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Call of Duty 2021: Atlanta FaZe's Top Plays, Prize Money from Stage 1 Major
Mar 7, 2021
Spectators watch the final of League of Legends tournament between Team G2 Esports and Team FunPlus Phoenix, in Paris, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. The biggest e-sports event of the year saw a Chinese team, FunPlus Phoenix, crowned as world champions of the video game League of Legends. Thousands of fans packed a Paris arena for the event, which marked another step forward for the growing esports business. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Big money and vital placement points were on the line during the Call of Duty League's first 2021 tournament, but above all else, serious pride was at stake. With $500,000 and playoff trajectories up for grabs, storylines between former teammates and opponents took the Stage 1 Major to another level.
Starting on Day 1 in the Losers Bracket, the Florida Mutineers' Slacked had a revenge match against his 2020 Seattle Surge. By Championship Sunday, that drama had centered on three rosters—all building on rivalries.
Ultimately, the Atlanta FaZe took home the crown as their revamped four dominated the Dallas Empire, who beat them in the 2020 CDL Championship. On the top at the end of Stage 1, the team earned $200,000 and 75 CDL Points, which will prove critical by the time the postseason kicks off with a serious $2.5 million in play at CDL Champs 2021.
Twelve teams, five days of action and one early-season champion. Here's how FaZe made their run and earned a spot atop both CDL standings and fan power rankings alike.
In 2020, Atlanta was a filthy roster with some of the most dangerous players on the planet. Centered around "the Tiny Terrors," Simp and aBeZy, FaZe rolled through the regular season before ultimately falling to Dallas in the championship.
For 2021's swap to 4v4, FaZe dropped two players and picked up Arcitys—widely considered of the best Assault Rifle players in the league and a former teammate of the Terrors'. During the Stage 1 Major, it was proved that this roster (Simp, aBeZy, Cellium, Arcitys) is not just the best on paper, but also in-game.
Ignoring drama about Cellium breaking Gentleman's Agreements by snaking during Super Week, FaZe came out red-hot during Major I. Coming into the Winners Bracket with a bye, newcomer Arcitys made the upsurging Guerrillas his first victim with a clean three-piece to secure a sweep.
Then, it was the Empire in the Winners Finals, where aBeZy demonstrated why he and Simp are considered the scariest duo in all of CoD. The Terror went big by flexing onto the XM4 and pulling out a smooth Search & Destroy ace to send Empire down to the Losers Final.
After Dallas regained and comfortably swept former teammate Clayster's Subliners in the Losers Finals, FaZe shut it right back down. Tired of complaints about Cellium, bored of doubters and, without a doubt, frustrated with the second-place finish in 2020, Simp made his feelings known by obnoxiously shooting bodies of the living and the dead.
With the big win, FaZe continue a flawless start to the year. On paper, everyone thought they would be the best team this year, but all doubts about their clutch factor have been cast aside as the team remains undefeated in 2021.
Having earned $200,000 and a healthy lead for CDL Points, FaZe are looking unstoppable.
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No. 2 Michigan Upset by Unranked Michigan State as Rocket Watts Scores 21 Points
Mar 7, 2021
Michigan State guard Rocket Watts (2) drives as Michigan guard Mike Smith defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Michigan State avenged its defeat to No. 2 Michigan three days ago, capping off its regular season with a 70-64 victory over the Wolverines on Sunday at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.
With 1:12 remaining in the second half, Hunter Dickinson made it a two-point game after scoring inside and hitting his free throw. Joshua Langford responded with a three-pointer to give the Spartans a five-point cushion with 49 seconds to play.
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 7, 2021
While the Wolverines continued to knock on the door, Michigan State managed to seal the win from the charity stripe.
Rocket Watts led the way for the Spartans, scoring a game-high 21 points off the bench. He also had four rebounds and four assists to deliver arguably his biggest performance of the season.
Joey Hauser played a pivotal role as well, chipping in with 11 points. The depth Watts and Hauser provided was a big factor behind the upset. Michigan State's second unit outscored Michigan's reserves 41-17.
Man, if Rocket Watts and Joey Hauser had been able to play like this all season...
That elbow jumper from Rocket Watts was huge. What a shot. Michgian was starting to feel itself a little, deficit down to 6, bench back up and cheering annnd Watts' bucket was a silencer. Heads slung on the Michigan side.
Michigan cruised past its in-state rival Thursday to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title.
On that occasion, the Wolverines shot 50 percent from the field as a team and hit seven of their 16 three-point attempts. That efficient offense was nowhere to be seen in the rematch. Dickinson, Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner combined to score 31 points on 11-of-31 shooting.
Little went right for Juwan Howard's squad. Dickinson battled foul trouble (finishing with four), and Austin Davis fouled out with 4:29 left in the second half. Eli Brooks was limited to four minutes on the floor after suffering an ankle injury.
Eli Brooks hits the jumper to give U-M the lead, however, he leads on a Spartans foot and appears to roll his left ankle!
