Sports
Thieves surge through lower bracket, beat OpTic in CDL Major 3 grand final
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. After losing their playoff opener, the Los Angeles Thieves reeled off five straight wins, culminating in a victorious battle over OpTic Texas on Sunday in the grand final of the Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major in Atlanta.
Los Angeles won the best-of-seven final 4-3 to earn $150,000 and 100 CDL points. OpTic Texas, which had advanced to the final with a 3-2 win over Toronto KOI earlier Sunday in the upper-bracket final, collected $90,000 and 75 points.
All 12 CDL teams began play on Friday along with four outside qualifiers in the double-elimination opening round, split into four groups. The group champions and second-place teams advanced to the playoffs which started on Saturday.
Matches were all best-of-five until the best-of-seven grand final on Sunday.
The Thieves’ path began with a 3-2 setback to FaZe Vegas in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. That dropped them to the first round of the lower bracket, where they dispatched GS Minnesota 3-1. A 3-0 sweep of the Riyadh Falcons in the quarterfinals matched them up with FaZe Vegas in Sunday’s lower-bracket semifinal, which Los Angeles won 3-1.
A 3-0 sweep of Toronto KOI in the lower-bracket final advanced the Thieves to the grand final and a meeting with OpTic Texas.
OpTic opened with a 250-219 win on Colossus Hardpoint before Los Angeles responded with victories on Raid Search and Destroy (6-3) and Den Overload (8-3).
Texas surged ahead with wins on Den Hardpoint (250-242) and Scar Search and Destroy (6-4), only for the Thieves to win the final two maps, 5-4 on Scar Overload and 6-2 on Den Search and Destroy.
Jeremiah “Nium” Harrison of the United States was the Match MVP for Los Angeles with a match-high 130 kills and a plus-13 kills-death differential. Brandon “Dashy” Otell of Canada paced OpTic with 124 kills and a plus-13 K-D differential.
OpTic Texas defeated Toronto KOI 3-2 in the upper-bracket final earlier on Sunday. Texas won 250-152 on Gridlock Hardpoint, then Toronto drew even with a 6-1 win on Raid Search and Destroy.
The back-and-forth continued, as OpTic won 5-4on Exposure Overload, then KOI triumphed 250-212 on Scar Hardpoint. Texas won 6-2 on Scar Search and Destroy to capture the match.
OpTic’s Otell was Match MVP with 83 kills and a plus-4 K-D differential. Tobias “CleanX” Jonsson of Denmark paced Toronto with a match-high 106 kills and a plus-18 K-D differential.
Toronto KOI dropped down to the lower-bracket final, where they were swept 3-0 by the Thieves. Los Angeles won 250-93 on Sake Hardpoint, 6-4 on Den Search and Destroy and 4-0 on Den Overload.
Harrison was Match MVP with 59 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential. American Joseph “JoeDeceives” Romero was the only Toronto player not in negative numbers, as he was even with 51 kills and 51 deaths.
Los Angeles began the day with a 3-1 victory over FaZe Vegas in the lower-bracket semifinal. The Thieves started strong with wins on Gridlock Hardpoint (250-245) and Den Search and Destroy (6-4) before Vegas stayed alive with a 5-4 win on Den Overload. LA closed out with a 250-164 victory on Den Hardpoint.
The Thieves’ Thomas “Scrap” Ernst of the United States was Match MVP with 87 kills and a plus-10 K-D differential. Chris “Simp” Lehr of the United States paced Vegas with 84 kills and a plus-2 K-D differential.
Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major prize pool, with money winnings and CDL points
1. $150,000, 100 — Los Angeles Thieves
2. $90,000, 75 — OpTic Texas
3. $50,000, 60 — Toronto KOI
4. $30,000, 45 — FaZe Vegas
5-6. $15,000, 30 — Paris Gentle Mates, Riyadh Falcons
7-8. $7,500, 15 — Miami Heretics, G2 Minnesota
9-12. no money, no points — OMiT, Carolina Royal Ravens, Boston Breach, Cloud9 New York
13-16. no money, no points — Vancouver Surge, Huntsmen, Project Notorious, ROC Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB roundup: Mets rally from 4 down to stun Yankees in extras, win series
May 17, 2026; New York City, New York, USA;
New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) scores the game winning run during the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Carson Benge drove in the winning run in the 10th inning for the second time in a week as the New York Mets stormed back from a five-run deficit to stun the visiting New York Yankees 7-6 in the deciding game of this season’s first Subway Series on Sunday.
The Mets’ Luis Torrens had a two-run pinch-hit double in the sixth when the team was down 6-1, while Tyrone Taylor forced extra innings with a three-run homer in the ninth off David Bednar. Devin Williams (3-1) forced an inning-ending double play to give the Mets a chance to win it in the 10th.
Freddy Peralta worked around six walks to allow three runs on two hits over five innings for the Mets, while Yankees starter Elmer Rodriguez allowed one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Tim Hill (0-1) surrendered Benge’s game-winning hit. Anthony Volpe notched three RBIs for the Yankees, while Ben Rice hit his 15th homer of the season. The Yankees finished 2-7 on their nine-game road trip.
White Sox 9, Cubs 8 (10 innings)
Edgar Quero smacked a walkoff two-run homer to lift the host Chicago White Sox to an extra-innings victory in the rubber match against the Chicago Cubs.
Quero and Tristan Peters, who delivered a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth, both went deep for the first time this season. Quero and Andrew Benintendi each had three hits for the White Sox, who finished the homestand with a 7-2 record. Tyler Davis (2-1) allowed one unearned run on three walks in the top of the 10th.
Alex Bregman had two hits and two RBIs for the Cubs. Michael Conforto also had two hits, including a game-tying three-run homer in the ninth. Ryan Rolison (3-1) allowed the walkoff homer.
Braves 8, Red Sox 1
Austin Riley and Mike Yastrzemski each hit home runs to lead Atlanta to a victory over visiting Boston in the series rubber match.
Grant Holmes (3-1) scattered five hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings. Drake Baldwin joined Riley and Yastrzemski in backing up Holmes by driving in two runs apiece. The Braves blew out the Red Sox despite being outhit eight to nine.
Brayan Bello (2-5) allowed seven runs on eight hits over five innings. He struggled right off the bat, throwing 30 pitches in the first frame while giving up a three-run homer to Riley. Nick Sogard brought in Boston’s lone run with a ninth-inning double to break up Atlanta’s shutout bid.
Rays 6, Marlins 3
Taylor Walls’ fourth-inning triple plated three for Tampa Bay, which beat visiting Miami and took two of three in the rivalry weekend series in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Drew Rasmussen (4-1) gave up seven hits and a pair of walks over 5 1/3 innings, but the Rays right-hander yielded just two runs as he won his second consecutive start. Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz homered off Marlins pitcher Eury Perez (2-6), who saw his personal losing streak extended to five starts. Caminero’s solo shot, his team-best 12th home run of the season, came in the first to give the Rays an early lead.
Miami jumped ahead with a two-run third thanks to RBI singles by Xavier Edwards (2-for-5) and Otto Lopez (2-for-4).
Phillies 6, Pirates 0
Zack Wheeler tossed seven shutout innings to outduel Paul Skenes as visiting Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh with a shutout victory.
Wheeler (3-0) gave up just three singles and a double with a walk and eight strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 1.99 in five starts. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott hit home runs for the Phillies to help push their win streak to four games. Philadelphia is now 15-4 since Don Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson as manager late last month.
Skenes (6-3) allowed five earned runs — his most since Opening Day — in five-plus innings while yielding six hits and a walk. He got no help from the Pirates’ offense, however, which recorded just five hits and failed to score for the second straight day.
Blue Jays 4, Tigers 1
Kevin Gausman tossed six shutout innings in a bounce-back performance and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered and scored twice as visiting Toronto defeated slumping Detroit.
Gausman surrendered just four hits and didn’t issue a walk one start after giving up seven runs (six earned) and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Monday. Daulton Varsho had a double and triple while scoring twice and driving in a run after hitting a game-winning single Saturday.
Detroit starter Jack Flaherty (0-5) was unable to prevent the Tigers from losing their 10th game in 12 tries, as he allowed four runs and five hits in six innings. Jahmai Jones drove in the Tigers’ only run with a pinch-hit groundout.
Orioles 7, Nationals 3
Gunnar Henderson had four hits, including a home run, and Baltimore beat host Washington to avoid the three-game sweep.
Henderson had a solo homer, double and two singles, and Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser also homered for Baltimore, which had lost three of four and scored three runs or less in eight of its past nine games. Anthony Nunez (2-0) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.
Jacob Young homered for the Nationals, who were looking for their first home series sweep of the season. James Wood had two hits and a walk.
Guardians 10, Reds 3
Cleveland smashed six home runs, two of them from Kyle Manzardo, to run away with the rubber match against in-state foe Cincinnati.
The Guardians scored all of their runs on the longball. Brayan Rocchio, Chase DeLauter, Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez also homered for Cleveland, which got six strong innings from Gavin Williams (6-3), who snapped a two-start losing streak.
Elly De La Cruz hit his team-high 11th homer for the Reds, who saw starter Brady Singer (2-4) tagged for five runs on seven hits (including three homers) in four innings.
Rangers 8, Astros 0
Jake Burger produced a pair of extra-base hits, including a two-run double that ignited a five-run seventh inning, and Nathan Eovaldi twirled seven shutout innings as visiting Texas averted a series sweep with a shutout of Houston.
Burger opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fifth. Kyle Higashioka followed Burger’s seventh-inning RBI double with a two-run single of his own and closed the scoring with his solo homer in the ninth. Eovaldi (5-4) allowed five hits and two walks with a season-high-tying eight strikeouts.
Astros right-hander Peter Lambert (2-4) matched zeroes with Eovaldi through four innings. He allowed five runs on three hits over six-plus innings. Zach Dezenzo had two of Houston’s five hits.
Giants 10, Athletics 1
Harrison Bader hit a grand slam and Luis Arraez homered for the second time in three games to help San Francisco take its series against the A’s in West Sacramento, Calif.
Bader’s second career slam came during an eight-run eighth-inning as the Giants blew open a close game. Arraez had three hits and went 8-for-12 with five runs in the series, which San Francisco rallied to win after dropping the opener.
San Francisco’s Adrian Houser (2-4) pitched six solid innings and three relievers finished up. Houser allowed one run and four hits. Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs (3-4) took a bad-luck loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings.
Twins 5, Brewers 4
Kody Clemens went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and Minnesota escaped with a victory over Milwaukee to salvage the finale of a three-game set in Minneapolis.
Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich each hit a solo home run for Milwaukee, which lost for only the second time in its past 10 games. Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers drove in one run apiece for the Brewers
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (5-2) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one. Brewers right-hander Grant Anderson (1-2) allowed one run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. He followed starter Robert Gasser, who allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in four innings during his season debut.
Royals 2, Cardinals 0
Stephen Kolek allowed four hits while pitching into the seventh inning, and Salvador Perez drove in both runs, highlighted by a solo homer, as visiting Kansas City snapped its six-game losing streak with a shutout of St. Louis.
Kolek (2-0) walked just one batter and struck out three over 6 1/3 innings. Royals relievers Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg (11 saves) combined to allow one hit and a walk over the final 2 2/3 innings.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (4-4) was also solid while allowing eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. St. Louis, which entered on a three-game winning streak, was limited to five singles and did not bat with a runner in scoring position until the ninth.
Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 6
Corbin Carroll hit two homers and drove in three runs to help Arizona beat Colorado in Denver.
