Call of Duty League 2022: Stage 1 Major Tournament Preview

While the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t hit the eSports industry in 2021 as hard as it did in 2020, there was still that shortage in events that left fans and bettors wanting more. Luckily early this year, we’re seeing stadiums and buildings reopen and go back to business. The most recent Call of Duty League tournament that took place about a month ago already had a live audience in it, and that’s only the beginning.

What can we expect from the upcoming Call of Duty League 2022: Stage 1 Major event? Who are the teams to watch out for and perhaps even bet on? How do the pre-season changes and shuffles affect the odds if they have any effect at all? Read on to find out!

The Favorite – Atlanta FaZe

As the most dominant team of 2021, it’s easy to see why Atlanta FaZe is the Call of Duty League 2022 favorite. They finished first in a lot of S-tier tournaments last year, including four out of five Major stages and the CDL Championship itself. In doing so, they put themselves above other formidable teams such as Toronto Ultra and Dallas Empire.

But some interesting changes have happened since then. For one, there’s been a merger between Team Envy (the owner of Dallas Empire) and OpTic Gaming (the organization of OpTic Chicago). This gave rise to what’s already appearing to be Atlanta FaZe’s soon-to-be nemesis: OpTic Texas, a team that houses CDL Championship 2020 winners Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal, and their coach Raymond “Rambo” Lussier.

Will Atlanta FaZe continue to be the alpha of the pack or will old enemies with hungry talents finally establish a new order? Some of the best bookies in the game believe in the former. Right now, Betway is giving them 1.05 odds of winning against Boston Breach (8.00), their first upcoming opponent. We highly recommend checking out our Betway reviews so you can take advantage of the best Call of Duty odds while the window is open.

The Outside Bet – Paris Legion

Bookies think that Paris Legion is so behind in the game that you can literally make a million by backing them with a couple of thousand. Looking at Bet365, one of the most popular online sportsbooks in the world, you can’t help but wish a little good luck for the French team. So, what are their chances?

Bet365 is offering them a bewildering 501.00 odds of winning the entire tournament! This means you can win around $1,000,000 just by betting $2,000 assuming they suddenly turn into completely different beasts, start shooting like aimbots, and manage to pull the greatest eSports upset of all time. Apparently, something like this is as likely to happen as the team actually winning this Call of Duty tournament.

Of course, there’s a valid reason why Bet365 has given Paris Legion ridiculous odds. The organization has never won anything noteworthy other than delivering a strong performance in Call of Duty Challengers Scouting Series: North America back in 2020, which is a filler tournament that most fans would probably find next to trivial.

It’s slightly curious though that the team has made recent alterations in their roster. On November 10 last year, they wiped the slate clean and signed four players with previous records and some noticeable contributions from different teams. Their lineup now includes Jacob “Decemate” Cato, Tyler “FeLo” Johnson, Johnathan “John” Perez, and Donovan “Temp” Laroda.

Could they be the next biggest underdog success story in eSports history? Feel free to visit our Bet365 reviews to get your hands on the hottest Call of Duty odds ahead of everybody! Among many other things, they’re famous for opening their odds while other bookies are still crunching the numbers.

Key Events

During Kickoff Classic 2022, we’ve seen some clues that tell a little bit about how the teams will perform this early in the year. We say a little bit because Kickoff Classic is a BO5 single-elimination tournament that’s only meant to serve as an opener for the new season. Also, professional teams are often too careful to reveal their hand right away, whether in sports or eSports or even business.

Still, there are some values to be found by looking at the results. Seattle Surge defeated both Atlanta FaZe and London Royal Ravens (first and third in terms of highest odds) even though they’re only the sixth most favored team in the nearing Major. They then went on to beat New York Subliners and reached the finals where they fell to Toronto Ultra.

Based on Bet365’s offers, Seattle Surge has 12.00 odds of winning the entire event. They follow LA Thieves (8.00) and Toronto Ultra (8.00).

Conclusion

Odds are blind to the future and don’t accurately predict which team is going to win. Nothing can, and that’s why betting is so fun if done responsibly.

We’ve only detailed Atlanta FaZe and Paris Legion because these are the two teams that sit at the opposite sides of the spectrum. The other 10 teams all have stories to tell that you might want to learn about before you submit your bet slip and lock in your prediction.

You might also want to consider what the other dedicated eSports betting sites are offering. Determine the best deals you can get on our site today and start betting on even more Call of Duty tournaments this year!