Riyadh Falcons tie for first after 3-1 win over Paris

The Riyadh Falcons jumped into a tie for first place in Call of Duty League Stage 1 qualifying after a 3-1 victory over the Paris Gentle Mates on Friday, as Week 4 got underway. Miami Heretics also made a statement, sweeping the Vancouver Surge 3-0 the same day.

The Falcons surrendered the opening map, falling 250-55 on Exposure Hardpoint, but they dominated the rest of the match. Riyadh took Raid Search and Destroy 6-4, edged Den Overload 2-1 and closed out Blackheart Hardpoint 250-231 to secure the win. Miami’s sweep featured a 250-194 Exposure Hardpoint win, a 6-3 Den Search and Destroy, and a 2-1 result on Exposure Overload against Vancouver.

Each of the 12 CDL teams will play seven matches during qualifying, with every match win worth 10 CDL points. While all teams will advance to Major 1 in Dallas, scheduled for Jan. 29-Feb. 1, qualifying points determine whether squads begin the Major in the upper or lower bracket, making every result meaningful for seeding and potential bracket paths.

The qualifying standings after Friday’s action show OpTic Texas and Riyadh Falcons tied atop the leaderboard with 40 points; OpTic sits at 4-1 with a plus-5 map differential, Riyadh is 4-2 with plus-3. A three-way group of FaZe Vegas, Toronto KOI and Paris Gentle Mates follow at 30 points, with FaZe 3-1 plus-2, Toronto 3-1 plus-6, and Paris 3-2 plus-4. Boston Breach, Los Angeles Thieves, Carolina Royal Ravens and Miami Heretics are clustered on 20 points; Boston is 2-2 even, the Thieves 2-2 minus-1, the Royal Ravens 2-2 minus-2, and Miami 2-3 even. Cloud9 New York, G2 Minnesota and Vancouver Surge trail on 10 points each, with Cloud9 1-3 even, G2 1-4 minus-4, and Vancouver 1-5 minus-13.

The weekend schedule keeps the pressure high: Saturday features Miami Heretics vs Boston Breach, Toronto KOI vs Carolina Royal Ravens and FaZe Vegas vs Cloud9 New York, while Sunday brings Cloud9 New York vs Boston Breach, G2 Minnesota vs FaZe Vegas and OpTic Texas vs Los Angeles Thieves. With seven matches per team and only a few weekends left before the Dallas Major, every map differential and clutch round can swing seeding and bracket placement.

For teams and fans, the immediate takeaway is clarity on momentum and matchup priorities heading into Major 1. Expect teams to sharpen Hardpoint rotations, Search and Destroy strategies and Overload decision-making this weekend as squads chase points, better map differentials and the more favorable upper-bracket paths in Dallas.