After a 105-minute weather delay to start the series finale, Michael Soroka (6-2) threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, striking out eight and walking two. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered and Gabriel Moreno had three hits for Arizona, which won its first road series since taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles from April 13-15.
Michael Lorenzen (2-6) took his fourth straight loss for the Rockies, allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits across 4 2/3 innings. Willi Castro drove in two runs for Colorado, which dropped its sixth game in eight outings.
Padres 8, Mariners 3
Gavin Sheets hit two home runs and Lucas Giolito combined with two relievers on a one-hitter in his San Diego debut in a win over host Seattle to finish off a sweep of this season’s six-game Vedder Cup series.
Giolito, signed as a free agent by the Padres on April 22, allowed one hit and no runs through the first five innings. He walked the first three batters of the sixth and was removed. Sheets finished with four RBIs, adding an RBI double in the seventh for the Padres, who put the game away with a five-run sixth.
The Mariners’ only hit was Luke Raley’s one-out single to right in the second inning. George Kirby (5-3) allowed six runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Seattle’s top prospect Colt Emerson made his major league debut, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a run.
Dodgers 10, Angels 1
Roki Sasaki allowed one run on four hits over seven innings and Kyle Tucker went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game Freeway Series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
Sasaki (2-3) didn’t walk a batter for the first time in 16 career regular-season starts and struck out a career-high eight batters. Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored, Hyeseong Kim also had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, and Andy Pages drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who won their fifth straight game.
Nolan Schanuel had two hits and a run scored, Mike Trout had a double and Yoan Moncada had an RBI single for the Angels, who lost their sixth straight game and for the eighth time in nine games. Grayson Rodriguez (0-1) made his Angels debut in first start since July 31, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The right-hander allowed seven runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Spirit cruises past Team Falcons in PGL Astana grand final
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Team Spirit swept Team Falcons 3-0 in the grand final on Sunday at the $800,000 PGL Astana tournament in Kazakhstan.
Winning the best-of-five championship earned Team Spirt the $256,000 first prize. Team Falcons collected $120,000.
MOUZ downed magic 2-0 in the best-of-three match for third place and $96,000, with $56,000 for fourth.
Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams began the event on May 9, with eight advancing through the Swiss System group stage to the single-elimination playoffs.
Team Spirit beat Team Falcons 16-12 on Dust II, 13-7 on Mirage and 14-10 on Ancient.
Danil “donk” Kryshkovets of Russia as Player of the Match with a match-high 62 kills to 46 deaths for Team Spirit. Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin of Russia recorded 58 kills for the Falcons.
MOUZ dispatched magic 13-2 on Mirage and 13-7 on Inferno.
Justinas “jL” Lekavicius of Lithuania was voted Player of the Match, pacing MOUZ with 28 kills to 14 deaths. No magic player scored a positive K-D ratio, with Nikita “tenzy” Kochenyuk of Russia posting 22 kills.
PGL Astana 2026 prize pool:
1. $256,000 — Team Spirit
2. $120,000 — Team Falcons
3. $96,000 — MOUZ
4. $56,000 — magic
5-8. $40,000 — FURIA, 9z Team, Aurora Gaming, G2 Esports
9-11. $20,000 — The MongolZ, Monte, Gentle Mates
12-14. $12,000 — HEROIC, PARIVISION, The Huns Esports
15-16. $8,000 — K27, Fisher College
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Falcons, Natus Vincere finish atop DreamLeague Season 29 groups
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Falcons and Natus Vincere secured wins on Sunday to finish atop Group A and Group B, respectively, on the final day of round-robin play of the DreamLeague Season 29 event.
Falcons rallied past GamerLegion 2-1 to finish group play as the only unbeaten team in either group at 7-0. Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf from Jordan led Team Falcons’ comeback after dropping the opener with a combined 20-10-24 kill-death-assist ratio in the match. Daniel “Ghost” Chan of Hong Kong led GamerLegion with a 24-12-23 K-D-A ratio.
