Call of Duty League Championship betting tips – August 19, 2021

ESB’s free Call of Duty League (CDL) betting tips for Thursday focus on the first round of the 2021 CDL Championship. Here are our picks for OpTic Chicago vs New York Subliners and Dallas Empire vs Minnesota RØKKR, with top odds courtesy of BetOnline.


New York Subliners are back with the same roster that made it to the finals of CDL Stage 3 Major in May, but we wouldn’t overreact to their past success. The game has changed significantly since May, and we must consider that the Subliners’ current lineup might lack synergy.

OpTic Chicago enter this match as heavy favourites, which is fair. Even though the public perception of this team isn’t great, that mostly has to do with the sky-high expectations put on Seth “Scump” Abner and his crew.

The Green Wall have been playing significantly better than many give them credit for, and you can’t ignore the improvement they’ve shown towards the end of the season. The Subliners should look better with James “Clayster” Eubanks back in the team, but that won’t cut it against the surging OpTic.


Dallas Empire are known for shifting into a higher gear in big tournaments, but that doesn’t explain the latest CDL betting odds. This is a powerful, talented, and experienced roster, but as much as we can praise the Empire for what they have, you can’t feel too confident betting on them in this matchup. Dallas have had some shaky showings of late, including losses to OpTic Chicago (1-3) and Minnesota RØKKR (1-3) in their final games of the regular season.

The RØKKR enter this match following a phenomenal performance at the CDL Stage 5 Major, where they reverse-swept Toronto Ultra in the finals to end the season with a title. You could argue that it was nothing more than a fluke run, but ardent followers of the CDL would know that Minnesota have been on the up for a while.

The RØKKR crushed Dallas Empire just over two weeks ago and have proven that they can take on anyone. Take the outsiders at +101.