Article:CDL New York Winners and Losers

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The dust has just about settled on the New York home series so it's time to look back at the weekend and talk about our Winners and Losers.

Winners
New York Subliners: How could they not be first on this list? I'll be the first to admit that prior to the New York home series I couldn't see past a FaZe or Huntsmen win. If I was hard pushed to select from a side outside of those two, though, I would have expected the Subliners to pick up the pieces. But they didn't have to pick up any pieces did they? They were the ones making the mess! They walked through RØKKR on day one before losing out in a game five against the Huntsmen. They then went on to face the Royal Ravens in the knockout round, who they dispatched 3-1. That took them comfortably through to the semifinals, where they then beat Toronto Ultra 3-0. So they made it to their home series final. They'd demolished two of their closest rivals in the standings and easily eliminated a resurgent Ultra. But, the big bad Huntsmen now stood in their way. A side who had not only beat them earlier in the tournament, but were also coming in hot off the back of a 3-0 drubbing of FaZe. Everyone was prepared for a bloodbath... and that's exactly what we witnessed... except the victim was not who we expected. The Subliners outplayed the Huntsmen on every map and in almost every exchange when it mattered. Attach was asked before the game if he was 'nervous' about facing the Huntsmen again. I think the scoreline kind of answered that one. 3-0 to the Subliners and they become only the second team to win their home series event. Nervous? Yeah. Nervous for any team that has to face the Subliners.

Paris Legion: OK. So they're still technically 'losers' in the nicest possible sense. They were unceremoniously dumped out of the event by a rampant FaZe. But, crucially, they ended a three month drought to even get to that drubbing! They 3-0'd the Los Angeles Guerrillas to finally end the memes and endless trolling they normally endure on a daily basis. Even Miles Ross and the casting team got in on the action prior to their matchup with LA. Dropping such gems as "since Paris Legion's last win approximately 32 million babies have been born, U.S national debt has increased to £3 trillion and the Florida Mutineers have double their CDL points". It's all meant in good fun, but it must hurt when they're working incredibly hard every single day. For now, though, the mocking will stop and they can look ahead to potentially picking up some more crucial points this weekend at the London home series.

Toronto Ultra: Again... technically 'losers', but they didn't play like losers. The Ultra, like many teams around them, are starting to heat up ahead of Champs. Cammy and CleanX were absolute demons this weekend. CleanX, in particular, has helped Ultra become a serious threat against any team in the league. The standout performance of the weekend was, of course, their game five victory over Atlanta FaZe. The only thing that stood between them and a final appearance was the Subliners, who just so happened to be a team on an absolute rampage. It will be interesting to see how Ultra shape up at the final regular season event of the year... their own home series.

Losers
Atlanta FaZe: It feels weird to describe FaZe as losers. all year long (with the possible exception of the last home series) they have been the benchmark and the team to beat. They received plenty of heat in the run up to this event as it was reported that they were planning on breaking GAs and running with the AUG. They didn't do that in the end, and they really didn't need to with ABeZy shooting through people as if they were made of paper. So, what exactly went wrong? It's hard to pinpoint really. Lots of minor errors are starting to creep into their game and teams are capitalising on it. As a result they've lost their early season invincibility. Teams are now facing up to FaZe and thinking 'we can beat you'. That's exactly what Ultra did and that's certainly what the Huntsmen did. To be destroyed in the way they were against Huntsmen, which was a match-up everyone has been salivating at the prospect of for months, is incredibly embarrassing. This is really not the time for FaZe to start going cold. They only have more chance in the regular season now to flex their muscles before Champs.

Minnesota RØKKR: Do you remember when this squad were being touted as the fourth 'big' squad of the CDL behind FaZe, Huntsmen and Empire? Seems like a lifetime ago now doesn't it? OK, credit where it's due, going to a game five with the Royal Ravens is nothing to be embarrassed about. Nor is being brushed aside by the Subliners. But... it's another event and another finish outside the prize pool. People are quick to mock Paris Legion for not winning since April, but the RØKKR haven't finished in the top four since April. For a team that placed in the top four in four consecutive events at the start of the year, it's just not good enough. the switch to online has certainly hurt them more than any other squad, but, with Champs confirmed online they really need to change something or they'll be going home empty handed.

Los Angeles Guerrillas: *Insert my expectations were low but holy shit meme here. You can't be getting swept by Paris Legion. They improved so much at the Minnesota home series, where they beat both Ultra and the Huntsmen. This weekend, though, was as rough as it gets. It's not just one step forward two steps back for the Guerrillas... this was about a million steps back.


 * CreditsLine1 = 'Written by Aaron Rook / Twitter - @AaronRook91'
 * ArticleTextShort=CDL New York 2020 Winners and Losers

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 * PublishDate=13th July, 2020
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