The result itself is a downer for Michigan but doesn't ultimately change much since the team was already assured of the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Brooks' injury, on the other hand, could be a big problem in the days ahead.
The absence of the senior guard was glaring Sunday, and the same will likely hold true in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments if he's forced to miss time.
Michigan State, meanwhile, may have sealed passage to the Big Dance. ESPN's John Gasaway wrote the Spartans still had work to do as a bubble team, while colleague Joe Lunardi projected MSU to be one of the last four teams in.
A heavy defeat in Michigan State's first game of the conference tournament could change things, but head coach Tom Izzo can at least rest a little easier now.
Arnold Palmer Invitational 2021: Bryson DeChambeau Edges Lee Westwood for Win
Mar 7, 2021
Bryson DeChambeau hits a shot from the third tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Following a tight race atop the leaderboard heading into Sunday, Bryson DeChambeau emerged as the victor of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Course in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
The 27-year-old held off Lee Westwood to earn his first win of the year and eighth of his career.
DeChambeau and Westwood were neck-and-neck through the front nine, and by the time they approached the final four holes, it essentially became a match-play outing for the duo, who remained one stroke apart once DeChambeau broke the tie.
After a tough start to hole No. 16, Westwood had his best chance to take the lead, but both golfers parred to keep the standings in place with two holes to go.
On No. 18, Westwood got caught in a divot on his drive, all but ending his chance to catch DeChambeau.
Corey Conners, who entered the day in a two-way tie for second place, worked his way back into the hunt with an eagle on No. 16 but eventually finished in third.
Third eagle of the week on No. 16. 👏 @CoreConn is the 5th player to make 3 eagles on the 16th hole in an event at @APInv since 1983.
Entering the final day of play, four golfers were within two strokes of each other atop the leaderboard. Westwood held the lead at 11 under, trailed by DeChambeau and Conners in a two-way tie for second at 10 under. Keegan Bradley and Jordan Spieth were in a tie for fourth place at nine under.
Final Leaderboard and Prize Payouts
Win: Bryson DeChambeau (-11): $1,674,000
2: Lee Westwood (-10): $1,013,700
3: Corey Conners (-8): $641,700
T4: Andrew Putnam, Richy Werenski, Jordan Spieth (-6): $391,375
Westwood climbed to the top of the field from 11th place on Saturday, and had his lead held, he would have become the oldest international winner on the PGA Tour in more than four decades.
A day after DeChambeau hit the longest drive on the No. 6 hole since 2003 with a 370-yard bomb on Saturday, he had an even longer drive on Sunday at 377 yards, eventually putting for birdie and securing his share of the lead.
It wasn't just his drives that were the key to his success on Sunday—DeChambeau was also strong once he hit the green, even draining a par-saving 49-foot putt on No. 11 that helped him maintain his lead for a bit longer.
While Westwood and DeChambeau battled for the lead, Spieth used a string of pars on sixstraight holes to hold a tie for third place with Conners before a bogey on No. 15 sent him down to fifth.
Elsewhere, Kristoffer Ventura, who finished in a tie for 36th, notched the third ace of the weekend.
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Collin Morikawa watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the Workday Championship golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Collin Morikawa led the field at the WGC-Workday Championship during Round 3 on Saturday, and he was crowned the winner of the first World Golf Championships outing of the year on Sunday.
Morikawaentered the last day of play with a two-shot lead over the rest of the field, while Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel chased him in a tie for second place.
Morikawa's third round was highlighted by an eight-hole stretch in which he clocked seven birdies, balancing out the three bogeys he recorded on the day. Koepka had dropped down from the lead he acquired Friday to join Horschel, who recovered from consecutive bogeys to record a par, a birdie and an eagle to close on Morikawa late Saturday.
On Sunday, Horschel moved into a tie for the lead when he picked up two birdies on three early holes, but Morikawa soon pulled away, and Horschel ended up in a tie for second.
— WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession (@WGCWorkday) February 28, 2021
Viktor Hovland joined the chase when he grabbed three consecutive birdies at the turn, but he didn't shake Scottie Scheffler as the pair climbed the leaderboard from a tie for seventh place, where they started the day.
It looked like Hovland's rise would end on No. 13 when he found his way into ridiculously thick rough. But the 23-year-old recovered for birdie and an approach on Morikawa.
He eventually dropped when he recorded his third bogey of the day on the next hole while Morikawa added another birdie to increase the distance. Hovland finished the weekend in the three-way tie for second.
Webb Simpson, who sat at 12 under to hold fourth placeentering Sunday, finished tied for sixth.
Rory McIlroy entered Sunday in a tie with Patrick Reed for fifth place, and the Northern Irishman looked to be in solid position to earn his first top-10 finish since the Masters, a week after he missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational.
He went one under on Sunday to finish the weekend in the sixth-place tie at 12 under.
Next up on the golf calendar is the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where Tyrrell Hatton will attempt to hold on to his championship title from last season by fending off 2018 champion McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, who will play in the tournament for the first time.
