The Call of Duty League Major 4 Tournament is nearing an epic conclusion. After more than two weeks of qualifying rounds, the Tournament Weekend begins at 1:30 pm on April 20, with a match between the Minnesota Røkkr and the Los Angeles Thieves leading off the action.
New England’s own Boston Breach wasn’t able to secure an opening round bye during this tournament. The Breach had a frustrating run through the qualifying round, showing flashes of winning potential at times but never managing to put it all together for long. They managed just two wins in five games, which was good enough to earn them a place in the winners’ bracket heading into tournament weekend.
They’ll face OpTic Texas in the opening round of the tournament (which is potentially a tough draw for Boston: Texas outclassed them mightily in Hardpoint in their first meeting, which OpTic won 3-1 last weekend. As of right now, esports betting platforms list Texas as a heavy favorite in the rematch, at or around -294 at Massachusetts area sportsbooks. Massachusetts sports betting promos will have all the latest sign-up bonuses now that online betting is officially legal in the state of Massachusetts: odds can vary dramatically from sportsbook to sportsbook (as can promotions and bonus bets offered), so make sure you shop around first if you think you have a winning wager so that you can secure the best possible margin to bet on.
Should the Breach manage to pull off the upset, they’ll advance to face the winner of the New York Subliners and the Vegas Legion. If the cards fall the way they’re expected to, however, they’ll fall into the Elimination Bracket beginning the next day, giving them a chance at redemption in the Grand Finals should they manage to run the table.
Here’s a look at how the Breach have performed throughout the tournament qualifiers, and
The opening week of the qualifying round saw Breach play to a 1-1 split. They fell to the Vegas Legion 3-1 to open the festivities, losing a heartbreaking 250-249 in the opening Hardpoint match, and dropping the ensuing Search and Destroy round 6-4. Boston avoided the sweep with a 3-1 win in Control, but fell in runaway fashion 250-182 in the Hardpoint rematch.
Boston then bounced back with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Ultra the next day. The Breach leapt out to an early 2-0 lead over Toronto with a 250-215 win in Hardpoint and a comfortable 6-4 win in Search and Destroy, but they let the Ultra back in the competition with a 3-1 loss in Control and a 250-175 blowout in the second round of Hardpoint. Luckily, Boston managed to prevail with another 6-4 victory in the decisive Search and Destroy match, escaping with a win.
The Breach downed the London Royal Ravens to move to 2-1 in qualifying play in their only match the weekend of April 7, falling 250-216 in Hardpoint to open things up before rebounding with three straight victories.
They weren’t able to end the circuit on a high note, though, opening last weekend with the aforementioned loss to Texas and a 3-0 sweep at the hands of the Subliners.
Hardpoint has been a sore point for the Breach throughout the play-in rounds: they fell in blowout fashion again to the Subliners, 250-183 to open the series. Success in Search and Destroy evaded them once again, as New York took that round 6-4, and the Breach weren’t able to stave off the sweep in the Control round, barely losing 3-2.
Both of Boston’s wins came against teams that didn’t qualify for the winner’s bracket. While they could make a deep run in the elimination round, their lack of success against top tier teams makes it difficult to see them claiming a tournament win in this cycle.
