Back on LAN and it feels so good.
The first day of CDL Major 1 2026 has concluded, with the first round of the winner's bracket wrapping up. It was an exciting return to LAN, as the last time we saw professional teams take the mainstage was at EWC in August 2025. There was a lot of talk about whether or not certain teams would benefit from being on LAN, and that was definitely the case on day one.
Below, we'll recap the whole day and look ahead to day two at CDL Major 1.
FaZe and Carolina drop to the loser's bracket with sweeps
Coming into today, this looked the most competitive major in the CDL era. After an online round of qualifiers where no one team truly separated themselves from the pack, Major 1 was thought to be anyone's tournament. And after day one, that still looks to be the prevailing opinion.
We saw four winners' bracket matchups that concluded with the Paris Gentle Mates, LA Thieves, OpTic Texas, and G2 Minnesota all emerging victorious. On the other hand, Toronto KOI, Carolina Royal Ravens, Riyadh Falcons, and FaZe Vegas all dropped to the loser's bracket, where they now face single-elimination.
The day began with the Paris Gentle Mates worldstarring Toronto KOI on numerous occasions. While this was technically the closest series of the day, with Paris winning 3-1, it didn't look close in any of the three maps that the Gentle Mates won. Neptune and Sib were the true stars for Paris, but Ghosty and Envoy both played major roles in the win, especially when it came to the objective. As for Toronto, they simply couldn't keep pace with a faster Paris team, and that doesn't bode well for them as their next match is against the Miami Heretics, another fast-paced squad.
The next match of the day was by far the spiciest. The LA Thieves and Carolina Royal Ravens had some trash talk going back and forth before Major 1, as the Ravens looked like the best team in the CDL during the qualifiers, but the Thieves didn't take kindly to their confidence. Many thought Carolina would struggle on LAN versus online, and that ended up being exactly what happened.
The Thieves walked away with a dominant 3-0 sweep. Carolina didn't look anything like the online version of the team we've been seeing since they picked up Exceed. LAT star Scrap boldly exclaimed that the Royal Ravens "aren't in their bedrooms" anymore after the win, and Carolina now has work to do to show they can still be the team some thought we'd see at Major 1.
Next, we saw the hometown favorite OpTic Texas take on the Riyadh Falcons. While some thought OpTic's recent online struggles would doom them against a red hot Falcons team, that didn't come to fruition in the slightest. The Falcons had no chance against OpTic, as the entire squad contributed to the win in all three maps. Mercules was, unsurprisingly, the MVP of the match, while Shotzzy and Dashy finished with positive KDs.
Finally, the lone upset of the day came during the FaZe Vegas vs. G2 Minnesota match. This upset was easier to predict, though, as G2 looked great against FaZe during the online qualifiers. However, very few fans likely expected a 3-0 sweep, as FaZe was one of the favorites coming into Major 1. After a 60-point win in the Hardpoint, a dominant Search and Destroy, and a wild come-from-behind Overload win, though, Minnesota is heading on to winner's bracket round two while Vegas is now fighting for their life in the loser's bracket.
Day two of CDL Major 1 should be even more action-packed than day one, so make sure to check out our full event schedule guide to not miss any of the action. You also want to ensure you have your Twitch Drops working for Major 1, as you could be missing out on some flashy rewards in Black Ops 7.
