Day 3 of CDL Major 1 2026 brought a full slate of matches across both the upper bracket and lower bracket, with teams fighting for spots in the later rounds and to stay alive in the double-elimination format.

🏆 Upper Bracket Matches

• G2 Minnesota vs. OpTic Texas — A marquee clash pitting the surging underdog G2 Minnesota against the reigning champs OpTic Texas. Both teams brought aggressive playstyles as they battled in Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and Overload.

• Paris Gentle Mates vs. Los Angeles Thieves — Two upper-bracket contenders duked it out in what was slated to be a tight control of tempo and rotations battle across the Bo5.

• FaZe Vegas vs. Riyadh Falcons — A matchup of stylistic contrast, FaZe’s objective control versus the Falcons’ trade fragging.

🔄 Lower Bracket & Elimination

• Min/Tex vs. Miami Heretics — Miami, having fought through the lower bracket with momentum from two previous wins, looked to extend their Major run by taking down a top seed.

• PAR/LAT (likely combinations of Paris / LA Thieves) vs. VEG/FAL (FaZe / Riyadh) — A cross-bracket elimination side clash that could determine who stays alive late into the weekend.

👉 Note: Exact scores for many Day 3 matches were still being finalized as of this reporting, but the bracket was full of high-stakes best-of-five battles that shaped the top-eight placements going into Day 4 finals contention.

🔍 What Day 3 Meant for the Major

📌 Title hopes on the line: Teams like OpTic Texas, G2 Minnesota, Paris Gentle Mates, and Miami Heretics were all vying to cement their spot in the semifinal brackets — with winners advancing closer to the Major title and loser teams fighting to stay alive in the lower bracket.

📌 Momentum shifts: Miami’s lower-bracket streak showed that early setbacks don’t signal the end — they stayed alive with key victories earlier in the event and brought that energy into Day 3.

📌 Storylines developing: The clash between seasoned CDL powers and breakthrough teams highlights the evolving meta in Black Ops 7 competition, with map control, strategic setups, and clutch plays deciding momentum in every map.