CDL Champs 2022 begins Thursday, as the top eight teams in the league battle it out for the $1.2 million grand prize. The event takes place at the Galen Center in Los Angeles and begins at 3 p.m. ET Aug. 4. Before the tournament begins, though, we have some predictions as to who we think will win every single match. We’ll go over our full bracket and some of the more noteworthy matchups below.
Upcomer’s CDL Champs 2022 bracket
We filled out an entire bracket for Champs and predicted the outcome of every match. A majority of the predictions were based on previous head-to-head matchups, how each team looks heading into Champs and any extenuating circumstance. However, a few of those predictions were simply gut feelings and trying to predict the unpredictable nature of Vanguard.
As fans can see, we have an OpTic Texas vs. Seattle Surge grand final, with the New York Subliners and Atlanta FaZe rounding out the top four. We’ll go over why we predicted some of the matches below. You can fill out your own bracket on the CDL’s Pick ‘Em website.
Explanations
Seattle Surge vs. London Royal Ravens (WR1) – London has yet to show up on LAN this season, as the Royal Ravens haven’t placed higher than top seven since Major I. Seattle also usually rebounds after a bad showing at the previous event, and we have them going far at Champs.
OpTic Texas vs. Toronto Ultra (WR1) – This is almost certainly going to a Game 5, but we’re not too high on Toronto heading into this event.
Toronto Ultra vs. Boston Breach (LR1) – Speak of the devil. We don’t think Ultra do well at Champs. They’re 1-2 against Boston this season, with their only win coming at Major I. Anthony “Methodz” Zinni gets his revenge against Toronto for dropping him in this match.
Atlanta FaZe vs. Seattle Surge (WR2) – Atlanta has had its struggles against Seattle this season, and we’re predicting those troubles continue at Champs. Amer “Pred” Zulbeari is going to stifle the duo of Chris “Simp” Lehr and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris, especially if the map vetoes go in Surge’s favor.
New York Subliners vs. LA Thieves (LR2) – While the LA Thieves won Major IV, Vanguard doesn’t really allow for teams to perform well in back-to-back events. NYSL will be out for blood in this match, and Ian “Crimsix” Porter won’t be denied a top-four spot.
OpTic Texas vs. Seattle Surge (WF) – This match was the most difficult to predict. While we think Pred will go off as he usually does against OpTic, Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal’s return to form will elevate Texas over Seattle in the winners final. If this match doesn’t go to Game 5, we’d be utterly shocked.
OpTic Texas vs. Seattle Surge (GF) – In a rematch of the winners final, we truly think the grand final could go either way. It sounds cliché to say that, but with the way Vanguard has been all season long, it’s incredibly difficult to predict how the last match of the season will go. This match has several storylines, but the most prevalent is the old guard vs. new. Pred, the headliner for the next generation of SMGs, goes up against the best SMG player to ever do it in Seth “Scump” Abner. This could also be Scump’s final match ever, as he’s contemplated retirement in the past. If we’re forced to pick a winner, we think OpTic end the season how they started it, with a win. Pred and Seattle could be a force for years to come, but it’s hard to pick against Scump in the grand final of Champs.
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