Los Angeles Thieves win 2022 CDL Stage 4 Major

The Los Angeles Thieves have won their first-ever Call of Duty League Major, beating the New York Subliners 5-3 in the Stage 4 Major in New York.

The Thieves put in an impressive upper bracket performance and bounced back after an Upper Bracket Final loss.

Los Angeles Thieves claim Stage 4 Major

The Los Angeles Thieves, who are owned by prolific esports organization 100 Thieves, have historically struggled in the Call of Duty League. Their best finish before the Stage 4 Major was a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Stage 3 Major.

After qualifying as the fourth seed, the Thieves began with a strong 3-1 win over the Atlanta FaZe, sending the perennial contenders to the lower bracket. They followed that with a 3-0 sweep over the Toronto Ultra to reach the Upper Bracket Final.

There they met the host of the Stage, the New York Subliners. The Subliners had breezed through the Minnesota RØKKR and Florida Mutineers to reach the Upper Bracket Final. The Subliners continued their hometown run with a convincing 3-1 over the Thieves.

That sent the Thieves into the Lower Bracket Final, where they met the Atlanta FaZe once again. As the Subliners had done to them a few hours prior, the Thieves crushed the FaZe 3-1 to reach the organization’s maiden Grand Final, and a grudge match with the Subliners.

Thieves and Subliners clash in memorable Grand Final

The Subliners opened the Grand Final with two wins. However, neither win was dominant and the Thieves kept both rounds close. LA then responded with back-to-back wins of their own to tie up the series.

Map Five saw the Subliners take the lead once again with another close win in Search & Destroy. But that’s when the Thieves entered clutch mode.

First was a 3-1 win on Gavutu in Map Six. They followed that with a 6-1 win in Search & Destroy to take themselves to matchpoint. They sealed their first CDL Major title with a 250-164 win on the Map Eight Hardpoint round on Tuscan.

Kenny “Kenny” Williams was the Thieves’ top player, recording an overall K/D ratio of 1.15, best for fourth in the tournament. Sam “Octane” Larew and Zack “Drazah” Jordan also posted top-10 ratios at 1.10 and 1.09 respectively.

CDL Championship awaits

All eyes now turn to the CDL Championship, which is due to begin on August 4. The tournament features the top eight teams in the league, with the Thieves taking the third seed. They will begin their tournament against the sixth seed Boston Breach. However, it remains to be seen if the Thieves can turn their Major-winning momentum into a title run that dethrones the Atlanta FaZe.

Header: LA Thieves