On Thursday, the Call of Duty League 2022 season reaches its climax with the Call of Duty League Championship taking place in Los Angeles, California.
Eight teams from the Call of Duty League will battle it out in a double-elimination bracket for the chance to be crowned world champions of the Vanguard season and to scoop $1.2m in prize money.
It is the most prestigious event in the Esports schedule and with each of this year's Major events having been won by a different side, it is tough to pick the winner.
| What: | Call of Duty League Championship 2022 |
| Where: | Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA |
| When: | Thursday August 4th 2022 - Sunday August 7th 2022 |
| How to watch: | Call of Duty League Youtube channel |
| Odds: | Atlanta FaZe +225, LA Thieves +260, OpTic Texas +275, New York Subliners +600, Seattle Surge +1200 |
Defending champions Atlanta FaZe look to finish tough year on a high note
Last year's Call of Duty League Championship weekend concluded with a 5-3 win for Atlanta FaZe in the final against Toronto Ultra and the defending champions can be backed at +225 to repeat the feat in 2022.
However, while Atlanta were a dominant force in the 2021 edition of the Call of Duty League, running out winners in three of the five main stages, they have failed to pick up a single Major title this season.
They made three of the four finals, but form is not on their side, with their worst Major performance coming in the fourth and most recent, which also took place in LA.
And at the prices available, there are better bets than Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris and his side.
Form on the side of LA Thieves
Punters do not, however, need to look too far down the betting to find the best selection for this year's Call of Duty League Championship.
At +260, LA Thieves look the standout pick.
Although the team from California struggled in the season's early stages, crashing out in the third round of the lower bracket at Major One, they seem to have learned from their mistakes and won the fourth and final Major on their own patch.
But they also showed form at the mid-season Pro-Am Classic, defeating OpTic Texas to reach the final, in which they were defeated 3-1 by New York Subliners.
They are far from perfect and have blown hot and cold throughout 2022 but they were impressive in Major Four, getting their own back against the Subliners and taking down Atlanta FaZe 3-1 in the last four.
Roster inconsistencies have held back OpTic Texas
Another side expected to be among Atlanta FaZe's closest competitors this week are OpTic Texas, whose highlight of the year came at the very beginning of the season when they captured the Major One title.
Since then, they have been fairly solid but far from barnstorming and Challengers star Byron "Prolute" Vera has arguably failed to live up to his potential since joining the starting roster.
The loss of star talent Indervir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal has clearly held them back and it is asking a lot of the Texas-based side, who are +275 in the outright market, to come out on top in the Call of Duty League Championship.
Rest of the field can approach Championship as a free hit
All of the aforementioned big guns have their vulnerabilities - Atlanta FaZe have not won a Major this year, LA Thieves are pretty inconsistent and OpTic Texas have had roster issues.
And with that in mind, some of the teams at bigger prices will fancy their chances of causing a stir.
One match to keep an eye on is the clash between London Royal Ravens, who are +2500 to win the Championship, and Seattle Surge, who can be backed at +1200.
The winner of that contest will progress to the second round of the upper bracket in which they could well face Atlanta, giving them a great opportunity to spoil the party.
Both sides have come a long way since last year, but Seattle are the more likely to cause an upset given they have already experienced defeating Atlanta in the final of Major Three earlier this year.
There are worse bets than backing them at +450 to make the final of this iconic event in the Esports calendar.
