Toronto Ultra win $500K CDL Stage 2 Major: final placements, highlights, recap

The second Major of the 2021 Call of Duty League season is now in the books and the underdog Toronto Ultra stunningly emerged as champions after upsetting Atlanta FaZe in the Grand Final. Everything you need to catch up on all the action can be found below.

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• Ultra upset FaZe in Grand Final 5-3, win $200,000 & 75 CDL Points.
• First full European roster to win a major tournament since Splyce in 2017.
• Empire & ROKKR round out top-four; OpTic finish tied for fifth.

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JUMP TO SECTION:

• Final Placements
• Grand Final recap & highlights
• All scores, highlights, daily recaps
  • Final bracket
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
  • Day 5
• Format & info
• Teams & rosters

How Toronto Ultra won the CDL Stage 2 Major

Not many expected Ultra to even make it out of the first round of the Winners Bracket, let alone complete one of the more historic underdog runs in competitive Call of Duty history.

A first-round upset of OpTic set the tone for their Major, and although they lost to FaZe in the second round, they were able to recover with big wins over both Thieves and ROKKR in the Losers Bracket.

Then came their Losers Final matchup vs Empire, and once again they defied expectations with a stunning 3-1 win before pulling an even bigger rabbit out of their hat in the Grand Final vs FaZe.

CDL Stage 2 Major: Final Placements

The $500,000 prize pool is split between the top eight teams, with the winner getting $200K and 75 CDL Points. Teams who finish 7th or below do not get any prize money.

Grand Final highlights & recap

FaZe and Ultra traded blows over the first two maps – Atlanta taking the first Hardpoint comfortably before Toronto answered back with a pretty dominant showing on Miami S&D.

But it was the third map was that caught a lot of fans by surprise after Ultra won their first respawn mode vs FaZe this entire season to take a 2-1 lead.

Ultra’s lead set the stage for a potential massive upset but the boys in red answered quickly and decisively, dominating Apocalypse HP before winning a big S&D on Moscow.

The game five S&D was a whirlwind of emotion: Atlanta took a big 4-0 lead before Toronto stunningly reeled off five straight rounds, and the map ultimately came down to Round 11, which saw Arcitys pull off a gutsy 1v1 clutch for the win.

Now having lost back-to-back maps, Ultra had to stem the bleeding and did they ever. First, they annihilated FaZe on Raid Control thanks to a performance for the ages from CleanX, who went on the type of killing spree that’s rarely seen in professional CoD.

That was followed by a similarly monstrous effort on Express S&D, as this time it was Bance’s turn to wow the fans, going 10-0 and leading Toronto to a rare 6-0 map win for a 4-3 series lead.

With momentum fully on their side and just one more map win away from completing a historic tournament run, Ultra seized on the opportunity with another masterclass on Checkmate HP, decimating the league’s best team to secure the Stage 2 Major victory.

CDL Stage 2 Major: Results, highlights, recaps, bracket

Here is the finalized bracket for the Major; where each team started in the bracket depended on where they finished in their Stage 2 groups.

Day 1 — Wednesday, April 7

Match 1: New-look Thieves make dominant statement

Not many predicted Thieves would win their opening match at the Stage 2 Major after their massive struggles and an impromptu lineup change, but the new-look LA roster shut down their doubters with a massive sweep of Legion. Drazah, who replaced SlasheR in the lineup, excelled in the series, dropping a 1.72 K/D in his return to the CDL.

Match 2: Mutineers eliminate red-hot Guerrillas

After a monster week with wins against FaZe and Thieves, many had slated Guerrillas as the likeliest team to make a Losers Bracket run. Well, that prediction is now out of the window after Mutineers handed them a surprise 3-0 loss, capped off by a very strong performance on Control.

https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1379905613497503748

Day 2 —Thursday, April 8

Empire made the rest of the league aware that they’re back to their championship form with a dominant sweep of Subliners, including a massive 6-0 on Express S&D. With the win, Dallas improved to 3-0 vs New York on the year, including back-to-back sweeps in the two Majors.

A big upset in the first round saw Ultra send OpTic down to the Losers Bracket with a big upset victory. It looked as though the Green Wall would stay hot after taking the first map, but three in a row from Toronto threw the Winners Bracket into chaos.

https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1380275172595404802

It looked as though LA Thieves’ resurgence would be limited to a single match after they went down 0-2 to Royal Ravens, but a resilient effort saw them win the final three maps to complete the reverse sweep, ensuring their survival for at least one more round of the tournament.

