While the most dominant team in Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying had the day off on Sunday, the rest of the field tried to separate themselves and close in on a playoff spot.
Mission accomplished for some teams.
A day that began with four teams sitting at .500 ended with only team holding a break-even record and clear line of separation between the sixth and seventh spots in the standings with one weekend remaining.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
OpTic Texas is lapping the field, sitting at 9-0 and holding a three-game lead with only two to play. The Miami Heretics took advantage of the schedule — and got some help from the Riyadh Falcons — to close in on grabbing the No. 2 spot in the standings, beating the lowly Vancouver Surge 3-0. Miami won 250-199 on Exposure Hardpoint, 6-2 on Den Search and Destroy, and 5-2 on Den Overload to improve to 6-3.
G2 Minnesota bumped up to 5-4 with a 3-1 win over Boston, winning 250-244 on Den Hardpoint before the Breach answered with a 6-4 win on Colossus Search and Destroy. Minnesota jumped in front again with a 2-1 win on Exposure Overload then closed out the match with a 250-130 win on Colossus Hardpoint.
The Riyadh Falcons jumped into the mix with a 3-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Thieves that put both teams at 5-4. Riyadh took Den Hardpoint 250-244 to start the match, then won 6-3 on Raid Search and Destroy and 5-4 on Scar Overload to put the match away.
FaZe Vegas swept the Carolina Royal Ravens to put both teams at 4-5, winning 250-137 on Scar Hardpoint, 6-4 on Den Search and Destroy, and 5-1 on Scar Overload.
The final weekend of qualifying begins with a trio of matches on Friday followed by four on Saturday and four more on Sunday.
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying Week 6 Friday matches
–Paris Gentle Mates vs. FaZe Vegas
–Cloud9 New York vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
–G2 Minnesota vs. Vancouver Surge
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 9-0, +20
2. Miami Heretics, 6-3, +9
3. Riyadh Falcons, 5-4, +5
4. G2 Minnesota, 5-4, 0
5. Los Angeles Thieves, 5-4, +5
6. Toronto KOI, 5-5, +2
7. FaZe Vegas, 4-5, -1
8. Paris Gentle Mates, 4-5, -2
9. Carolina Royal Ravens, 4-5, -3
10. Vancouver Surge, 3-6, -10
11. Boston Breach, 3-7, -10
12. Cloud9 New York, 2-7, -15
–Field Level Media