Thieves, Surge highlight super Saturday at Major III

Day 3 of the Call of Duty League Major III in Boca Raton has come to a close, and the intensity reached a whole new level, with back-to-back Major-winning Atlanta FaZe being knocked out by Miami Heretics.

With championship dreams on the line, players delivered clutch performances and momentum-shifting plays when their teams needed them most. We saw everything from standout Hardpoint performances to carry their teams to Game 5 ice against the best. These standout stars made their presence felt on a critical day. Let’s take a look at the Players of the Day who rose to the occasion and kept the Major III drama alive.

Thomas "Scrap" Ernst - LA Thieves

Result: 3-0 Doordash series win against Miami Heretics
The Thieves make it to another Sunday in the Call of Duty League, but this time through the Winner's Bracket. Behind their AR duo, the Thieves rapidly dispatched the Heretics, including a 6-0 win on Dealership SND and a 3-0 win on Vault Control. LA will go into Sunday with the expectation of taking the Championship.
Series Stats: Led the Lobby with 13k damage and 1.38 Series K/D, going off in both Hardpoint (1.60 K/D) and SND (5.00 K/D)

Daniel "Ghosty" Rothe - LA Thieves

Result: 3-0 Doordash series win against Miami Heretics
With his dynamic AR Duo Scrap, Ghosty helped overwhelm the Spainards in the Winner's Round 2 match. The Control saw Ghosty lead the lobby with a 1.44 K/D on the map, including 2.50 attacking K/D and 19 non-traded kills. The AR Duo powered the Thieves to a DoorDash 3-0 sweep on the Miami squad.
Series Stats: A 1.23 K/D or better in each of the three game modes to finish with a 1.33 Series K/D and +15 over the three maps.

📸 Photo by @syrupfx

Byron "Nastie" Plumridge - Vancouver Surge

Result: 3-1 victory over Boston, winning both HPs by an average of 113.5 points
Surge did not take the Boston Breach lightly, winning the series in rather convincing fashion to make it to the Winner's Final match. Entering Sunday, Vancouver are now 7-4 in Hardpoint (3rd best in CDL)and 7-2 in SND (3rd best in CDL) with the LA Thieves standing in their way to the Finals.
Series Stats: Lobby-High 1.32 K/D over the four maps. Finished with a 1.41 Hardpoint K/D, 1.50 SND K/D, and 1.07 Control K/D while having 11.6k damage.

Travis "Neptune" McCloud - Vancouver Surge

Result: 3-1 victory over Boston, winning both HPs by an average of 113.5 points
The Vancouver Surge continues to be a high-tier team with Neptune in the lineup, making their second consecutive Sunday after finishing Top 12 at Major I. They are 28-12 in Hardpoint with Neptune in the lineup, showing the League that they are the true dark horse to win the tournament.
Series Stats: Most kills in the series with 77 (shocking, right?), while having a 1.54 Hardpoint K/D and 1.40 SND K/D. Ended the series with a 29-14 (2.07 K/D) in Map 4 with 2,871 damage and 118 seconds of hill time to knock Boston to the Elimination bracket.

📸 Photo by @SurgeVancouver

Jamie "Insight" Craven - Toronto Ultra

Result: 3-1 win over Minnesota Rokkr, then 3-1 win over Boston Breach to go 6-2 on the day
No Beans, No Problem! Insight stepped up massively today to help Toronto go 4-0 in Hardpoints. The veteran leader was a crucial piece with his consistency that allowed rookie Mason "Mercules" Ramsay to continue playing his game.
Series Stats vs Minnesota: Lobby highs in Kills (90), K/D (1.23), and KA/D (1.68). Added a 1v2 clutch in the SND and 7 tick captures in the Control.
Series Stats vs Boston: 1.20 Series K/D with 10k damage and a positive K/D in each of the three modes. Finished Map 4 going 31-20 (1.55) with the most damage in the lobby (3,347).

📸 Photo by @syrupfx

Diego "SupeR" Escudero - Miami Heretics

Result: 0-3 Loss to Thieves, but bounced back to win 3-2 vs FaZe
While they got stomped by the LA Thieves in the Winner's Round 2 match, the Heretics didn't let that put them down. The team instantly rebounded, taking down FaZe to ruin their quest to become champions in four straight LAN tournaments. Miami rematches against Toronto tomorrow, whom they beat earlier in the Tournament.
Series Stats vs Atlanta: Lobby-High 1.19 K/D & 10,628 damage for the Heretics. Went 52-33 (1.58 K/D) in the Hardpoints with an average of 84.5 seconds of hill time per map to help the team win both and take the series 3-2.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague