BO7 Golden Boot Race: Race to the Top Stays Close

The Golden Boot race has tightened, but the familiar faces at the top aren’t going anywhere. As we hit the midway point of Stage IV, Jordan “Abuzah” François is still setting the pace, holding onto his spot as the league’s most consistent finisher in Overload. Right behind him are other Main ARs, including Thomas “Scrap” Ernst, Mercules, Daniel “Ghosty” Rothe, and Brandon “Dashy” Otell.

With more Overload still to play and plenty left in the season, the Golden Boot race is tight & here’s where the field stands in our latest mid-stage rankings.

Previous Ranking: April 27th

Jordan "Abuzah" François - FaZe Vegas

○ 67 Goals, 11 Assists
○ 27-19 Record (4th), 470.1 Minutes Played
○ 177 Runs (38% Score Percentage)
○ 1.43 Goals per 10 minutes (1st)

Remaining in the top spot yet again, the Belgian has just a one-goal lead heading into the final weeks of the season. He had a big push during Stage III, scoring a League-High 27 Goals over the entirety of the Stage, but has failed to register even a single goal so far in Stage IV. He has been a boom or bust player this season overall, leading the CDL with 9 Hat Tricks & 21 multi-goal games. He'll have to reignite FaZe's Overload over the final weeks in order to keep the title from going to Scrap.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Thomas "Scrap" Ernst - Los Angeles Thieves 

○ 66 Goals, 9 Assists
○ 30-18 Record (3rd), 472.0 Minutes Played
○ 218 Runs (30% Score Percentage)
○ 1.40 Goals per 10 minutes (2nd)

The LA Thieves' main AR comes in second by just one goal, setting up a dash to the finish over the final weeks. He is the model of consistency, sitting in the Top 5 for goals scored in every stage this season, including leading Stage II with 23 total goals. No player has been able to hit his level of consistency, as Scrap leads the CDL with 39 maps with at least 1 goal, which is 81% of his total maps played. With how well LA is playing in Overload, expect the season MVP frontrunner to battle to take the Golden Boot as well.

Mason "Mercules" Ramsey - OpTic Texas

○ 56 Goals, 15 Assists
○ 31-16 Record (2nd), 483.9 Minutes Played
○ 222 Runs (25% Score Percentage)
○ 1.16 Goals per 10 minutes (8th)

Finishing the podium is OpTic Texas' Superstar AR Mercules. He currently leads the CDL with 12 goals scored during Stage IV, 5 more than his teammate Dashy, who is 2nd position. He's been on a hot streak as of late, scoring in 6-straight maps with multiple goals in 4 of those maps. He'll need to continue dominating in the mode if he wishes to catch up to the top two players, but with 7 Hat Tricks this season, it's very possible.

Daniel "Ghosty" Rothe - Paris Gentle Mates

○ 54 Goals, 8 Assists
○ 22-22 Record (6th), 465.5 Minutes Played
○ 170 Runs (32% Score Percentage)
○ 1.16 Goals per 10 minutes (7th)

One of the bigger shocks on this list, Ghosty makes the Top 5 in goals scored while his team sits at a .500 record. Paris hasn't been able to be a consistent Overload team all season long, but that hasn't stopped Ghosty from scoring at a high pace. He's been on an interesting run as of late, either scoring two goals (6 times) or zero (4 times) in his last 10 maps. While the hope of catching the top spot is slim, keeping the Top 5 finish is certainly in play.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Brandon "Dashy" Otell - OpTic Texas

○ 53 Goals, 6 Assists
○ 31-16 Record (2nd), 483.9 Minutes Played
○ 150 Runs (35% Score Percentage)
○ 1.10 Goals per 10 minutes (13th)

The new entry into the Top 5 is another OpTic Texas player, Dashy. OpTic has been one of the best, if not the best, Overload teams all season. This has allowed multiple of their players to put up high scoring numbers. Currently, Dashy is the 2nd-leading scorer in Stage IV and has scored in 9 of his last 10 games (13 goals). He is 2nd in the CDL in games with at least 1 goal, doing so in 36 maps this season (77% of his maps played). Could OpTic be the only team to have two players in the Top 5 at the end of the season?