Call of Duty League Upsets Ignite Elimination Drama at Championship Weekend

This article reviews the recent events of the The climactic weekend that crowns the champion of the Call of Duty League season, highlighting unexpected outcomes and setting the stage for the upcoming matches.

The weekend commenced on July 16 as the final four-day tournament for the 2025/26 season. During the opening day, four matches of high-level competition were played to launch the double-elimination format.

Even though no team has yet been completely eliminated, four teams now have losses and are placed in the Elimination Round, facing the risk of permanent exit from the tournament. Among the teams with setbacks, one unexpected result stood out when a well-regarded squad, despite its strong performance in recent Majors, lost its first match of the weekend.

The underdog performance came as the Riyadh Falcons delivered a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles team, propelling the organization to the second phase of the winners' bracket in which they will challenge FaZe Vegas. In that match, FaZe Vegas had recently achieved a similar 3-1 win over Minnesota G2.

In other encounters, OpTic Texas efficiently dominated Miami Heretics with a decisive 3-0 score while pursuing a successful title defense. Similarly, Paris Gentle Mates secured a remarkable 3-0 win against Toronto KOI.

The stage is now set for four more clashes scheduled for July 17. In these upcoming battles, the teams suffering defeat in the Elimination Round will be ousted from the tournament, while the losing teams in the Winners Round will drop down to face elimination. Meanwhile, the winners of the Winners Round matches will move forward to the Finals match, where a ticket to the Grand Finals will be up for grabs.

• Elimination Round 1 matchups for the CDL Championship Weekend (set for July) 17):
• Round 2 fixture schedule for the reigning CDL Championship Weekend winners (July) 17):