Favorite teams kick off the CDL Championship 2023 in style

The CDL Championship 2023 is underway, and the best eight teams of the season have played their first matches, where the favorites have started on the right foot with victories.

We are talking specifically about Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra, OpTic Texas, and New York Subliners, the four teams called protagonists in this season-ending CDL 2022/23 tournament. While it is true that all the matches were very close and balanced, there is no doubt that these teams took a step forward and were able to take the victories.

Let’s look at what happened on the first day of competition in the CDL Championship 2023.

#CDLChamps

▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 25% pic.twitter. com/8wsb87OPUh

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) June 16, 2023

New York Subliners apply dramatic reverse sweep to Minnesota RØKKR

The CDL Championship 2023 kicked off with a spectacular match between two teams that closed out the season in Major V with great play. The Subliners emerged as Major V champions, while the RØKKKR showed great play in their final games.

In this first game, the RØKKKR started strong by winning the first two maps of the series. However, the Subliners managed to get back on the scoreboard and take the 3-2 victory.

The first two games were played at Mercado Las Almas, the first at Hardpoint (250-226) and the second at Search&Destroy (6-3). As mentioned, both games ended in victories for the RØKKR.

With the series in check and just one loss away from dropping to the Elimination Bracket, the Subliners gradually woke up to return to the game. In El Asilo (Control), they won a resounding 3-1 victory to regain confidence in the series. Then, they gave a masterclass in Zarqwa Hydroelectric (Hardpoint) to take a crushing 250-66 victory, thus equalizing the series 2-2.

Finally, Breenbergh Hotel (Search&Destroy) was the venue that saw the Subliners complete the reverse sweep after an excellent 6-4 victory.

MAJOR V CHAMPS PULL OFF THE REVERSE SWEEP 🧊@Subliners advance to Winners Round 2.#StandClear | #CDLChamps pic.twitter.com/c6VEPGfVtI

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) June 15, 2023

Atlanta FaZe stick out their chests and beat Seattle Surge 3-1

Atlanta FaZe, the best-performing team all season, took a comfortable 3-1 win over Seattle Surge in their CDL Championship 2023 debut.

It all started at Embassy (Hardpoint), where the Atlanta FaZe boys displayed their full potential to crush the Surge 250-112. The teams then remained at Embassy, but this time to play Search&Destroy, where again FaZe managed to step up to take a comfortable 6-2 victory.

The Surge tried to wake up in the third game, and what a way they did, as they managed a resounding 3-0 win at El Asilo (Control) to rekindle hopes of getting back into the game. However, after a very intense and entertaining battle at Al Bagra Fortress (Hardpoint), Atlanta FaZe sealed their victory in this match by 250-232.

Top dogs come out hot 🔥@ATLFaZe advance to Winners Round 2.#WeTheA | #CDLChamps pic.twitter.com/liCYc7xHJd

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) June 15, 2023

OpTic Texas get off to a great start in the CDL Championship 2023

The team that had the best closing of the season was, without a doubt, OpTic Texas, and, despite being unable to win a single Major in the whole season, it is the team that currently has the best level in the CDL. That level was demonstrated in their first match of this CDL Championship 2023 against Boston Breach, as they got a great 3-1 victory to advance to Round 2 of the Winners Bracket.

The series started at Breenbergh Hotel (Hardpoint), where the OpTic boys managed to take the comfortable 250-168 victory. The Breach then impressed by leveling the series 1-1 with a big 6-4 win at Mercado Las Almas (Search&Destroy).

However, this only made the beast on the green wall wake up, as OpTic took the 3-0 win at Breenbergh Hotel (Control) and 250-192 at Al Bagra Fortress (250-192) to seal their 3-1 series victory.

The Green Wall is back and stronger than ever 🧱@OpTicTexas advances to Winners Round 2.#BrickByBrick | #CDLChamps pic.twitter.com/KLDt1iXZ2L

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) June 15, 2023

Toronto Ultra beat LA Thieves to advance to Round 2 of the Winners Bracket

Finally, the match that closed the first day of competition at the CDL Championship 2023 was between Toronto Ultra and LA Thieves, two teams that know what it’s like to win a Major in this 2023 season. However, the Ultra could take the victory by 3-2.

The series started with an excellent victory for Toronto Ultra at Zarqwa Hydroelectric (Hardpoint), with an excellent score of 250-208. Then, the LA Thieves boys woke up to take the win in the next two games, both played at El Asilo. In Search&Destroy, LA Thieves won with a comfortable score of 6-1, and in Control, they repeated the dose to win 3-1.

In the fourth match at Al Bagra Fortress (Hardpoint), the Ultra woke up and achieved an identical victory as in the first match of the series, as the score was 250-207. Finally, in an intense duel at Embassy (Search&Destroy), the Ultra sealed their victory in the series after a comfortable 6-2 score.

Reigning World Champs are heading to the Elimination Bracket 😳@TorontoUltra advance to Winners Round 2.#StrengthInTheNorth | #CDLChamps pic.twitter.com/lnQNYZSm1i

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) June 16, 2023

Header: CDL