CDL Coaches Poll: Major 1
Welcome back to the CDL Coaches Poll brought to you by Breaking Point. We have again reached out to all 12 CDL coaching staffs around the league to get their thoughts on the current team Power Rankings. We will continue to conduct these polls before and after each major tournament this season. Each coach ranks the opposing teams 1st through 11th, without putting their own team into the rankings. After collecting the rankings from all 12 franchises, each team would be given points for each vote, as seen below:
- 11 points
- 10 points
- 9 points
- 8 points
- 7 points
- 6 points
- 5 points
- 4 points
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 points
Disclaimer: I did not vote in the Poll for Atlanta, as I was the one to conduct the poll. RJ completed the poll for Atlanta to avoid any conflict. The data was checked to ensure it was not compromised.
The Stage is set for Major 1
With the qualifying matches wrapping up over the past weekend, the seeding is set for the upcoming OpTic Texas Major. Over the three weeks of qualifying matches, fans saw many surprising teams rise to the top but also saw expected top teams struggle. The London Royal Ravens were ranked 11th in the Coaches Poll just three weeks ago, but finished the stage 4-1 with the 2nd seed at the Major. On the other side, New York were expected to be a top team during the stage but crumbled as the weeks went along. Many teams did enough to make it to Winner’s Bracket for the Major, but it will be a true test for where they are in the pecking order. But now that the qualifying matches are all over, we have our 8 Winner’s Bracket teams and the 4 teams that will be starting in the Loser’s bracket. Will Florida, Minnesota, New York, or Paris be able to make a run in the Lower Bracket? Which Winner Bracket teams will have the greatest chance to Grand Finals? Let us know what you think!
The CDL Coaches Power Ranking (January 2022)
1st: Atlanta FaZe 
Total Points Received – 121
Previous Ranking – 2nd (
1)
After falling to 2nd in the previous ranking, Atlanta FaZe finds themselves #1 again after receiving every single 1st place vote. McArthur “Cellium” Jovel has hit superstar levels in the early portion of the season, finishing the qualifying matches with a league high 1.29 overall KD and a ridiculous 2.68 SnD KD. With the rest of the team finding form, Atlanta will be a tough task to matchup against at Major 1.
2nd: Los Angeles Thieves 
Total Points Received – 107
Previous Ranking – 5th (3)
The LA Thieves were a pleasant surprise during the Stage 1 qualifying matches. Everyone knew that this team was loading with talent, but they have put that together and playedĀ well in all three modes, including a 8-2 record in Hardpoint. While their individual numbers might not seem flashy, they are all consistent and making game winning plays in the clutch. An interesting note is that all 4 players are playing on the same level, as their highest overall KD is held by Kenneth “Kenny” Williams with a 1.05 and the lowest is 0.99 held by Dylan “Envoy” Hannon. With some tweaking in SnD, this team will become a consistent threat for Championships.
T-3rd: London Royal Ravens 
Total Points Received – 91
Previous Ranking – 11th (8)
The London Royal Ravens are officially here! After being ranked 11th in the first two editions of the Coaches Polls, London came out and finished with a 4-1 record in the qualifying matches. They are being powered by two stars in the making, Marcus “Afro” Reid and Joey “Gismo” Owen. Afro finished with the highest overall KD by an SMG with 1.15, while Gismo finished 2nd in the League with a 1.20. If this duo can continue with this level of form, there is no question they could take down anyone.
T-3rd: OpTic Texas 
Total Points Received – 91
Previous Ranking – 4th (1)
While OpTic Texas struggled in their first two matches, they finished strong and ended with a 3-2 record. That earned them a spot in the Winner’s bracket and they are one of the hottest teams in the CDL. The reemergence of Brandon “Dashy” Otell and Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal has been crucial to the team finding consistent success. If the three headed beast of Dashy, iLLeY, and Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro can maintain their form going into the Major, they will be one of the toughest matchups in the CDL.
5th: Toronto Ultra 
Total Points Received – 90
Previous Ranking – 8th (
4)
The Toronto Ultra stumbled across the finish line during the qualifying matches, losing 0-3 to OpTic Texas and 1-3 to LA Thieves. But that is not a reason to underestimate them going into the Major. We have yet to see the slaying that we did last season, as every single player on Toronto has a negative overall KD. One positive note is the level of play by star SMG Tobias “CleanX” Juul JĆønsson, who has consistently made highlight plays to keep Toronto in matches. When this team regains form, they will certainly climb back up these rankings.
