Los Angeles Thieves dumped out of 2025 CDL Championship

Widely considered favourites for the 2025 Call of Duty League (CDL) Championship, the Los Angeles Thieves have been eliminated early from the tournament. 

The franchise lost to Vancouver Surge in the first elimination round to suffer a swift exit from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 season-ending event.

After winning two of the four regular-season Majors, Los Angeles headed into Championship Weekend as the top seed after scoring 540 CDL Points. With the top seed, the team opened its Champs campaign against Boston Breach, a franchise that spent most of the season battling for qualification. 

Despite demonstrating some impressive Hardpoint gameplay against Boston Breach, LA Thieves struggled in Search and Destroy, with its opponent outwitting any strategy to send the tournament favourites into the elimination bracket. 

Los Angeles Thieves would then battle against Vancouver Surge earlier today to keep its Champs hopes alive. Vancouver Surge kicked off proceedings with a 250-218 win on Red Card Hardpoint to put LA Thieves on the back foot immediately. The momentum continued to favour Vancouver Surge in Red Card Search and Destroy, winning 6-4 to take a surprise 2-0 lead.

A resilient effort shown by LA Thieves in game two led many to believe that the organisation could extend the series beyond three maps. However, despite its best efforts, Vancouver Surge secured Vault Control with a 3-2 score line to complete a shock 3-0 sweep.

As a result of the defeat, LA Thieves became the first team eliminated from the 2025 CDL Championship, a stark contrast from lifting the trophy.

With the CDL season now over for LA Thieves, several franchises are expected to make changes to their starting lineup to prepare for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s release. 

Treyarch’s latest instalment in Activision’s first-person shooter franchise is expected to add a range of new gameplay mechanics, which could influence the direction franchises could take when building a new roster. 

However, considering LA Thieves won two Majors this season, a potential immediate roster change is unlikely for the time being.  For LA Thieves, attention turns towards the Esports World Cup, where the team will compete under the 100 Thieves banner for an opportunity to end the year on a high.