The Chicago Huntsmen took the crown this past weekend as the champions of the Call of Duty League's tournament in London. With the Atlanta FaZe idle, it was a chance for the Huntsmen to assert themselves as potentially the best team in the league.
For this week's Call of Duty Power Rankings, our staff decided it would be fitting to crown a king for each team following the London Royal Ravens' home series. On some teams, it is easy to pick out standouts, while on others, it's a bit harder; but every team has at least one player who has carried them on certain maps or entire games.
Read more: Trash talk, big crowds and a beer tower in London | Every COD map from London in one sentence
Here's how our staff voted to rank the 12 teams after London. Each participating staff member ranked the CDL teams from No. 1 to No. 12, and the results were aggregated to determine the list below. All player stats are courtesy of Atlanta FaZe stat analyst Austin O'Neil.
Previous rankings: Jan. 28
1. Chicago Huntsmen
Season record: 6-0 | Week 2: 4-0 | Change from last ranking:
1
Claiming the throne: Seth "Scump" Abner
He is the king of Search and Destroy and lord of the realm of smack talk. Seth "Scump" Abner, with his league-leading 2.13 K/D in S&D during the London homestand, had one of the standout performances of the tournament. He also had some iconic moments away from the screen and backed up his trolling with two wins against Dallas and a title to boot. Right now, Atlanta looks like the only team that can contend with the Huntsmen, and a much-anticipated matchup might be in the cards during the upcoming FaZe homestand.
-- Sean Morrison
2. Atlanta FaZe
Season record: 2-0 | Week 2 record: DNP | Change from last ranking:
1
Protecting the throne: Chris "Simp" Lehr
Currently second best in K/D across the league (1.58), Chris "Simp" Lehr is the star of the show for Atlanta and the Call of Duty League.
-- Darin Kwilinski
Check out the rest of the Call of Duty League schedule.
3. Dallas Empire
Season record: 3-4 | Week 2 record: 3-2 | Change from last ranking:2
Claiming the throne: James "Clayster" Eubanks
The Dallas Empire finally showed everyone why they have been so high in the polls and rankings this season, and James "Clayster" Eubanks really excelled for them this weekend. His 1.20 K/D was fourth among all players in London. Despite the team's inability to get it done against Chicago and the crowd not being on their side, Eubanks was the only Dallas player with a K/D over 1 in each of the Empire's matches against the Huntsmen.
-- Brian Bencomo
To see rosters for all of the Call of Duty League teams, click here.
4. Paris Legion
Season record: 4-2 | Week 2 record: 2-2 | Change from last ranking:
Claiming the throne: Denholm "Denz" Taylor
Denholm "Denz" Taylor nearly pulled a rabbit out of his crown this past weekend. After Paris started off the London home series with a surprise loss to the New York Subliners, it would have been easy to believe the weekend in London was about to go poorly. The Legion recovered, however, with Denz putting up a 3.5 K/D in Search and Destroy in a rollover of Toronto and a 1.28 K/D overall mark in the rematch with New York.
Their back-and-forth semifinal slugfest with the Huntsmen ended with a loss. Although Paris won both Hardpoint maps, they were completely blown out on St. Petrograd and Arklov Peak in Search and Destroy and were outmatched on St. Petrograd in Domination. Still, if you're a Legion fan, you have to love how they went blow-for-blow with probably the best team in the league -- and how Denz even put up a +27 plus/minus in the loss.
-- Joe DeMartino
5. London Royal Ravens
Season record: 3-2 | Week 2 record: 2-1 | Change from last ranking:2
Claiming the throne: Bradley "wuskin" Marshall
The Royal Ravens continued to impress in Week 2, this time with the full support of their hometown London crowd. After defeating the Toronto Ultra 3-1, London's most exciting match of the weekend came versus the New York Subliners. Down two maps, London came back to win Hackney Yard Domination 202-152, Hackney Yard Hardpoint 250-135 and Gun Runner Search and Destroy 6-4 to complete the reverse sweep. We can't say enough about Dylan "Dylan" Henderson's epic, midair takedown of Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi in Round 5; but ultimately, Bradley "wuskin" Marshall remains king for this team, finishing with a 1.37 overall K/D for the weekend (second only to the Seattle Surge's Sam "Octane" Larew). London eventually fell victim to a reverse sweep of their own versus Dallas in the semifinal round, ending in a back and forth S&D on Piccadilly. You hate to see it.
