(Photo credit: John Meore/The Journal News)
The Los Angeles Thieves jumped out to a big lead then held off OpTic Texas' comeback to capture the grand final 4-2 on Sunday in the Call of Duty League's Stage 4 Minor.
Both teams advanced to the grand final with 3-0 sweeps in the semifinals earlier Sunday -- Texas downing the Paris Gentle Mates and Los Angeles ousting FaZe Vegas.
All 12 CDL teams competed in the tournament, which rewarded $20,000 and 30 CDL points to the champion Los Angeles Thieves. The single-elimination bracket was seeded based on teams' standing following the Stage 3 Major. All matches were best-of-five until the grand final, which was best-of-seven.
Los Angeles opened the grand final with wins on Scar Hardpoint (250-104), Den Search and Destroy (6-1) and Den Overload (4-1) before OpTic Texas rallied. Texas had the edge on Gridlock Hardpoint (250-248) and Hacienda Search and Destroy (6-2). The Thieves closed out the match with a 5-4 victory on Scar Overload to avoid a seventh game.
France's Paco 'HyDra' Rusiewiez of the Thieves was selected Match MVP with 132 kills and a plus-26 kills-deaths differential. No OpTic Texas player had a positive K-D differential.
Earlier, OpTic Texas swept Paris Gentle Mates in one semifinal with dominant outcomes on Hacienda Hardpoint (250-78), Gridlock Search and Destroy (6-3) and Den Overload (6-0).
American Anthony 'Shotzzy' Cuevas-Castro of OpTic Texas was selected Match MVP with 69 kills and a plus-29 kills-deaths differential.
Los Angeles swept FaZe Vegas, winning 250-244 on Hacienda Hardpoint, 6-0 on Sake Search and Destroy and 3-2 on Scar Overload.
American Jeremiah 'Nium' Harrison of Los Angeles was Match MVP with 65 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential.
Call of Duty League's Stage 4 Minor prize pool
1. $20,000, 30 CDL points -- Los Angeles Thieves
2. No money, 20 CDL points -- OpTic Texas
3-4. No money, 10 CDL points -- Paris Gentle Mates, FaZe Vegas
5-8. No money, no CDL points -- Riyadh Falcons, Toronto KOI, Vancouver Surge, G2 Minnesota
9-12. No money, no CDL points -- Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Miami Heretics, Boston Breach
--Field Level Media
