LA Thieves, FaZe, G2, OpTic advance to upper semis at CDL Major 4

Los Angeles Thieves, FaZe Vegas, G2 Minnesota and OpTic Texas advanced into the upper-bracket semifinals with victories during a busy first day of playoff action at the Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major on Friday in Nanterre, France.

The top-seeded Thieves, the only unbeaten team in qualifying at 5-0, swept the Carolina Royal Ravens. They’ll next face FaZe Vegas on Saturday for a spot in the upper-bracket final.

Minnesota and Texas will face off in the other semifinal after wins over the Riyadh Falcons and Boston Breach, respectively.

Riyadh, which finished as the No. 2 seed in qualifying, was stunningly eliminated later in the day when they fell 3-0 to Toronto KOI in a first-round match in the lower bracket.

Toronto then beat Boston to become the first of four teams to reach the lower-bracket quarterfinals. Those matches will be set and then contested on Saturday.

The 12 Call of Duty League teams played five qualifying matches apiece to determine seeding for the fourth major of the season, which is being held through Sunday with a $365,000 prize pool. The winning team earns $150,000 and 100 CDL points. All matches are best-of-five until Sunday’s best-of-seven grand final.

Los Angeles completed the only upper-bracket quarterfinal sweep with a 250-129 win on Den Hardpoint, a 6-4 Fringe Search and Destroy triumph and a dominant 8-0 Den overload victory.

FaZe Vegas bested Paris Gentle Mates 3-1 with wins in the final three matches. After Paris opened with a 250-172 Sake Hardpoint win, Vegas rallied with a 6-3 Fringe Search and Destroy victory followed by 5-4 Scar Overload and 250-207 Scar Hardpoint wins to advance.

G2 Minnesota sent Riyadh into the lower bracket after nearly blowing a 2-0 lead. Minnesota jumped ahead with a 250-204 Colossus Hardpoint win and a 6-1 Hacienda Search and Destroy runaway. The Falcons rallied, though, by claiming a 3-1 Scar Overload win and a 250-215 Scar Hardpoint triumph. Minnesota denied the comeback bid with a 6-4 Den Search and Destroy victory.

OpTic Texas split the first two matches, winning 250-141 on Hacienda Hardpoint before losing 6-2 on Hacienda Search and Destroy. Texas defeated Boston on the next two maps to finish the win, 5-3 on Den Overload and 250-208 on Sake Hardpoint.

In the lower-bracket elimination matches, the Miami Heretics dropped the first two matches but rallied for a 3-2 defeat of the Carolina Royal Ravens, Paris swept Cloud9New York 3-0, Toronto swept Riyadh 3-0 and Boston outlasted Vancouver Surge for a 3-2 victory.

Toronto finished off its second sweep of the day in the final match, eliminating Boston behind a 250-165 Sake Hardpoint victory, a 6-3 Fringe Search and Destroy win and a 4-2 Scar Overload clincher.

Saturday schedule

Upper-bracket semifinals

–Los Angeles Thieves vs. FaZe Vegas

–G2 Minnesota vs. OpTic Texas

Lower bracket Round 2

–Miami Heretics vs. Paris Gentle Mates

Lower-bracket quarterfinals

–Toronto KOI vs. upper-bracker semifinal loser

–Miami/Paris winner vs. upper-bracket semifinal loser

Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major prize pool (Money winnings, CDL points)

1. $150,000, 100 — TBD

2. $90,000, 75 — TBD

3. $50,000, 60 — TBD

4. $30,000, 45 — TBD

5-6. $15,000, 30 — TBD

7-8. $7,500, 15 — Boston Breach, TBD

9-12. no money, no points — Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Riyadh Falcons, Vancouver Surge

–Field Level Media