Atlanta FaZe win $500K CDL Stage 1 Major: final placements, highlights, recap
The Call of Duty League’s first Major of the 2021 season has wrapped up with the Atlanta FaZe dominating their way to a massive victory of Dallas Empire in the Grand Final. Everything you need to catch up on all of the action can be found below.
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How Atlanta FaZe won the CDL Stage 1 Major
Atlanta FaZe demonstrated just how dominant they can be in what was nearly a flawless run at the Stage 1 Major.
Sweeps in the first two matches — including against the vaunted Dallas Empire — landed them spot in the Grand Final. There, they met the Empire again and exacted revenge for the 2020 Champs Grand Final, in which Dallas ripped Atlanta apart to win the inaugural championship.
The series wasn’t close, as FaZe won the first three maps before Empire got on the board and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way, finishing the best-of-nine final 5-2 to secure the season’s first Major victory.
#EZAFON TOP!@ATLFaZeare the#CDL2021Stage 1 Major Champions!
🥇@SimpXO🥇@aBeZy🥇@Cellium🥇@Arcitys🥇 Coach@JamesCrowderpic.twitter.com/eV0pGDIbNB
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)July 22, 2025
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CDL Stage 1 Major: Final Placements
The $500,000 prize pool was split between the top-eight teams at the Stage 1 Major, with $200K and 75 CDL Points going to the champions. Make sure to check out theupdated CDL 2021 standingsto see how these results affected the playoff picture.
Grand Final highlights & recap
It was all FaZe over the first three maps, which started with a dominant victory on Moscow Hardpoint before, followed by a pair of wins on S&D and Control. The Garrison Control win was especially impressive, considering how hard it is for teams to win on offense, but Atlanta broke through with a perfect synchronized attack.
Going back to their Winners Final sweep,@ATLFaZenow have SIX map wins in a row vs@DallasEmpire😮
Tough to imagine Empire ever getting dominated like this in a single day.#EZAF|#CDL2021pic.twitter.com/7EdplD0kc3
Empire finally got on the board with a dominant Hardpoint of their own – 250-104 on Checkmate – but they were unable to replicate that level of play in the following S&D, which FaZe cleaned up with a 6-1 demolishing.
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Dallas survived to see another map after taking Raid Control 3-0, looking as though they might creep back into the series. Unfortunately, the following map was another S&D, a mode that Atlanta has only lost once so far this season.
https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1368729357594791939
As expected, the boys in red took care of business in one-sided fashion, taking the Raid Search 6-2 to close out the Grand Final and secure themselves a Major victory.
CDL Stage 1 Major: Results, recaps, bracket & highlights
Here is the finalized bracket for the Major; where each team started in the bracket depended on where they finished in their Stage 1 group.
Day 1 — Wednesday, March 3
Match 1: Ultra eliminate Royal Ravens in five-match thriller
Despite facing the odds after a family emergency to Alexx forced them tosign veteran player Zedliterally last minute, the Royal Ravens somehow pushed the Ultra to a game five, where they ultimately fell short. The loss eliminated London in last-place, as their losing streak ballooned to six while Toronto snapped their own skid at four losses.
Match 2: Mutineers end strong to knock out Surge
The second of two elimination matches saw Florida Mutineers book their ticket to the next round after taking care of business against the Seattle Surge. After splitting the first two maps, Florida began asserting their dominance in the Control, thanks to some big plays from Owakening.
BIG WAKE 💪💪💪@Owakeninggoes huge to give@Mutineersa 2-1 lead!#CDL2021https://t.co/NjhldSzMAc
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)August 02, 2025
What followed was a masterclass performance from 2020 MVP finalist Skyz, who mowed down the Seattle players left and right to help Mutineers dominate the final Hardpoint and knock the Surge out of the Major.
🔥@CesarSkyzput on a SHOW in that final Hardpoint massacre!#F3arTheDeep|#CDL2021pic.twitter.com/vOaVtWQh8F
Day 2 —Thursday, March 4
Match 1: Guerrillas sweep first ‘Battle of LA’
The first Battle of LA of the 2021 season went the way of Guerrillas, who pulled off a stunning upset sweep of Thieves that not many could have seen coming. A crucial point in the match came during Round 11 of the game two S&D, which LAG clutched up to win and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
An insane ending to Round 11 puts@LAGuerrillasup 2-0 🤯#LAG|#CDL2021pic.twitter.com/AJu7QvGtA3
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)June 14, 2025
Match 2: OpTic look flawless in domination of Subliners
In a battle between two of the hottest teams from Super Week, it was OpTic who put in a virtually flawless performance to sweep Subliners and knock them down to the lower bracket. After two one-sided maps, Chicago secured the 3-0 thanks to a spectacular streak from their star-man Dashy.
DASHYYYYY 🔥🔥🔥@OpTicCHISWEEP Subliners!pic.twitter.com/qANksFXvbb
Match 3: Mutineers knock out Legion to keep rolling
The Florida Mutineers underachieved at CDL Super Week but they’ve looked a lot better in this Major after a strong 3-1 win eliminated Paris Legion from the tournament. After getting dominated in the initial Hardpoint, Florida reeled off three straight maps to secure a trip to the next round.
