The penultimate Major of the 2023 Call of Duty League season is upon us and there are two intriguing contests on the cards on Saturday.

Major Four was originally due to take place in New York but was moved to Columbus in Ohio and began on Thursday with the teams competing for a $500,000 prize pool. 

The latest Major in the CDL season started with four matches in the winners' bracket with the losers of each of those contests dropping down to the losers' bracket. 

As for the four winning sides, they have progressed to the next stage of the winners' bracket and on Saturday they will battle it out for a place in the winners' final. 

LA Thieves are up in the first contest against juggernauts Atlanta FaZe, while the later match on Saturday pits OpTic Texas against New York Subliners. 

Only one Major remains in this season's Call of Duty League after this week and the need for CDL points will intensify as teams bid to secure their spots at the end-of-season Call of Duty Championship.

Thieves and FaZe could be tough to separate in winners' bracket

In the first of two second-round matches in the Major Four winners' bracket, LA Thieves and Atlanta FaZe cannot be separated in the betting. 

Both sides are 5/6 to win this knockout contest and progress to the winners' final and a tight encounter is expected. 

Atlanta FaZe remain the frontrunners in the overall Call of Duty League standings - they have won 22 of their 34 series this season and have put 275 points on the board. 

In Major One, they reached the elimination final, they then won Major Two and in Major Three, they again came one game away from the grand final, so they have always been there or thereabouts. 

But it was Los Angeles Thieves who edged Atlanta FaZe in the 2022 Call of Duty League Championship final, thanks largely to MVP Kenneth "Kenny" Williams, and they also have reason to be optimistic this year. 

LA Thieves were one of four sides to record 4-1 win-loss records during qualifying for Major Four. 

The Thieves may not have won a Major title themselves in this year's Call of Duty League but they are not far off FaZe in the overall 2023 standings, having put up 210 points this season. 

It really is a match which could swing either way and, rather than pick a winner, punters are advised to go for over 4.5 maps at a decent price of 6/4.

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High-flying OpTic Texas can see off the Subliners

OpTic Texas were the only side to win all five of their matches in qualifying for Major Four and they are a team very much on the up. 

Their formidable qualifying campaign swiftly followed a fine performance in the main event at Major Three in which they made the final, having finished as runners-up to Toronto Ultra, who won 4-2. 

Texas managed to win 15 out of a possible 18 matches in their Major Four qualifying campaign, though, and they carried their fine qualifying form into their opener at the main event on Thursday. 

OpTic Texas booked their place in the second round of the winners' bracket with a 3-1 win over Boston Breach and at 4/7, they are strongly fancied to see off the New York Subliners. 

And it is hard to argue with that logic given how good the Texas outfit have looked in the last few weeks. 

Both OpTic Texas and New York Subliners are on course to qualify for the Call of Duty Championship, having amassed 240 and 215 points respectively overall in 2023, though, so a Texas win may only be by a small margin. 

With that in mind, back OpTic Texas to win this 3-1 at 11/4, while those with a bit more confidence in the favourites could opt for them at -1.5 on the match handicap at 11/8.

bet365 News Team

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