FaZe & OpTic suffer most from removal of Checkmate S&D in CDL map rotation
ActivisionCheckmate Search and Destroy has been removed from the Call of Duty League map rotation ahead of Stage 4, with classic Black Ops 2 map Standoff taking its place. Now, teams like OpTic Chicago and Atlanta FaZe are among the biggest losers from its removal.
While many fans and players alike are happy to see Checkmate making its way out of the competitive map pool, this doesn’t come without wider implications across the entire CDL.
Players have been practicing Checkmate for months at this point, and some have become brilliant at it. On the other hand, though, some teams have had a dire experience on the map, and something new coming in would be hugely welcomed.
So, with Standoff making its way in, we take a look at which teams benefit the most and least from Checkmate’s removal.
ActivisionIt’s worth pointing out that every single team has played the map at least twice during the 2021 CDL season, except LA Guerrillas, who haven’t played it at all. They will likely be happy to see it removed from the rotation based on that alone.
The story isn’t the same for all teams, however. London Royal Ravens have failed to win the map once out of the three times they’ve played it, and Toronto Ultra only have one win out of four. On the top side of the table, FaZe and OpTic have each played it eight times, with seven and six wins respectively.
Here’s each team’s record on the map, courtesy of Atlanta FaZe analyst EasyMac:
| Team | Maps won | Maps lost | Win % |
| Atlanta FaZe | 7 | 1 | 87.50% |
| OpTic Chicago | 6 | 2 | 75.00% |
| Dallas Empire | 5 | 4 | 55.56% |
| New York Subliners | 5 | 4 | 55.56% |
| Minnesota RØKKR | 1 | 1 | 50.00% |
| Seattle Surge | 3 | 4 | 42.86% |
| Paris Legion | 1 | 2 | 33.33% |
| Florida Mutineers | 2 | 5 | 28.57% |
| LA Thieves | 1 | 3 | 25.00% |
| Toronto Ultra | 1 | 3 | 25.00% |
| London Royal Ravens | 0 | 3 | 0.00% |
| LA Guerrillas | 0 | 0 | — |
Perhaps the strangest stat is that of Toronto Ultra’s, considering their incredible S&D prowess and ability to take over maps. They’ll be hoping Standoff helps improve their map pool.
Obviously, at this point, Standoff is pretty much an unknown quantity. While most players will have experience on it, Black Ops Cold War is a completely different game to Black Ops 2, and players will have to adapt to that rather than how they played it all those years ago.
Whether it makes much of a difference on teams’ performances throughout CDL Stage 4 remains to be seen, but no doubt players will be split on the loss of the map.