?Florida Mutineers caused a huge upset last week when they defeated Dallas Empire (3-1), to which they added another solid showing against Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-1). The Mutineers are now tied with Toronto Ultra atop of Group B and two wins short of a perfect run.

Toronto Ultra have been just as successful this stage, with three clean wins against Minnesota R?KKR (3-1), Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-0), and Seattle Surge (3-0). However, as impressive as those numbers might look, Ultra haven’t faced a tough opponent yet, and are 3-2 in their last five, with losses to Atlanta FaZe (1-3) and Dallas Empire (2-3).

It’s also important to mention that Mutineers already beat Ultra (3-2) during CDL Stage 4. Toronto Ultra might be a much better team on paper, but we wouldn’t underestimate the surging Mutineers and their ability to force a tight series. We like the Mutineers with a 1.5 handicap.

?Surge enter this match with a 0-3 record on the stage, which includes losses to Florida Mutineers (1-3), Minnesota R?KKR (0-3), and Toronto Ultra (0-3). Dallas Empire are 2-1 with wins against Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-0) and Minnesota R?KKR (3-1) and a loss against Florida Mutineers (1-3).

Even though Dallas Empire dropped one game, they’re still in great shape and shouldn’t struggle against the Surge, who have managed only seven wins on the season – two of which came during CDL Stage 4 Major.

There is a world where Seattle Surge steal one map against the Empire, but there’s an equal chance that they lose 0-3. Seattle haven’t managed a single notable win outside of LAN, and it doesn’t seem like that will change here.

?New York Subliners might be the fourth-highest rated team on the season (310 CDL points), yet you wouldn’t be able to figure that out had you only started watching CDL at the start of this stage. Throughout the opening two weeks of CDL Stage 5, New York Subliners faced Los Angeles Thieves, OpTic Chicago, and London Royal Ravens and lost all three bouts with 2-3, 0-3, and 2-3 respectively.

These two CDL esports teams last met 12 months ago, when Paris Legion won 3-0 and considering New York Subliners’ poor form, you have to have some faith in the French side to see some success on Thursday. Subliners are individually much better, but until they show some improvement, it’s tough to trust them – even against one of the least successful teams in the league.

In the recent roster update, Subliners announced that James “Clayster” Eubanks would be taking some time off from competition. He will get replaced by Conor “Diamondcon” Johst, who has played with the team early into the 2021 season and has done well in the CDL Challengers league; however, he is still a clear downgrade to the three-time world champion.

?OpTic Chicago have been one of the most underwhelming CDL teams on the season, but the Green Wall seem to have found their form just in time. As a roster that consistently underdelivered against CDL top dogs, OpTic showed an entirely different side of them last weekend when they defeated Atlanta FaZe (3-2).

Seth “Scump” Abner and co. are now the sole leaders of CDL Stage 5 Group A and are seemingly in the best form they have been this year. Similarly, London Royal Ravens showed some life last week when they beat New York Subliners (3-2); however, with the form the Subliners have been showing, that narrow victory isn’t something to write home about.

OpTic have been known for dropping unnecessary maps, which makes us a bit cautious about backing them to win 3-0. Instead, we will side with the Green Wall to win 3-1 on the correct score market.??