In one of the most anticipated matches of the 2021 Call of Duty League season, the Atlanta FaZe ended the Toronto Ultra’s nine-match win streak in the winners bracket of the Stage Three Major.
FaZe, who lost to the Ultra in the grand finals of the Stage Two Major, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the rematch today. Despite CleanX’s game-high 35 kills, the Ultra fell on Garrison Hardpoint to open the series. And when it came to Checkmate Search and Destroy, the duo of aBeZy and Cellium, a pair that dominated in FaZe’s only Search and Destroy map yesterday, combined for 20 kills in a 6-2 victory on Checkmate.
The Ultra fought back to even the series with a 3-2 Garrison Control win and a 250-174 Raid Hardpoint win. On Garrison, strong performances from CleanX and Bance helped Toronto overcome a stiff challenge from Atlanta. When it came to Raid HP, however, Cammy had another strong respawn game, finishing with 30 kills.
FaZe’s ‘Tiny Terrors’ duo of Simp and aBeZy proved to be too strong for the Ultra during Raid Search and Destroy, though. The pair combined for 22 of their team’s 31 kills, each finishing with more than 2,000 damage in a 6-3 win.
The victory clinches a top-three finish for FaZe, making them the first and possibly only team to secure top three in each of the first three Major events this season. The Dallas Empire, who were swept by FaZe yesterday, must win three consecutive matches in the losers bracket to do the same.
Atlanta now await the winner of tonight’s New York Subliners vs. Florida Mutineers match. FaZe will play the winner tomorrow at 6:30pm CT after four losers bracket matches. The opening match of the day will be another edition of eClasico between the Dallas Empire and OpTic Chicago, the latter of which eliminated the Los Angeles Guerrillas in a hard-fought series earlier today.
The Los Angeles Thieves and London Royal Ravens will also collide tomorrow. The Ravens upset the Minnesota RØKKR today, marking the first time London has not finished in the bottom four of a Major this season.
