The New York Subliners battled their way through the win-or-go-home lower bracket and got revenge on the Seattle Surge by winning the grand final 4-1 to claim the Call of Duty League Major 1 title on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
New York had lost 3-1 to Seattle on Saturday in the second round of the upper bracket to drop into the lower half. After beating the Las Vegas Legion to wrap up their Saturday, the Subliners entered Sunday needing three wins to reach glory and a $200,000 grand prize.
The Subliners beat the Toronto Ultra 3-2 in the de facto fourth-place game, took down the Atlanta FaZe 3-1 in the elimination final and defeated the Surge in the best-of-seven grand final.
Toronto struck first against New York by winning 250-236 on Hotel Hardpoint, but the Subliners took Hotel Search and Destroy 6-3 and Hotel Control 3-0. The Ultra evened the match 250-139 on Mercado Hardpoint, but New York pulled out a 6-2 triumph on Fortress Search and Destroy to survive and advance.
Meanwhile, the Surge beat the FaZe 3-2 in the winners bracket final to secure their spot in the grand final. The Surge opened with a 250-204 win on Embassy Hardpoint but the FaZe took Embassy Search and Destroy 6-2. Seattle moved back ahead by taking Hotel Control 3-1, but Atlanta won on Fortress Hardpoint 250-234. The decisive map was El Asilo Search and Destroy, where Seattle eked out a 6-4 win.
In the elimination final, the Subliners got to stay on the Breenbergh Hotel map and opened with a 250-199 win over the FaZe on Hotel Hardpoint. Atlanta took Hotel Search and Destroy 6-4, but New York blanked Atlanta 3-0 on Hotel Control before finishing it off with a 250-210 victory on Fortress Hardpoint.
The Subliners won three straight close results to kick off the grand finals: 250-248 on Hotel Hardpoint, 6-4 on Mercado Search and Destroy and 3-2 on Hotel Control. The Surge stayed alive with a 250-231 victory at Mercado Hardpoint, but the Subliners prevailed 6-2 on Embassy Search and Destroy to win the championship.
Cesar “Skyz” Bueno led New York on Sunday, amassing a combined plus-1.12 kills-to-deaths ratio (197 kills, 176 deaths) over the Subliners’ three matches. Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley of the Subliners was named tournament MVP.
Prize pool:
1. New York Subliners — $200,000, 65 CDL points
2. Seattle Surge — $120,000, 50 points
3. Atlanta FaZe — $80,000, 40 points
4. Toronto Ultra — $40,000, 30 points
5-6. Los Angeles Thieves, Las Vegas Legion — $20,000, 20 points
7-8. Florida Mutineers, Minnesota Rokkr — $10,000, 10 points
9-12. Los Angeles Guerrillas, OpTic Texas, LAG Academy, Elevate — no money or points
13-16. Decimate Gaming, Pollodrom, London Royal Ravens, Boston Breach — no money or points
–Field Level Media