Match 4: Ultra edge out RØKKR in tight five-map series
Toronto Ultra survived elimination for a second straight day after defeating Minnesota RØKKR in an intense five-game series. Ultra had to make a comeback to secure survival, winning the final two maps, including a convincing 6-1 game five S&D to send the RØKKR packing.
Day 3 – Friday, March 5
Match 1: FaZe secure T3 after dismantling Guerrillas
The only unbeaten team in the league maintained their perfect record as Atlanta FaZe swept the LA Guerrillas to advance to the Winners Bracket final and secure a top-three placement. FaZe snuffed out any hope of a LAG comeback in the Control thanks to some nifty work from Arcitys in the final round.
Just@Arcitysdoing what Arcitys does, what a player 🔥#EZAF|#CDL2021pic.twitter.com/FCO00U1CJc
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)August 23, 2025
Match 2: Empire win first eClasico in thrilling fashion
The first OpTic Chicago vs Dallas Empire meeting of the season lived up to the hype and then some. Insane plays from both teams extended the series all the way to a game five, round 11 before the defending champions clutched up for the win and a trip to the Winners Final. OpTic dropped to the lower bracket, where they will face the winner of Thieves vs Ultra.
https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1367980166572556288
Match 3: Subliners reverse-sweep to eliminate Mutineers
After having been swept by OpTic on Thursday, Subliners looked like they might suffer a similar fate after going down 0-2 against the Mutineers. But NYSL showed resiliency and turned things around midway through the Control, not looking back on their way to just the second reverse sweep of 2021. The loss eliminated Florida at 7/8th place.
Match 4: Thieves end recent struggles with relentless sweep of Ultra
Thieves came into their match vs Ultra on a six-map losing streak, having been swept by Guerrillas in the first round of the Winners Bracket. This time, however, they asserted their dominance, and were able to secure the sweep after a last-gasp win in the Control. Toronto got eliminated with the defeat, finishing in 7/8th place.
WHAT A FINISH 😱#LATHIEVESWIN IT AT THE LAST SECOND!!!pic.twitter.com/r2xL9m5SHn
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)August 09, 2025
Day 4 – Saturday, March 6
Match 1: Subliners eliminate Guerrillas in textbook style
The Subliners keep rolling as they took down Guerrillas 3-1 to advance in the lower bracket and secure at least a top-four placement. It was a clinical series from New York, who recovered from the S&D loss to take care of business and secure the victory. LAG finish the Major in 5th/6th place with $20,000 and 30 CDL Points.
ANOTHER 1v3 from@Diamondcon_!!!
This rookie is turning out to be something special 💎#NYSL|#CDL2021https://t.co/OM3wgFF2Hh
Match 2: OpTic knock out Thieves in teams’ first-ever meeting
Turns out both Los Angeles teams would end up getting knocked out on Day 4 as OpTic Chicago got a huge 3-1 win over LA Thieves in the teams’ first-ever matchup in the CDL. The Green Wall put on a masterful display over the final two maps to secure a top-four placement. With the loss, Thieves finished the Major in 5th/6th place with $20,000 and 30 CDL Points.
Match 3: Subliners advance to Losers Final after stunning OpTic
In a rematch of the Winners Bracket R1 meeting between these two teams, it was Subliners who got the 3-0 sweep this time, stunning OpTic to secure a top-three placement and a spot in the Losers Final. An incredible 4v12 comeback on the Control sealed the victory and eliminated Chicago, who finished in 4th place with $30,000 and 40 CDL Points.
What an unbelievable effort from@Sublinersin that Control!
They were down 4v12 on lives and STILL won the round to secure the sweep 🤯#NYSL|#CDL2021pic.twitter.com/L7EYa5qKhB
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports)July 27, 2025
Day 5 – Sunday, March 7
ATL 6-1 (Moscow S&D); DAL 3-0 (Raid Control); ATL 6-2 (Raid S&D)
Match 1: FaZe demolish Empire in teams’ first meeting of season
A rematch of the 2020 CDL Championship Grand Final, it was FaZe who put Empire through the blender this time, stunning them with a one-sided sweep. ABeZy was the star of the show for Atlanta as per usual, securing his team a spot in the Grand Final with the victory.
[#CDL2021Major | Winners Final]@ATLFaZekeep rolling with a 6-2 S&D and now lead@DallasEmpire2-0!@aBeZywith a monster ace to secure the map win for#EZAF
📺:https://t.co/tRpXy9ssYXpic.twitter.com/c8zVZFW9YN
Match 2: Empire sweep to end Subliners’ magical run
The Subliners were undoubtedly the Cinderalla story of the Stage 1 Major but their fantastic run ended abruptly at the hands of the defending champions, who swept New York and eliminated them from the tournament. NYSL finished in third place with $80,000 and 50 CDL Points, while Dallas advanced to face FaZe again in the Grand Final.
[#CDL2021Major | Losers Final]
EMPIRE TAKE ROUND 11! What a play from@iLLeYYY🔥@DallasEmpirewin the final 3 S&D rounds to take a 2-0 lead against@Subliners.
📺:https://t.co/tRpXy9ssYXpic.twitter.com/7MFhdVTf1R
Format & info
Teams & rosters
All 12 teams are competing in the Stage 1 Major, but rosters are not finalized until right before the tournament begins.
For more information about the current Call of Duty League season, make sure to visit ourCDL 2021 hub, where you’ll find a full schedule of all events, a breakdown of the season format, and more.
