If there was any doubt that the 2026 Call of Duty League season would start slow, Dallas erased it in record time. From the first bracket announcements to teams fighting for survival match by match, this opening Major didn’t just kick off the year. It set the tone for everything that’s coming next. This isn’t one of those seasons where you can blink and wait for things to “get interesting.” They already are. ## The bracket reveal that quietly changed everything The announcement of the Call of Duty League 2026 Major I bracket felt, at first glance, like standard preseason news. Dates, matchups, locations. Business as usual. But anyone who follows competitive Call of Duty knows that the first Major is never just another tournament. It’s the moment when theories meet reality. Los Angeles hosted the symbolic start of the season, with a double elimination format that immediately raised the stakes. Lose once and you’re bruised. Lose twice and you’re done. No warm-up period, no grace window. Just pressure from the opening map. With a prize pool hovering around half a million dollars and CDL points on the line from day one, teams had no room to experiment. What we saw instead was urgency. Every round mattered. ## Dallas turns the heat all the way up Once the action moved to Dallas, the atmosphere shifted. You could feel it even through match reports and player reactions. This wasn’t just another stop on the calendar. It was a proving ground. Day two of Major I was where the tournament really found its pulse. Games became tighter, decision-making sharper, mistakes more expensive. The crowd energy fed directly into the pace of play, and suddenly every matchup felt like it carried long-term consequences. Dallas didn’t just host the Major. It amplified it. ## Miami Heretics and the reality of the lower bracket Few teams embodied that pressure more than Miami Heretics. Dropping into the lower bracket at the Stage 1 Major is never ideal, and everyone in the league knows how unforgiving that path can be. But instead of folding, Heretics responded. Their first win came against Toronto KOI in a matchup that demanded patience and discipline. Search and Destroy became the difference maker, with Miami showing strong tactical awareness and composure in key moments. It wasn’t flashy. It was smart. And it worked. Then came Vancouver Surge, and this time there was no ambiguity. A clean 3–0 sweep that sent a clear message to the rest of the field. Miami wasn’t hanging on. They were adjusting, improving, and pushing forward. In a tournament this tight, momentum like that is priceless. ## Other eliminations, bigger consequences While Miami fought to stay alive, other teams saw their runs come to an abrupt end. FaZe Vegas eliminated Boston Breach in a series that underscored how thin the margins really are. Riyadh Falcons sent Cloud9 New York home, another reminder that reputation alone doesn’t win maps. All twelve CDL teams entered the event, but by design, only the most consistent would survive. Best-of-five matches exposed weaknesses quickly, and with the final stretching to a best-of-seven, there was nowhere to hide. The rewards reflected that brutality. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the champion, ninety thousand for second place, and CDL points that will echo through the rest of the season. ## What this Major already tells us about 2026 Taken together, the opening Major paints a very clear picture of the Call of Duty League in 2026. This is a season built on depth, preparation, and mental resilience. There are no easy brackets. No guaranteed wins. No time to figure it out later. Dallas showed us that teams who adapt survive, and teams who hesitate don’t get second chances for long. And if this is how the year starts, it’s hard not to wonder just how wild the rest of the season is going to get. ### Sources [https://www.filmogaz.com/127158](https://www.filmogaz.com/127158) [https://fieldlevelmedia.com/esports/two-victories-extend-heretics-stay-at-cdl-stage-1-major/](https://fieldlevelmedia.com/esports/two-victories-extend-heretics-stay-at-cdl-stage-1-major/) [http://www.biogamergirl.com/2026/01/guns-up-in-dallas-call-of-duty-league.html](http://www.biogamergirl.com/2026/01/guns-up-in-dallas-call-of-duty-league.html)