Can Atlanta FaZe save Their Legacy? CDL Preview Show

With the CDL Stage 3 Major set to kick off, Reverse Sweep hosts Katie Bedford, Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt and Jonathan ‘Pacman’ Tucker look ahead to the huge event and discuss their expectations, prediction,s and biggest storylines.

With Atlanta FaZe and Toronto Ultra continuing to dominate the Call of Duty League, Enable and Pacman assess each team’s biggest assets, as well as how outsider teams such as New York Subliners and LA Thieves can push to reach their level.

With the Stage 3 Major firmly on the eyes of the Call of Duty community, the Reverse Sweep CDL Preview Show first looks at the reigning champions.

Will Toronto Ultra go back-to-back?

Fans and analysts alike see no other option but Atlanta or Toronto winning it all at the Major, with a spot at the top of the power rankings and the title of ‘best team in the game’ on the line.

With the two expected to meet in Winner’s Bracket round 2, they’ll both have to be on their absolute A-game to get the better of the other, and while Enable thinks Toronto are likely to take the cake, Pacman says there’s some pressure on FaZe.

He says: “The cool thing about this is if FaZe beat Empire, they play Toronto in the second round. FaZe get to protect their own record. What more could you ask for? Right now, this FaZe is scary, and between these two it’s like clash of the titans.”

The OpTic Chicago conundrum

OpTic have found themselves in a pretty shocking situation, especially by their standards. Starting in the Loser’s Bracket, it’s very possible that they don’t place inside the top eight, especially if they go on to meet Dallas Empire or Atlanta in Round 3.

• Read More: Scump claims OpTic Chicago “don’t suck” despite results

“You don’t have time anymore to have a rough weekend,” Enable says of the struggling team. “Everyone’s got to be playing lights out from here on until the end of the season. It’s going to be an insane Major.”

Pacman backs Enable up, saying that this is “Champs time” and OpTic need to find form at this point, especially if they won’t make a roster change.

ARs vs SMGs

Recent updates have seen the Krig 6 and assault rifles across the board brought up a notch, and as a result, 8 of the top 10 Stage 3 KDs were assault rifle players. The only exceptions are Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr and Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez.

Enable says, though, this only highlights the importance of a great sub duo. “There’s a lot of great AR players, and I feel like you can’t say the same for subs. That’s why it’s so important to have such a great sub duo.”

Players to watch: Huke, Shotzzy & Clayster

“Huke needs to perform,” Enable says. “If LAT want to win, Huke has to be great… If they can get that consistency out of Huke, they’ll be a very scary team.” Speaking of dominant subs, Huke needs to reach his Stage 1 level if the Thieves want to win. That isn’t lost on our Reverse Sweep hosts, and it definitely won’t be lost on Huke and the team either.

Pacman looks to a similar player, with Huke’s former teammate Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro. “Shotzzy hit a point last year where he was the best player in the world… He hasn’t hit that point yet. He’s been fine, but for Dallas to reach that next level, it’s going to have to be him.”

Finally, Katie says her eyes will be on James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks at the Stage 3 Major. “[At the Stage 2 Major] I felt like I got to watch Clay give up. I felt like I watched the light die in his eyes… I want to see Clay still be able to bring those vibes and that composure.”

Bold prediction: Subliners, OpTic make the run

In Call of Duty, anything can happen on any given day. While the best usually prevail, that isn’t always the case, and Enable and Pacman expect some upsets at the Stage 3 Major.

• Read More: 5 players to watch during the CDL 2021 Stage 3 Major

While Pacman says that he says Subliners making it into the grand final, beating either Toronto or Atlanta on the way, Enable says Chicago could make the run through loser’s bracket and place in the top four.

With Toronto and Atlanta such heavy favorites, both these predictions are pretty bold — but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

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