-- Elizabeth Baugh
6. Minnesota RØKKR
Season record: 2-0 | Week 2 record: DNP | Change from last ranking:3
Protecting the throne: Adam "GodRx" Brown
Adam "GodRx" Brown leads the CDL in kills per 10 minutes with 40. The next closest is Simp at 38 ... and then three more members of the RØKKR.
-- Kwilinski
7. Florida Mutineers
Season record: 1-1 | Week 2 record: DNP | Change from last ranking:2
Protecting the throne: Chance "Maux" Moncivaez
Chance "Maux" Moncivaez is who will make this team go or wither in Atlanta. Their pool for the event, which includes Atlanta, London and OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, is tough. But if Maux turns it on (with assists from Cesar "Skyz" Bueno and Preston "Prestinni" Sanderson), Florida can get out of their pool with the No. 2 spot.
-- Morrison
8. New York Subliners
Season record: 1-4 | Week 1 record: 1-2 | Change from last ranking:3
Claiming the throne: Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi
Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi had one of the worst K/D's during the opening weekend, but he had the air of royalty about him in London. Accuracy just snuck inside the top 10 in K/D in Week 2, and the Subliners looked like they were about to follow suit with a significant turnaround. Starting with an upset over the Paris Legion, the Subliners were up 2-0 on the Royal Ravens when London managed to complete the reverse sweep. The Subliners' Sunday rematch against the Legion saw them fail to win a map, and that was that. Still, it's an improvement over their opening weekend and reason for optimism going forward, especially if Accuracy can keep this up.
-- DeMartino
9. Seattle Surge
Season record: 1-4 | Week 1 record: 1-2 | Change from last ranking:1
Claiming the throne: Sam "Octane" Larew
The schedule didn't favor the Surge, who met Dallas twice during pool play in London, but Sam "Octane" Larew once again asserted himself as the crown jewel of Seattle. Just like in Minnesota, the rest of Octane's squad left way too much slack for him to pick up, and the Surge are doing anything but surging on Search and Destroy. It's still shocking to me that Damon "Karma" Barlow (0.91) and Ian "Enable" Wyatt (0.84) are putting up K/D ratios below 1.00. If they shape up, the Surge are the top-half team we expected them to be. If not, not even Octane can save his kingdom from ruin.
-- Morrison
10. Los Angeles Guerrillas
Season record: 1-3 | Week 2 record: 0-2 | Change from last ranking:4
Claiming the throne: Ulysses "AquA" Silva
With the Guerrillas taking a step back in their performance this weekend, Ulysses "AquA" Silva was a bright spot for Los Angeles in London. His 1.13 K/D was seventh overall this weekend. He carried the Guerrillas in their 3-2 loss to Seattle with a 1.28 K/D, leading the team in kills in each of the five maps. The Guerrillas will need the rest of their team to step it up like AquA when they host their home series March 7-8.
-- Bencomo
11. Toronto Ultra
Season record: 1-3 | Week 2 record: 0-2 | Change from last ranking:3
Claiming the throne: Anthony "Methodz" Zinni
The Toronto Ultra are an odd squad. They continue to show signs of life when Anthony "Methodz" Zinni gets momentum, but generally not with anyone else. Against the Royal Ravens, Methodz stalled early in Hardpoint on Ramaza, but a strong mid and late game elevated the team to quite nearly claim a victory. In Search and Destroy on Piccadilly, Methodz was less successful, and the Ultra paid for it (despite a strong start from Cameron "Cammy" McKilligan). Against Paris, Methodz died the least number of times in the opening Hardpoint map, helping push the squad to a map win with the most cap time and the least amount of deaths.
Unfortunately, as we've seen often with the Ultra so far, they have trouble translating positive moments into victories and end up becoming deflated before the game is over. (The 250-108 Hackney Yard Domination loss against Paris was over far before the Legion hit 250 points.) When Methodz steps up, the Ultra secure map wins, so the team either needs to rally around him or find a way to stay in the game behind Cammy.
-- Kwilinski
12. OpTic Gaming LA
Season record: 0-2 | Week 2 record: DNP | Change from last ranking:
Protecting the throne: Brandon "Dashy" Otell
Brandon "Dashy" Otell had the best K/D on OpTic Gaming LA during opening weekend, and none of his teammates really came close to his 1.06 K/D in Search and Destroy maps.
-- Bencomo
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