The Call of Duty League has officially announced that the 2020 season playoffs and Championship Weekend will be played online.
In light of continued COVID-19 health risks, the CDL postseason will be held online. The League and teams are collaborating on additional competitive integrity measures to be taken. More updates to follow in delivering the best experience for all. https://t.co/nyGMEZNAI4
- Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 5, 2020
"Due to continuing health risks associated with COVID-19 and our collective priority focus on protecting the safety of our teams, players, league staff, and partner personnel, the remainder of the season will be held online," the CDL said in a blog post on Sunday. "This decision was made with great care, communication, and consideration over the course of many discussions."
As part of the shift, the CDL will also be making more changes on the technical side. A universal camera setup will be sent to each competitor, which will allow officials to view and check consoles, controllers, and monitors as needed. Players will be required to be seated and on camera once "ready check" status is made official before a game. The new system for all competitors will debut July 10 for the New York Subliners online Home Series.
Additionally, the number of servers teams can test to determine which ones they want to play on through a veto system will be increased from three to five out of a pool of nine for playoffs and Championship Weekend.
Though no specific details were given, the CDL noted that it will be bolstering its production, technical and officiating staffing teams. Updates will be given in the coming weeks.
There are three Home Series remaining: the New York series from July 10-12, the London series from July 17-19, and the Toronto series from July 24-26. The playoffs will begin after that and feature a $4.6 million prize pool, with the winner taking $2 million. Playoff start dates have not yet been officially announced.
The league had originally said in March that all Home Series events would shift online, leaving open the possibility of the playoffs being played in person. Two months later, a new playoff format was announced, where every team in the league would participate in the postseason in the new structure. At that time it was still not determined if the postseason would be played online.
On June 28, the CDL also announced a new postseason format and prize prize breakdown for Challengers, its official amateur competition, also noting that it would be fully contested online.