6th: Seattle Surge 
Total Points Received – 76
Previous Ranking – 6th (3)
The Seattle Surge have been one of the more puzzling teams during the qualifying matches. They started hot in the first two weeks, going 3-0 while looking scrapping two map 5s over Toronto & Minnesota. But then they have a 1-6 map count versus Florida and London to end the Stage 3-2. Do we take more from the first two weeks of play or how they ended the stage? One thing that is for sure is that Daunte “Sib” Gray and Amer “Pred” Zulbeari are very scary when in form, but they will have to regain that form going into the Major.
Total Points Received – 54
Previous Ranking – 5th (2)
Fans didn’t know what to expect out of the LA Guerrillas after a quick showing at the Kickoff Classic. While they went 0-1 there, the team finished 2-3 to just qualify for the Winner’s bracket at the first Major. The Guerrillas performed well in Hardpoint (7-2 record), but struggled in SnD (2-5 record) and Control (1-4 record). They are getting solid individual performances from Obaid “Asim” Asim and Peirce “Gunless” Hillman, so if they can start performing better in SnD & Control this team can continue climbing the rankings.
8th: Boston Breach 
Total Points Received – 47
Previous Ranking – 7th (1)
Yet another interesting team in the CDL. Boston started off strong in the qualifying matches, becoming the arguably the best SnD team in the league. But then they dropped three straight matches against Atlanta, New York, and Texas to finish 2-3. They also lost their last three SnD maps after start 4-0 in the mode, which makes winning series very difficult right now. With a team KD of 0.87 in Control and 1-4 map count in the mode, they will have to look to improve there and regain SnD form before the Major starts.
9th: Minnesota RĆKKRĀ 
Total Points Received – 42
Previous Ranking – 8th (1)
The Minnesota Rokkr had one of the hardest schedules for their stage 1 qualifying matches but finished 2-3 and will have to start in the Losers’ Bracket at the Major. That’s a tough blow for the Rokkr, who have a lot of bright spots. Their SnD is solid with a 5-3 record, and their Berlin Hardpoint is one of the best. But overall 3-6 record in Hardpoint and 1-4 record in Control is just not good enough. They will have to find a lot of progress in respawns if they wish to make a deep run at Major 1.
10th: Florida Mutineers 
Total Points Received – 37
Previous Ranking – 10th (
)
Florida are the hardest team to place currently in power rankings. The support okay records in all three modes, including 3-4 in Hardpoint, 2-4 in SnD, and 3-2 in Control. They also have good individual stats on roster. David “Davpadie” Maslowski turned it around to finish with a 1.09 overall KD, while Joseph “Owakening” Conley was right there with him with a 1.10 overall KD. They also can shock any team, like their 3-0 victory over Seattle and taking LA Thieves to a map 5. But where is that consistency to challenge teams and reach the potential that they have? Hopefully we continue to see them grow and get better across Major 1.
11th: New York SublinersĀ 
Total Points Received – 25
Previous Ranking – 6th (5)
The Subliners were certainly the most disappointing team during the qualifying matches. They finished 0-9 in Hardpoint, but showed life in both SnD and Control. The lone bright spot was the play of Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez in Hardpoint and BoCage SnD. Outside of that though this team has a lot to improve. Given time to get on the same page, the play of all four players will continue to improve and there is no chance that this team continues to be on the bottom of the league permanently. There are a lot of great pieces on this roster, they just have to continue to grind and progress as a unit.
12th: Paris Legion 
Total Points Received – 11
Previous Ranking – 12th ()
There isn’t much to say about the Paris Legion that hasn’t already been said. It is clear that there needs to be a change to spark some life on the roster. The one bright spot has been the play of Donovan “Temp” Laroda, who finished with a 1.05 overall KD and had some highlight plays in the qualifying matches. Without sounding too negative, their are some solid pieces on the roster and they are backing by a strong 3-headed coaching staff. Given some time, and maybe a roster change this team could become competitive again.
