(Gray News) – The Miami Heretics are hosting the third Major of the Call of Duty League’s (CDL) 2025 season in Boca Raton, Florida. Teams are competing for various chunks of the prize pool, as well as the ever-important CDL points, which determine whether they make the post-season. Majors distribute the most CDL points during the season, so teams lock in to either pad their current standing or make up lost ground. Beyond that is the legacy that winning a Major title could bring to a CDL team and the organization behind them.
Winners round one finished Thursday evening and wasn’t one of the more gripping bracket rounds in recent CDL history. Two of the matches ended up in a 3-0 sweep, while the other two matches saw a final record of 3-1. The two teams that emerged unscathed from their first matches of Major III are the Los Angeles Thieves and the Boston Breach. The Thieves beat the Carolina Royal Ravens, and the Breach beat OpTic Texas.
The other two teams that moved on to the second round of the winner’s bracket are the Miami Heretics and the Vancouver Surge. The Heretics beat the Toronto Ultra, and the Surge beat the Atlanta FaZe. Getting into the winners round two means receiving the luxury of skipping playing on Friday. So, while they rest, let’s check in on who has to fight for survival this afternoon in the elimination round one.
Major III schedule for Friday, April 25th:
- Atlanta FaZe vs. Cloud9 New York: 1:30 PM EST / 12:30 PM CST / 10:30 AM PST
- OpTic Texas vs. Vegas Falcons: 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
- Toronto Ultra vs. Los Angeles Guerrillas M8: 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
- Carolina Royal Ravens vs. Minnesota RØKKR: 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST
- (Winner of OpTic v. Falcons) vs. (Winner of FaZe v. Cloud9): 7:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM CST / 4:30 PM PST
Today’s first match is a relatively simple storyline. Will the Atlanta FaZe, the winners of Major II, bounce back after a subpar run in qualifiers and a tough round one loss, or will Cloud9 New York pounce on a vulnerable powerhouse? To answer, FaZe is the safer play to go with, as they always find a way to do damage at Majors. However, a break from the norm with Cloud9 may entice more drama into Major III.
OpTic Texas takes on the Vegas Falcons in Friday’s second match. The Falcons got their first match win of the season in the Major III qualifiers just a few weeks ago. Their overall match record this season is 1-22. Who did the Falcons beat to break their baffling streak of losses? None other than OpTic Texas. OpTic has been on the struggle bus since they stepped on the stage at Major I. They haven’t made it past the second round of the elimination bracket so far this season. And now the team sitting across from them, who hasn’t performed better than that, ever, finally realizes they can beat OpTic. OpTic needs to hold strong here, or they risk spiraling further down the standings and joining the Falcons outside of the postseason cutline.
Today’s match three doesn’t hold much weight in terms of the outcome’s uncertainty. Toronto Ultra should take down the Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 in this one. If that doesn’t happen, then it will be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. The Guerrillas were winless through the qualifiers and only have four series wins this season. Ultra is third in the season-long standings with over five times the series wins. Case in point, the Ultra has the upper hand in this series.
The Carolina Royal Ravens take on the Minnesota RØKKR in Friday’s penultimate series. This series is probably the most even matchup of the day. The Royal Ravens have an edge in terms of season-long consistency and performance, but they also struggled a bit in qualifiers. They remain the favorite in this matchup, but it should be the closest fight today.
The final match of the day will be between the winner of OpTic and the Falcons and the winner of FaZe and Cloud9. Most will expect to see another OpTic versus FaZe showdown in this match, but it’s far from guaranteed.
To see who makes it to Friday’s final match, tune in to the official CDL YouTube Channel, which livestreams every CDL matchup this weekend and across the season. Coverage should start 30 minutes before the first match of each day. Saturday holds the second round of the winners bracket, as well as the final match of elimination round two and both matches of elimination round three. Sunday is Finals day, holding the finals of both sides of the bracket and the Grand Final. Don’t miss any of the action on the journey to see who takes home the 2025 CDL Major III trophy.
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