After a prolonged vacation break, the Name of Responsibility League is again.
Practically 4 weeks in the past, the New York Subliners planted their proverbial flag on the prime of the CDL with a stunning Main One title victory. However now, the champs have to start out another time because the qualifiers for the second Main of the season start.
NYSL and the Seattle Surge, the 2 Main One grand finalists, will try and proceed to keep up their positions as just a few new-look rosters attempt to get away of the early-season funk during which earlier lineup iterations have left them. One in every of these barely altered rosters is that of OpTic Texas, which finds itself on the middle of a feud between recently benched player Dashy and head coach Rambo.
Over the subsequent three weekends, the 12 CDL groups will play 5 on-line matches every with the objective of at the least ending within the prime eight, which might guarantee a spot within the winners bracket to start Main Two. The 4 groups with the worst information over the subsequent 5 matches will begin the Boston Main at a hefty drawback.
Associated: These 5 CDL matches are worth watching this weekend
Earlier than the Main Two qualifiers start, listed here are Dot Esports’ energy rankings.
Name of Responsibility League energy rankings (Jan. 13, 2023)
| Rank | Group | Change from Dec. 2, 2022 |
| 1) | New York Subliners | +6 |
| 2) | Seattle Surge | +3 |
| 3) | Atlanta FaZe | -1 |
| 4) | Toronto Extremely | — |
| 5) | Los Angeles Thieves | -4 |
| 6) | Minnesota RØKKR | — |
| 7) | OpTic Texas | -4 |
| 8) | Florida Mutineers | +3 |
| 9) | Vegas Legion | -1 |
| 10) | Boston Breach | -2 |
| 11) | London Royal Ravens | +1 |
| 12) | Los Angeles Guerrillas | -2 |
Began on the backside, nonetheless right here
The precise positions of the groups within the backside 5 of our energy rankings might have modified, however not one of the groups managed to flee.
The Florida Mutineers made the most important leap from our preseason rankings, transferring from eleventh to eighth after a top-eight end on the Main, the place they eradicated OpTic Texas within the group stage earlier than shedding each matches within the bracket to eventual Main champions NYSL and reigning world champions L.A. Thieves.
Contrarily, each the Boston Breach and Los Angeles Guerrillas slid just a few spots, though their circumstances are very totally different. Boston’s dip from eighth to tenth comes after back-to-back game-five losses in group play, with the latter of which coming with Beans, the workforce’s substitute, filling in for an sick Owakening.
The Guerrillas really received one in all their group-play matches, though they nonetheless didn’t make it to the bracket. Moreover, the workforce’s Academy roster completed in the identical spot (prime 12), which finally led to 3 of the LAG Academy gamers being promoted to play alongside Arcitys.
The Vegas Legion and London Royal Ravens spherical out the underside 5, however every workforce might have some confidence going into the subsequent stage of the season, contemplating Vegas completed prime six on the Main and London refreshed its roster with Manchester native skrapz.
On the cusp… or the sting
The center of the pack definitely doesn’t appear to be the center of the pack. Stuffed with groups akin to OpTic Texas, the world champions, and Toronto Extremely, it wouldn’t be stunning to see any of the top-three groups usurped by this group of groups. However there’s a likelihood a number of of those groups falls on exhausting instances.
OpTic, specifically, have had a tumultuous begin to Scump’s last season as an expert. The workforce didn’t make it out of group play, shedding to the Extremely and Mutineers for a top-12 inserting. After which the workforce’s rumored tried roster adjustments grew to become the speak of the CoD group, just for the workforce to reportedly whiff on acquiring Pred and bring in Huke instead.
The Thieves’ opening month to the season additionally hasn’t been enjoyable, ending prime six alongside the Vegas Legion on the Main after shedding to Seattle and Toronto in bracket play. It’d be silly to depend out LAT, nonetheless, contemplating their lackluster begin to final season was irrelevant due to a dominant late-season run.
The Extremely fell simply in need of taking out the eventual Main winners within the losers semifinals, so Canada’s lone workforce needs to be one of many favorites to take house the title in Boston. And Minnesota can’t be forgotten about both, though the proficient roster proved it nonetheless has loads of work to do after losses to the Extremely and Legion in Main One’s bracket.
Three on the prime
Atlanta FaZe are unsurprisingly hanging round within the prime three after sweeping the Surge in group play, solely to lose a five-game sequence to the Surge within the winners finals earlier than falling to the streaking Subliners within the losers bracket. The 2021 CDL champions can by no means be dismissed, which ought to make Main Two’s qualifiers much more attention-grabbing.
The highest two groups shot as much as their present ranks following so-so on-line outcomes and much-improved play on LAN. The Subliners, specifically, had been ranked seventh in our preseason rankings, and after a 0-2 opening week, it regarded like that was deserved. NYSL responded, nonetheless, successful their last two on-line qualifying matches and 7 of eight matches at Main One.
The Surge additionally had a tough qualifying stretch, however they equally responded with wins over Atlanta, LAT, and NYSL, though the Subliners clearly bought the final snigger within the grand finals.
These three groups are harmful for another squad within the league, and it’s even powerful to foretell who will win once they battle one another. We’ll get a style of it once more, although, when Atlanta and Seattle meet this weekend.
