?Paris Legion got reverse-swept in two of their last three games – against Minnesota R?KKR and London Royal Ravens – and then they lost against the New York Subliners 1-3. Those results put the Legion in a very rough spot, and it’s becoming evident that Bryan “Jimbo” Sabman won’t fix this roster, so the question is, what will?

At least Paris Legion are winning maps, so it’s not like they’re an easy team to play against, but they’re also not closing out series. Their next opponents, Toronto Ultra, are overall stronger and should have an edge, but they have some glaring weaknesses, namely Hardpoint.

There’s a world where Toronto Ultra stomp the Legion, so it really comes down to how much faith you have in Legion to be as competitive as they were against R?KKR and London Royal Ravens. We don’t expect to see any miracles, but Paris Legion should win on Hardpoint, which gives us an excellent opportunity to bet on the correct score market.

?The battle of Los Angeles sees the struggling Thieves clash with their city rivals, the Guerrillas. Los Angeles Thieves are 0-3 since the Major, meaning they’ve lost four in a row – including a 2-3 defeat against Atlanta FaZe at the CDL Major 1.

They’ve since stumbled against London Royal Ravens (0-3) OpTic Texas (2-3) and got reverse-swept against Minnesota R?KKR (2-3) this weekend. It’s a terrible record to hold, but we have to acknowledge that the Thieves choked against R?KKR while their remaining three defeats came against some of the top teams in the Call of Duty League.

Like Los Angeles Thieves, the Guerrillas are very tough to sort out – you know they’re not very good, but they won against Seattle Surge, so they can’t be terrible either. Still, we’re leaning more towards the Thieves for this bout.

Their record isn’t excellent, but the Los Angeles Thieves had a very rough schedule, and they’re much better than what they showed against R?KKR last time out.

?Florida Mutineers are an interesting team. They stomped Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-0) and New York Subliners (3-0), and even though they lost against OpTic Texas (0-3) last week, the Mutineers played a very close series, which could easily reach map five.

We keep seeing upside from this squad, so while they might not look too dangerous, we would keep an eye on Florida Mutineers comes the next Major. Unfortunately, despite their moments of greatness, it’s unlikely for the Mutineers to defeat Atlanta FaZe.

Not only are FaZe better individually, but Florida Mutineer’s two best maps (Bocage and Tuscan) are also FaZe’s best maps. FaZe to win with at least two maps to spare is an obvious choice with some security, but we’re out for a higher payout.

?More esports betting tips

?Atlanta FaZe lost against Seattle Surge last week (2-3), but there’s more to that match than meets the eye. Most notably, FaZe let Berlin through, which likely wasn’t a mistake but rather an attempt to build their map pool.

So while you could criticise FaZe for losing, know that the top teams use qualifying matches more as a practice for the Major than a way to show off their quality. That, however, doesn’t mean we’re on the side of FaZe for this match.

Atlanta FaZe are extremely good, but so are London Royal Ravens, who have shown immense quality over the last month. Admittedly, they should be viewed as slight underdogs for this bout, but Royal Ravens are only getting better.

London Royal Ravens can take this game and are a solid bet at the offered CDL betting odds.

?New York Sublinbers are not looking too sharp. Most notably, they’re winless in Hardpoint, which is not great; however, they’re the sixth-best Hardpoint team per point scored, so their record is a bit misleading. Still, the Subliners are not winning, so it’s tough to defend them.

The Subliners are dealing with some serious problems that go well beyond poor individual performances, and this is a perfect example of a team with a lot of talent that has imploded. On a more positive note, the Subliners are reportedly adding Paul “PaulEhx” Avila to the roster before the weekend, but it remains to be seen whether that will fix their issues.

That’s not to say Paris Legion have looked much better than the Subliners, but they also aren’t that much worse. This is a match that can go both ways, so we’re on Paris Legion, who are paying outsider odds with most Call of Duty betting sites.

?This fixture could make or break Florida Mutineers’ chances of proving they belong in the group of the top CDL teams. They’ve been on a tear recently, winning against Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-0) and the New York Sublibners (3-0), so they’re clearly a class above the bottom squads.

Joseph “Owakening” Conley and Cesar “Skyz” Bueno are in excellent form and could be a serious problem for OpTic Texas on Hardpoint. But even though we expect the Mutineers to do well on Hardpoint, they still need to defeat OpTic on S&D and Control, which isn’t likely to happen.

Brandon “Dashy” Otell and co. are not perfect, and they weren’t great in their win against Los Angeles Thieves (3-2) last weekend. But they’re still a class above the Mutineers and should win without dropping more than one map.

More esports betting tips

?London Royal Ravens will welcome back Joey “Gismo” Owen for this week, but it’s not like the London squad struggled without him – far from it. The Royal Ravens won both of their CDL Major 2 qualifiers outings against New York Sublinbers (3-1) and Los Angeles Thieves (3-0) in quite a dominant fashion.

The fact that London Royal Ravens were able to perform that well with Paul “PaulEhx” Avila as a temporary substitute is an excellent indication of how good Royal Ravens actually are. It might be a hot take, but they look like the most well-rounded in the CDL currently.