Match 4: Surge look strong in elimination of Mutineers

Surge continued their recently improved form with a convincing 3-1 win over Mutineers, taking the final three maps after losing the first Hardpoint. A couple of key moments decided the match: first the big Round 11 on Express S&D and then the furious final few moments of the Checkmate Hardpoint.

https://twitter.com/CODLeague/status/1380325917076127748

Day 3 – Friday, April 9

It took three tries, but Empire finally got their first win vs ROKKR and, just as with their first two matchups, this one went all the way to a game five. The Control proved to be a crucial turning point, as a Dallas win with just 0.1 seconds on the clock allowed them to come back from 0-2 down to take the map.

Atlanta FaZe took care of business in their first match of the Major as they defeated Ultra 3-1 to make it back-to-back Winners Finals. Toronto showed life with an impressive S&D to tie the series early, but FaZe’s massive 100-point comeback on Checkmate HP secured the series win.

OpTic survived for at least one more round in the Major after taking care of business vs Surge. A fast start for Seattle saw them win the first Hardpoint rather comfortably before three straight maps from the Green Wall won them the series, eliminating Surge in 7/8th place.

The cinderella story of LA Thieves rolled on into the third day at the Major, with the Subliners being the next victim of their sudden resurgence. NYSL never looked like they had a chance the entire match, as all four LA players were on their A-game across all three maps.

Day 4 – Saturday, April 10

Match 1: Ultra end Thieves’ Cinderella run

All good things must come to an end and Thieves’ magical run in the Losers Bracket was no exception. A strong effort from Ultra saw them secure a big 3-0 win, with the Moscow S&D proving to be huge as Toronto came back from 5-2 down to steal the map.

Match 2: ROKKR stun OpTic in last-second 1v3

An unbelievable, back-and-forth series went the full distance before a mindblowing moment in game five, round 11 saw ROKKR get through to the next round. Things got intense when OpTic’s 5-3 lead vanished late in the final S&D, but the Green Wall looked set to survive after gaining a 3v1 advantage – until they all somehow lined up for Accuracy to mow them down and secure the victory.

Match 3: FaZe beat Empire again to make another Grand Final

In a rematch of the Stage 1 Major Winners Bracket Final, FaZe replicated their success with a 3-1 win over Empire to make it to their second-straight Grand Final. Dallas did avoid getting swept again after a strong win on Express S&D, but Atlanta was in full control after that, thanks to their superstar Simp having his way around the map.

Day 5 – Sunday, April 11

Match 1: Ultra dispose of ROKKR in biggest ‘Battle of the North’

The most important chapter of the Battle of the North rivalry saw Ultra taking care of business vs ROKKR to reach the Losers Bracket Final. ROKKR looked good in the opening Hardpoint but three straight maps from Toronto saw them seal the deal.

Match 2: Ultra stun Empire to reach Grand Final

Fully warmed up after beating Minnesota, Ultra stayed hot with a stunning upset over Empire. Once again, Toronto fell behind after Dallas took the first Hardpoint but they went on to win the next two maps before a massive 80+ point comeback on Raid HP sealed the series win.

CDL Stage 2 Major: Format & info

• Location: Online
• Prize pool: $500,000 (see prize pool section below for breakdown)
• Format: Double-elimination bracket
• Seeding determined by Stage 2 standings:
  • 1st place teams start in Winners Round 2
  • 2nd & 3rd place teams start in Winners Round 1
  • 4th place teams start in Losers R2
  • 5th & 6th place teams start in Losers R1
• CDL Points: Based on placement (see placements section below for breakdown)
• Maps & Modes:
  • Hardpoint: Apocalypse, Checkmate, Garrison, Moscow, Raid
  • Search & Destroy: Checkmate, Express, Miami, Moscow, Raid
  • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid
• Series are best-of-five (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D)

CDL Stage 2 Major: Teams & rosters

There’s one major roster change to keep an eye on during the Major as LA Thieves have benched SlasheR for Drazah.

Note: Starting lineups are not confirmed until the start of each match.

For more information about the current Call of Duty League season, make sure to visit our CDL 2021 hub, where you’ll find a full schedule of all events, a breakdown of the season format, and more.