The Toronto Ultra clinched a spot in the Call of Duty League Stage Five Major grand finals today after knocking off OpTic Chicago in four games in the losers finals. They’ll face off against the Minnesota RØKKR for a chance at the Stage Five Major championship.
Despite a hostile environment that felt like an away match, Toronto never succumbed to the pressure. Though the oldest member of the Ultra, Bance, is only 23 years old, the team seems to live for big pressure moments and they delivered yet again. That’s par for the course, according to the team’s head coach, MarkyB.
“Although they’re all pretty young, I think they’ve got a good amount of experience at the same time,” he said of his young Ultra team. “CleanX and Insight competed together at the 2019 World Championships for Black Ops 4. I think they’ve played in front of the big crowds and stuff like that before.”
The experience has paid off for Toronto, who secure a spot in the grand finals of a Major for the second time this season. They knocked off Atlanta FaZe back in Stage Two to clinch the title in their only other grand finals appearance in 2021. Led by CleanX and Cammy, who posted 1.12 and 1.15 series K/Ds, respectively, Toronto knocked off Chicago in four games.
CleanX put on an otherworldly performance in the final game on Checkmate Hardpoint, posting a 1.45 K/D to help the Ultra close out the series. His slaying was extremely important against a team like Chicago, who have a fantastic SMG duo in Scump and Envoy. CleanX has been playing like one of the best SMG players in the world over the last few stages—and his head coach agrees.
“I think that he’s been our standout player for us,” MarkyB said of his star SMG. “I think other SMGs have a tendency to maybe slip in and out of the way they play. He just consistently plays the same way, and he’s kind of emotionless in a way. Like you said, he doesn’t get too hyped up when we’re winning or too down when we’re losing.”
It’s impressive to watch CleanX, such a young player, play as fast as he does, process information as quickly as he does, and never get flustered. He has a maturity beyond his years that’s been crucial to his and Toronto’s success this season.
For OpTic, this loss means their run at the Stage Five Major comes to a close after getting to the losers finals for the first time this season. Their third-place finish marks their best placing in the 2021 CDL season, and while the loss to Toronto will sting, they look like a team that’s trending up. Rather than falling off at the tail end of the season, like we’ve sometimes seen from OpTic in the past, they’ve been playing their best Call of Duty at the right time.
Toronto are taking on Minnesota in the Stage Five Major grand finals right now. You can watch that showdown on the official Call of Duty League YouTube channel.