It will take a lot more than Paris Legion to stop London Royal Ravens, who should be in for a quick and easy 3-0. The top esports betting sites are offering better than evens for that result.

Seattle Surge lost their opening match of the CDL Major 2 qualifiers against Boston Breach (1-3) but quickly bounced back with a 3-2 victory against Atlanta FaZe on Sunday. So even though we’re not sold on Seattle Surge just yet, they have started showing some signs of improvement.

They might not be one of the top CDL teams record-wise, but the Surge were a bit unlucky, lost a couple of bad maps, and had many missed opportunities. They now have a chance to prove themselves through a very tough schedule, starting with a clash against the reigning CDL Major champions, OpTic Texas. The latter are expected to win; however, Seattle Surge have the right tools to make this match interesting.

Seth “Scump” Abner and co. are technically the best team in the CDL, but they have their weaknesses, mainly Berlin, where they’re 0-4. And even if OpTic ban Berlin, this leaves Gavutu, a map that can go either way. Moreover, Surge are by far the best team on Tuscan, so map pool-wise, they’re in a good spot.

This will be an entertaining series that will be much closer than people think. A correct score bet on OpTic to win 3-2 might be worth a shot, but we’re on the Surge with a map advantage.

Boston Breach had a great run through the first CDL Major last month when they beat Florida Mutineers (3-2), Paris Legion (3-1) and nearly took down Toronto Ultra (2-3). They’ve since added one more victory (3-1) against Seattle Surge in the first round of CDL Major 2 qualifiers.

Minnesota R?KKR have so far beaten only Paris Legion, Los Angeles Guerrillas (twice), and OpTic Texas in the first week of the season. That isn’t a terrible record, but it’s far from great, knowing that R?KKR have yet to win against a tough opponent.

That’s not to say R?KKR are much weaker than Boston Breach, but their showings don’t inspire much confidence. Talent-wise, these two rosters are evenly matched, so it all comes down to which team we have less faith in, and currently, that’s Minnesota R?KKR.

?London Royal Ravens made semi-finals in the first CDL Major of the season, yet they’re $3.75 underdogs against Los Angeles Thieves, who crashed out in fifth-sixth place. That’s not too shocking, knowing that the Thieves performed well and their last match was a narrow 2-3 defeat against Atlanta FaZe. Furthermore, London Royal Ravens will be without Joey “Gismo” Owen, who is out for two weeks.

In his place, the Ravens will field Paul “PaulEhx” Avila, who is a downgrade, but he is good enough to carry his weight. So assuming PaulEhx can step up and be at least serviceable, the London squad should do just fine until they get back Gismo.

Obviously, London Royal Ravens will have a tougher time beating Los Angeles Thieves without their star player, but they have enough solid pieces to be just as competitive as they were so far. At $2.25 with a map handicap, it’s hard to pass on London Royal Ravens.

Minnesota R?KKR could only manage a top-eight finish in the first CDL Major, where they only won against Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-0). Even in the qualifiers, R?KKR left a lot to be desired, with two wins against the Guerrillas and the disorganised OpTic Texas.

The 2021 CDL silver-medalists, Toronto Ultra, have yet to find their footing this season, but this is still a talented team. They placed sixth in CDL Major 1 Qualifier (3-2) and even took down the Thieves in the first round of the Major before they had to admit defeat to London Royal Ravens (1-3) and Boston Breach (2-3).

Although Ultra’s results are not too convincing, they are not getting enough respect on the betting market. This is the same roster that nearly won the CDL crown last season, and even though they are still shaky, their ceiling is significantly higher than R?KKR’s. Moreover, R?KKR have yet to produce a clean game this season and don’t come off as a team that can upset Ultra.

?New York Subliners have yet to find their footing this season, which was unexpected with the talent on this roster. With a 1-5 record and 6-17 map difference, the Subliners have a lot of catching up to do, but based on what we saw from them so far, things likely won’t get better anytime soon.

In contrast, London Royal Ravens went from a team no one believed could achieve much to reaching the semi-finals in the first major of the CDL season. And that alone is a solid testament to the Royal Ravens’ quality as a team.

Like the CDL betting odds suggest, London Royal Ravens should easily defeat New York Subliners, but we can imagine the Subliners winning at least one map. Admittedly, their performances on respawns are a bit iffy, but they are good on S&D, while the Royal Ravens are not. A 3-1 victory for London Royal Ravens seems like the most likely outcome.

Boston Breach and Seattle Surge are stylistically two very similar teams, and they share the same trait as squads that can be very tough to dominate. Breach have lost 0-3 only once this season, and even that was against Atlanta FaZe, while Surge’s only clean-sweep defeat happened in the final week of CDL Major 1 Qualifiers against Florida Mutineers.

The latest Call of Duty betting odds suggest Seattle Surge should win, which sounds fair considering they field a more talented roster. However, Surge are very unpredictable. They lost against Paris Legion in the first round of CDL Major 1, but they also defeated Toronto Ultra and took a map off London Royal Ravens during the qualifiers.

If Seattle Surge can show their best side, they should come out ahead, but we would expect a very close series even then. There’s a good chance this match goes to five maps, but if we had to pick a side, Boston Breach, at even money or better, are the way to go.