Minnesota Rokkr seek CDL surge while honoring Floyd

Minnesota Rokkr's Home Series will feature the top five teams in the standings: Chicago (180 points), Atlanta (170), Dallas (150), Minnesota (120) and the Florida Mutineers (100). Each of the top three could exit the weekend in the top spot with a victory, depending upon how the other two teams fare.

The Minnesota Rokkr enter this weekend's home series with a lot on their minds in and away from the Call of Duty League. The tournament was postponed one week by Activision as protests rocked Minneapolis and adjacent communities following the death of George Floyd on May 26. The team has dedicated this home series to Floyd and will raise funds to fight racial inequality and rebuild local communities.

The CDL returns to competitions for the first time since the Chicago Huntsmen won the Seattle series last month. That came just days after the addition of Preston "Prestinni" Sanderson and vaulted Chicago to the top of the standings. But it also came in a series without the Atlanta FaZe and Dallas Empire, widely considered the two bets teams to date during the CDL's inaugural season. Minnesota Rokkr's Home Series will feature the top five teams in the standings: Chicago (180 points), Atlanta (170), Dallas (150), Minnesota (120) and the Florida Mutineers (100).

Each of the top three could exit the weekend in the top spot with a victory, depending upon how the other two teams fare. The Rokkr could also make a strong move with up to 50 points available. In the four series since the CDL resumed with online-only play, Atlanta and Dallas have each won a series while having a pair of byes. Dallas' worst showing was a loss to the Rokkr in the semifinals of the Empire's home series, while the FaZe have only lost to Dallas in the finals of the Chicago home series in late April.

Atlanta won the Florida home series in their most recent tournament, when Dallas had a bye. "I wouldn't say we're the best team in the league right now. I would say we're probably top two with Dallas," Atlanta's Chris "Simp" Lehr said after that win. "Until we have another chance to play against them and beat them or have another series against them, I'd say they're No. 1 until we can prove that we're better."

That was before Chicago added Prestinni and went on to win the Seattle series. Now, all three teams prepare to battle in the loaded Minnesota series. The Rokkr are attempting to find their groove after dropping a pair of finals and then being eliminated on Saturday in consecutive series since the move to online competition.

"I do feel like we're one of the teams that suffers from playing online because we have a lot of players who are really focused on playing on LAN and having that event energy," Justin "SiLLY" Fargo-Palmer said. "So the online switch is definitely a factor in closing out our games and just our overall tournament chemistry." The Rokkr will find out quickly whether the work they have put in is paying off. They face Dallas in their opening match on Friday, with Atlanta also in the same group.

The Toronto Ultra and Los Angeles Guerrillas will open the series on Friday, followed by the FaZe vs. Seattle Surge in a battle between No. 2 and No. 10 in the standings. The Mutineers will then take on the Huntsmen, with the Empire and Rokkr closing out Friday's action. In addition to Chicago looking to prove it should be mentioned alongside Atlanta and Dallas, a lot of attention will be paid to Prestinni playing against his former team for the first time.

"Preston really wants to beat those guys really, really bad," Huntsmen player Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson -- Prestinni's twin brother -- said during a conference call after the Seattle series. And should the Huntsmen make it out of Group B, awaiting them in the final four could very well be the FaZe and Empire. Both Atlanta and Dallas are in Group A.

"This next event is going to be a big proving one for us, especially with two weeks more of practice," the Huntsmen's Dylan "Envoy" Hannon said, "We just moved back into the first-place spot in the points standings, and with the top three or four teams being at the next event, these points matter big." Two teams advance from each group to the four-team, single-elimination bracket over the weekend. Ten CDL points are awarded for each match victory, with the mini-tournament winner earning another 10 points. The second-place team will earn 30 points for the weekend, with 20 points each going to the third- and fourth-placed teams and 10 points each for the fifth- and sixth-placed finishers.

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 NOTES: Half of the money raised this week will be distributed to Campaign Zero, which works to end police violence nationwide. Three other organizations will share the remaining 50 percent, with funds being given to help local businesses that were damaged during the protests. During the event, Rokkr players will wear "Justice for George Floyd" on their uniforms.