finally showing us what we talked about all season, and they finally hit that next gear, it’s just disappointing they ran into a red-hot Toronto.”
3. Atlanta FaZe (-2)
The team that has been seemingly immune to losing had an event to forget, with straight losses at the hands of Minnesota RØKKR and Seattle Surge knocking them out in 7-8th — the franchise’s worst placing in two seasons of the CDL. They drop out of the top two for the first time this season.
Pacman: “The way that they lost… That’s the first time we saw some of FaZe’s players look human.”
2. Toronto Ultra (+1)
Toronto had the tournament as good as wrapped up, until the biggest collapse in CoD history occurred. They looked formidable throughout, and they will still be one of the favorites heading into Champs.
Pacman: “Toronto played so amazing. All that’s going to be remembered is their grand collapse but, in general, they’re such a good team and so consistent. They’ve proven they belong at the top.”
1. Minnesota ROKKR (+4) — Kontrol Freek Biggest Mover
Minnesota’s win was not something anybody expected to see, but they played near-flawless Call of Duty for the entirety of the event. Even 0-4 down in the grand final, we saw an unprecedented level of composure to bring it back, in a truly historic matchup that saw Standy earn himself an MVP accolade in our Team of the Week.
Pacman: “This was probably the most unlikely win simply because of their road. I had to move them up to number one because they beat all the best teams in the game.”
So, those are the Reverse Sweep CDL power rankings following the Stage 5 Major.
Previous CDL Power Rankings
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