by in
The New York Subliners triumphed over the Seattle Surge to clinch the Call of Duty League Major 1 title on Sunday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The eventual champions were forced to battle their way through the lower bracket to secure a spot in the grand finals, where they defeated the Surge with a 4-1 scoreline.
The Subliners advanced past the group with a 2-0 record, having bested the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Minnesota RØKKR with clean sweeps. In the first round of the upper bracket, they breezed through the Florida Mutineers to secure a spot in the second round.
New York were on a good run, having only lost one map from 10 played played in the tournament. However, they had their winning streak ended by the Surge on Saturday in the second round, losing 3-1 to drop into the lower bracket.
On Sunday, the Subliners played three matches in order to win the grand prize of $200,000. They first defeated the Toronto Ultra 3-2 in the de facto fourth-place game, then defeated the Atlanta FaZe 3-1 in the elimination final, and finally, won against the Surge in the best-of-seven grand final.
In their first lower-bracket fixture, New York were paired with the Las Vegas Legion. The Legion had the momentum having secured a win over the Minnesota RØKKR 3-2 in their lower bracket first-round match, but the Subliners proved too good and emerged with a 3-1 victory.
In the lower-bracket semifinals, NY were a game away from being eliminated by the Toronto Ultra. Toronto started off strong by winning 250-236 on Hardpoint (Hotel), but New York countered with a 6-3 win on Search & Destroy (Hotel) and a 3-0 result on Control (Hotel). Toronto then tied the match with a 250-139 victory on Hardpoint (Mercado), but New York secured the win with a 6-2 triumph on Search & Destroy (Fortress).
The Subliners and FaZe faced off in the lower-bracket final, with New York coming out on top with a score of 3-2. The Subliners started strong with a win on Hardpoint (Embassy), but FaZe fought back with a victory on Search & Destroy (Embassy).
The Subliners regained the lead with a win on Control (Hotel), but FaZe responded with a win on Hardpoint (Fortress). On the closing Search & Destroy map (El Asilo), the Subliners narrowly emerged as the winners with a score of 6-4.
In the elimination final, the Subliners were able to keep the Breenbergh Hotel map and began with a 250-199 win over the FaZe on Hardpoint. Atlanta managed to secure a 6-4 win on Search & Destroy (Hotel), but New York dominated on Control (Hotel) with a 3-0 victory. The Subliners sealed the win with a 250-210 triumph on Hardpoint (Fortress).
New York started off the grand finals with three consecutive close victories: 250-248 on Hardpoint (Hotel), 6-4 on Search & Destroy (Mercado), and 3-2 on Control (Hotel). The Surge managed to stay in the competition with a 250-231 win on Hardpoint (Mercado), but the Subliners ultimately emerged victorious with a 6-2 win on Search & Destroy (Embassy) to claim the championship.