The $1 million Dota 2 event began with the 16 teams divided into two groups for round-robin play. The top four teams in each group have earned spots in the upper bracket for the double-elimination playoffs, while the fifth- and sixth-place teams will start the playoffs in the lower bracket.
All matches through the event are best-of-three until the final on May 24, which will be best-of-five. The championship team will receive $250,000 in player prize money, a club bonus of $40,000 and a minimum of 6,000 ESL Pro Tour points.
Before the playoffs begin on Tuesday, Xtreme Gaming, PlayTime and Tundra Esports will contest a three-team tiebreaker on Monday, each facing one another to settle a three-way tie for fourth place in Group B.
In Group A action on the final day of round-robin play, Falcons won 2-1, dropping the first game in 41 minutes on red before winning in 51 minutes and 39 minutes on green.
Team Spirit locked up the second spot in Group A with a 2-0 triumph over ex-HEROIC, winning in 33 minutes on green and 34 minutes on red.
Team Liquid finished in the No. 3 spot in the Group A standings after its 2-1 comeback win over Vici Gaming. Vici won the opener in 36 minutes on green before Liquid surged back with a pair of victories on red in 37 minutes apiece.
Aurora Gaming, the fourth seed, finished group play with a 2-1 defeat of Virtus.pro. Aurora won the first game on red in 40 minutes, Virtus bounced back with a 36-minute triumph on red, but Aurora responded to win the match with a 40-minute deciding victory on red.
On the final day of Group B play, Natus Vincere locked up the No. 1 seed with a 2-0 defeat of Xtreme Gaming. Natus swept the match with a pair of red victories in 51 and 26 minutes.
PARIVISION, also 6-1 in Group B but with a loss to Natus Vincere, is the second seed after coming away with a 2-1 win over last-place REKONIX. PARIVISION won the first clash in 36 minutes on green and closed it out with a 44-minute triumph on red after REKONIX won a 57-minute marathon on green in the middle faceoff.
BetBoom Team locked into the third seed thanks to a 2-0 sweep of Nigma Galaxy, winning in 77 minutes and 33 minutes on red.
Tundra Esports forced the three-way tie for fourth with its 2-1 defeat of PlayTime. After PlayTime won the opener in 39 minutes on green, Tundra rallied with a 65-minute victory on green and a 39-minute red win.
Monday schedule:
Group B tiebreakers
–Xtreme Gaming vs. PlayTime
–XG/PT winner vs. Tundra Esports
–XG/PT loser vs. Tundra Esports
DreamLeague Season 29 group standings, with match record and map record
Group A
1. Team Falcons, 7-0, 14-3
2. Team Spirit, 6-1, 13-3
3. Team Liquid, 5-2, 11-6
4. Aurora Gaming, 4-3, 9-8
5. Virtus.pro, 2-5, 7-10
6. Vici Gaming, 2-5, 6-10
7. ex-HEROIC, 1-6, 2-12
8. GamerLegion, 1-6, 3-13
Group B
1 Natus Vincere, 6-1, 12-4
2. PARIVISION, 6-1, 13-6
3. BetBoom Team, 4-3, 10-7
T4. PlayTime, 3-4, 8-9
T4. Tundra Esports, 3-4, 8-11
T4. Xtreme Gaming, 3-4, 7-8
7. Nigma Galaxy, 2-5, 5-10
8. REKONIX, 1-6, 4-12
DreamLeague Season 29 prize pool, with player prize money, club bonus money and base ESL Pro Tour points
1. $250,000, $40,000, 6,000 points
2. $100,000, $30,000, 5,000 points
3. $80,000, $25,000, 4,000 points
4. $60,000, $20,000, 3,200 points
5-6. $40,000, $15,000, 2,200 points
7-8. $27,500, $12,500, 1,000 points
9-12. $20,000, $10,000, 375 points
13-14. $12,500, $10,000, 140 points — ex-HEROIC, Nigma Galaxy
15-16. $10,000, $10,000, 60 points — GamerLegion, REKONIX
–Field Level Media
