FaZe rally past Surge after CDL glitch

In other Friday matches, the fifth-place Florida Mutineers outlasted the first-place Chicago Huntsmen 3-2, the third-place Dallas Empire defeated the fourth-place Minnesota Rokkr 3-1, and the last-place Los Angeles Guerrillas knocked off the 10th-place Toronto Ultra 3-2. The Huntsmen opened with a 250-239 win on Gun Runner Hardpoint before the Mutineers posted a 6-3 victory on Arklov Peak Search and Destroy and a 154-146 triumph on Hackney Yard Domination.

With the top five teams in the standings all in action, Week 9 of the Call of Duty League has a chance to shake up the standings more than any week thus far this season. However, it was a technical issue that created the day's biggest shockwaves Friday, the first day of the Minnesota "home" series.

Playing the second-place Atlanta FaZe, the Seattle Surge second-to-last in the standings took a 2-0 lead and were one map win away from one of the biggest upsets of the season. Then technical issues caused a 45-minute delay, and when play resumed, Atlanta ran the table to win 3-2. Ironically, the CDL announced earlier Friday that it would begin using 60hz servers in the Minnesota series, adding that "additional server stability and improvement testing was conducted earlier this week."

After the match, Seattle's Sam "Octane" Larew sounded off on Twitter about the technical issue not the first one of the season. "Of course we wait for 45 minutes," he tweeted. "Of (expletive) course bro literally laughable at the CDL's standard this year. Legitimately LAUGHABLE at the level of professionalism event after event. ... Fine me I don't give an (expletive). Competitive integrity is nonexistent."

Before the delay, Seattle won 250-175 on Azhir Cave Hardpoint and 6-5 on Gun Runner Search and Destroy. After play resumed, the FaZe won 199-123 on Hackney Yard Domination, 250-188 on Gun Runner Hardpoint and 6-5 on St. Petrograd Search and Destroy. On the final map, the score was tied 5-5 and the Surge was seconds away from winning before time ran out to give the FaZe the win. In other Friday matches, the fifth-place Florida Mutineers outlasted the first-place Chicago Huntsmen 3-2, the third-place Dallas Empire defeated the fourth-place Minnesota Rokkr 3-1, and the last-place Los Angeles Guerrillas knocked off the 10th-place Toronto Ultra 3-2.

The Huntsmen opened with a 250-239 win on Gun Runner Hardpoint before the Mutineers posted a 6-3 victory on Arklov Peak Search and Destroy and a 154-146 triumph on Hackney Yard Domination. The Huntsmen claimed Rammaza Hardpoint 250-204 to send the match the distance, but the Mutineers sealed the series with a 6-4 win on Rammaza Search and Destroy. After the Rokkr notched a 250-232 victory on Rammaza Hardpoint, the rest of the match went the way of the Empire: 6-2 on St. Petrograd Search and Destroy, 177-133 on St. Petrograd Domination and 250-185 on St. Petrograd Hardpoint.

The Guerrillas grabbed a 2-0 match lead by capturing Rammaza Hardpoint 250-197 and Arklov Peak Search and Destroy 6-3. The Ultras pulled level by taking Hackney Yard Domination 187-137 and Hackney Yard Hardpoint 250-84. However, the Guerrillas prevailed 6-3 on Gun Runner Search and Destroy to wrap up the series. Atlanta and Dallas will square off Saturday in the Group A winners-bracket final, and Seattle will oppose Minnesota in the Group A losers bracket. The FaZe-Empire loser will meet the Surge-Rokkr winner to determine the group's second-place team.

In Group B on Saturday, the Guerrillas and the Mutineers will play in the winner's bracket final, and the Huntsman and Ultra will play in the loser bracket. The Los Angeles-Florida loser will oppose the Toronto-Chicago winner in the battle for second place. The top two teams will each division will compete in the Week 9 semifinals on Sunday, with the final to follow the same day.

Minnesota was due to play "host" to the Call of Duty League last weekend, but the event was pushed back due to protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The Rokkr has dedicated the home series to Floyd and will raise funds to fight racial inequality and rebuild local communities. Call of Duty League standings through Week 8:

1. Chicago Huntsmen, 180 points 2. Atlanta FaZe, 170 points

3. Dallas Empire, 150 points 4. Minnesota Rokkr, 120 points

5. Florida Mutineers, 100 points 6. London Royal Ravens, 80 points

7. Optic Gaming Los Angeles, 70 points T8. Paris Legion, 60 points

T8. New York subliners, 60 points T10. Toronto Ultra, 40 points

T10. Seattle Surge, 40 points 12. Los Angeles Guerrillas, 30 points