The Atlanta FaZe are just one series away from appearing in the Call of Duty League Championship’s grand final for the third consecutive season after knocking off the Seattle Surge tonight in a wildly entertaining series in 3-2 fashion.
The series started with one of the wildest finishes to a Hardpoint in competitive CoD history on Tuscan Hardpoint. With FaZe just two seconds from the 250 points needed to win the map, Mack made massive plays at the expiring Hardpoint to prevent Atlanta from closing it out, picking up two crucial kills and forcing the map to another hill. Pred, who was named 2022 CDL rookie of the year earlier in the day, won the rotation to the map’s first Hardpoint and went absolutely massive, picking up four consecutive kills to keep FaZe off the hill to pick up the last few seconds needed.
Seattle’s map win was massive and it appeared the Surge had all the momentum. But the defending CDL champions are incredible at fighting through adversity. Atlanta came out swinging in the series’ second map, Berlin Hardpoint, taking a swift 6-2 victory to even the match at one map apiece. With the series heading back to Tuscan, this time for Control, FaZe showed why they are the odds-on favorite to repeat as CDL champions this weekend. Atlanta were dominant in a 3-1 victory as aBeZy, Cellium, and Arcitys all went positive in the slaying category, posting 1.14, 1.22, and 1.69 K/Ds, respectively.
In the second Hardpoint of the series heading to Berlin, FaZe looked to put their heartbreaking loss in the first map behind them. Up 238-212, Atlanta looked well on their way to closing the series out in four maps and heading to the winners bracket finals. But the Surge went massive yet again, picking up crucial kills in the map’s second hill. Each member of Seattle picked off all four Atlanta players to clinch the map 250-244, giving them their second improbable victory in the series.
Related: Results for 2022 Call of Duty League Championship
“Both Hardpoints we were taking over, just a little miscommunication toward the end. We got three-pieced by Mack, he went huge for his team,” Arcitys, who posted a 1.14 K/D over the series’ five maps, said after the match. “But mistakes happen. It’s Vanguard, shit happens.”
Despite dropping the Hardpoints, Atlanta took game five, Tuscan, in round 11 to clinch the 3-2 series victory.
While the Hardpoint issues could be a concern for Atlanta, their ability to win Search and Destroy and Control maps will be vital for them moving forward. With the slaying ability of Cellium and aBeZy, and the cerebral gameplay of Simp and Arcitys, it’s only a matter of time before Atlanta gets back to their dominant ways in Hardpoint.
Atlanta will face the winner of tonight’s OpTic Texas vs. Los Angeles Thieves match tomorrow at 3:30pm CT for a shot at the grand finals of CoD Champs 2022. With the loss, Seattle will drop down to the elimination bracket and will face the Toronto Ultra tomorrow at 12:30pm CT.
