Toronto Ultra crowned champion at Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 3 Major

There is no doubt that this weekend all eyes were on two teams, Atlanta FaZe, and OpTic Texas, in the CDL 2023: Stage 3 Major. However, they were not counting on a Toronto Ultra that performed exemplary and managed to dispatch both of them to be crowned champions of the third Major of the CDL 2023 season.

Although OpTic Texas had not been at the best possible level in Major I and II, in this one, played at home, everything pointed to the fact that they could lift the championship trophy, and they were very close to doing so. Therefore, despite their defeat, we can say that the team delivered, as they had a dominant performance in the Elimination Brackets to reach the tournament’s grand final.

Toronto Ultra is crowned champion of CDL 2023 Major III

We could start by mentioning that Toronto Ultra’s road to the Grand Final was good, but this was nothing compared to what they did in the Grand Final against OpTic Texas. First, they managed to send to the Elimination Bracket New Yor Subliners, winners of Major I, who the Mutineers later eliminated.

Then, the Ultra struggled to beat Boston Breach, who proved remarkably resilient with outstanding play. Also, Boston had a chance to win this match, but some mistakes led the team to defeat. Finally, Toronto Ultra crushed Atlanta FaZe in the Winners Bracket finals with a score of 3-1 to qualify for the tournament finals. The FaZe boys did not have a tournament at the height, as we remember that they are coming from being the champions of the Major II played a few weeks ago.

OpTic Texas vs. Toronto Ultra – Grand Final

In the Grand Final between OpTic and Ultra, we had a series that was played to six games spectacularly with a back-and-forth at the beginning and a dominant Toronto Ultra at the end.

It started with a resounding Ultra victory at Hotel (Hardpoint) 250-152. Then OpTic Texas came into their own and used all their available arsenal and, aided by the home crowd, managed to win the next two games played, Al Bagra Fortress in Search&Destroy (6-3) and Hotel in Control (3-2).

Then, the teams moved again to Hardpoint, but this time it would be played at Zarqwa Hydroelectric, where Toronto beat OpTic again categorically with a score of 250-170. The series was evened at 2-2, and tensions were mounting.

Although the Toronto Ultra boys managed to win the other two maps to take the championship trophy, everything could have been the other way around; that is to say, either team could have won the games. However, in the fifth game, on Hotel (Seach&Destroy), with the game tied 5-5, OpTic made a mistake that left Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro alone against the four Ultra members who were alive and eventually took the 6-5 victory.

The last map was a nail-biter with OpTic Texas pushing Toronto Ultra to the limit and, until the last minute in a game that was 2-2, the Ultra boys managed to take the win 3-2 to proclaim themselves champions of the CDL 2023 Major III.

Did fatigue affect OpTic?

While a second-place finish for OpTic Texas is not bad, there is ongoing controversy regarding the CDL format. Many community members, including personalities within the COD competitive scene, claim that the structure of the Majors gives too much of an advantage to Winner Brackets teams. They also cite that Toronto had to play only three games to reach the grand final, while OpTic had to get through six series.

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