The Atlanta FaZe claimed the Call of Duty League’s Boston Major championship tonight after knocking off the Los Angeles Thieves 4-2.
In what was a rematch of the season decider from 2022 that saw the Thieves down FaZe to claim their first world championship in CoD, it was only fitting these teams met with a championship up for grabs all over again.
In the series’ first map, Mercado Hardpoint, it was a back-and-forth affair the entire way, with the match going all the way down to the wire. Los Angeles continued to stay hot, jumping out to a big lead in the map’s first Hardpoint. Atlanta started to heat up, though, and had the lead late in the match, needing just one more rotation and hold to strike first in the series. But the Thieves found a way to win the rotation and pick up the remaining kills needed to keep FaZe off the point and closed the map out 250-248.
The teams started the series’ second map, Hotel Search and Destroy, by trading two round win-streaks. With the map tied at 2-2, Atlanta turned the heat up. They grabbed three straight rounds, including a massive swing round when SlasheR found himself in a one-vs-two. The longtime CoD veteran held his ground when two members of L.A. rushed him, using his TAQ-56 to grab both kills and give his team a dominant 4-2 lead.
FaZe went on to win the map 6-3 behind a monster performance from eventual Major Two MVP Simp, who sported a 14-4 stat line in the victory.
Staying with Hotel, the series’ third map featured the Control game mode with the series locked. After doing their job on defense in the first round, L.A. found themselves with a potential break on offense, needing just two ticks at the B point to take a 2-0 lead on the map. But Atlanta’s iconic Tiny Terror duo, Simp and aBeZy, shut down any perceived opening the Thieves had to bring it to a tied 1-1 game.
In a surprising turn of events, both teams swapped offensive round victories. But with FaZe notching more ticks of progress than the Thieves, they were awarded the coveted defensive stand in round five. Atlanta did not waste that opportunity, choking L.A. out with a dominant defensive performance to take the map and a 2-1 lead.
The Hotel Hardpoint was eerily similar to Mercado Hardpoint in map one, with L.A. jumping out to a big lead in the early goings again. This time, though, Atlanta never brought it close. The Thieves rode massive 27-18 and 24-20 performances from Octane and Kenny, respectively, to a 250-180 victory to tie the series at two maps apiece.
The series’ fifth map, El Asilo Search and Destroy, was a wildly entertaining one with each team having massive moments in a momentum-turning game. Cellium made huge plays in the first two rounds, winning multiple clutch situations to give his team a 2-0 lead. But then, L.A. struck back, winning the next four to take a 4-2 lead. But Atlanta found another two rounds to tie it up. Each team traded and sent it to a decisive round 11 that saw Atlanta get the bomb down and eliminate the side of Thieves.
The El Asilo win handed them a vital 3-2 lead in the decider.
The series stayed with El Asilo, this time for another Control. Atlanta started on defense and was absolutely suffocating in the early goings, at one point holding a 29-19 lives advantage. There was nowhere for L.A. to go and they were unable to grab a single tick of progress at either point.
When Atlanta were on offense, they were quick to grab the A point, giving themselves more than two minutes to work with to capture the remaining B point. Thanks to a big two-piece from Slasher to open the site, FaZe were able to stack and capture the point and found themselves one defensive round win from a championship.
They weren’t as dominant in the third as they were in the first, but they were darn close. L.A. did manage a single tick, but that’s all they got. The FaZe ARs, SlasheR and Cellium, made massive plays all over the map to clinch the round, map, and championship.
Atlanta’s win is the organization’s first CoD title since the team won the CDL Championship at the conclusion of the 2021 Cold War season. With the Boston championship, Atlanta have vaulted to first place in the 2023 CDL standings.
