On paper, this should be an easy 3-0 win for New York Subliners; however, James “Clayster” Eubanks and co. looked very shaky last week when they lost to Los Angeles Thieves (2-3) and OpTic Chicago (0-3). Similarly, you can’t be too excited about London Royal Ravens, who went 0-2 with losses to Atlanta FaZe (0-3) and the Thieves (1-3).

Both teams faced opponents of similar quality, although you could say London Royals Ravens’ schedule was a bit tougher, mainly because they had to face FaZe. Regardless, we wouldn’t overreact to one iffy week from a top-four team in the league.

Many people will be down on Subliners, but we see this match as a perfect opportunity for them to bounce back. Subliners’ chance to secure a top-three seed for CDL Stage 5 Major hangs by a thread after losing both of their openers, which should inspire a better showing on Saturday.

Florida Mutineers enter this match as short-priced favourites with esports betting sites, which makes sense considering how poorly Los Angeles Guerrillas have been playing of late. What’s more, Mutineers are a good team in online matches, which should help them secure a much-needed win on Saturday. Can they do it with a 3-0, however, is another question.

Guerrillas took a map off Minnesota R?KKR in the opening week and won against Los Angeles Thieves (3-2) in the first round of CDL Stage 4 Major, so they clearly have some talent. They have also done relatively well against Mutineers before, winning three maps across their last two outings (2-3, 1-3). Mutineers should get it done, but it won’t be a clean sweep.

?Toronto Ultra are the much stronger team in this matchup, and while you could make a case for Los Angeles Guerrillas to steal at least one map on Thursday, even that seems unlikely. Toronto have not once underperformed against a weaker team since they found their form and are 3-1 in the head-to-head with the Guerrillas.

The only two head-to-head fixtures where Guerrillas have looked any good happened during CDL Super Week (3-2) and early into the second stage (2-3). However, they have since lost two games against Ultra with 0-3.

Toronto enter this match following a 3-1 victory against Minnesota R?KKR on Sunday, when R?KKR won on Raid – Hardpoint with 250-225. Guerrillas are 0-2 on the stage with a 1-6 map difference and are on a 1-7 run since the start of CDL Stage 4. This should be a straightforward victory for Toronto Ultra.

?Seattle Surge looked good during the CDL Stage 4 Major, where they beat London Royal Ravens (3-1), Paris Legion (3-0), and came close to derailing OpTic Chicago (2-3). It seems like the Surge prefer playing on LAN, which makes sense considering which players are on the roster. Unfortunately, CDL Stage 5 Major qualifiers are played online.

Minnesota R?KKR are a very talented team, but they are evidently not good enough to compete with the CDL top dogs. They’re 2-2 in their last four with wins against Los Angeles Guerrillas (3-1) and the slumping New York Subliners (3-0) and losses to OpTic (1-3) and Atlanta FaZe (0-3).

R?KKR are far from one of the main candidates to win the CDL Championship title, but they usually do well against the Surge. They’re 3-0 up in the head-to-head, with wins coming at 3-0, 3-2, and 3-1.

If this was a LAN event, we would have some faith in Seattle to cause an upset, but it’s tough to make a case for a team that is 7-21 on the season. R?KKR should get it done with at least two maps to spare.