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The inaugural season of the Call of Duty League has had its ups and downs since Launch Weekend in January, with 12 teams competing in Modern Warfare over the course of 13 weekends, and a season interrupted by a pandemic. Here's a quick look back at a few highlights, as well as a look forward as we go into the 2020 Call of Duty League Championship, aka Champs.
Let's begin with a throwback to last year's championship team. Just how good was eUnited's scouting when you look back at their former players' performances in 2020?
Emily Rand: Chris "Simp" Lehr, Indervir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal and McArthur "Cellium" Jovel all got their start with eUnited Cadets (though Cellium left after one year for FaZe Clan). Then there's the eUnited 2019 Call of Duty Championship roster of Simp, Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson, Preston "Prestinni" Sanderson, Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris and James "Clayster" Eubanks. This lineup went on to play some of the greatest COD ever in their Champs run last year and was remarkably balanced, from then-rookie Simp to veteran Clayster. I argued then, and would still argue today, that every player had their place on the roster, including the then-maligned Prestinni.
Every name mentioned in the paragraph above is on a top-three Call of Duty League team this year. Simp and aBeZy burst into 2020 continuing their reign as the "Tiny Terrors" with the Atlanta FaZe, while teammate Cellium quietly made his own case as a 2020 MVP candidate. Clayster and iLLeY became part of a Dallas Empire lineup that, on paper, has a similar construction to the 2019 eUnited squad: Use the experience of your veterans (like Clayster) to leverage and guide the talent of your younger players (like iLLeY).
Prestinni had his own much-needed individual moment in the spotlight with the Florida Mutineers before reuniting with brother Arcitys on the Chicago Huntsmen and bringing his punchy, aggressive style to the Huntsmen. Last, but certainly not least, Arcitys has been a standout for the Huntsmen all year.
Did I ask this question just for an excuse to talk about how great the 2019 eUnited Champs lineup was? Yes.
Arda Ocal: Just look at those names across the board. They could be a CDL all-star team and there wouldn't be too much debate. Absolutely full of GOATs. EUnited had a truly special team in 2019, and that momentum carried into 2020. It really was absurd. It's one thing to even try to create a roster like that in a 12-team league, let alone 16. That team would have been Champs contenders in 2020 also, and we have had some great storylines involving those players this year.
Read more: Call of Duty coaches poll: Toronto Ultra end season on a high note
What was the most impactful roster change of this Call of Duty season?
Rand: One of the greatest things about this inaugural season was how many teams took chances on rookie or relatively untested talent. In some cases (cough), North American League of Legends (cough) franchising has still not led to teams being comfortable enough on the whole to take chances on up-and-coming talent. This was not the case with the CDL, where we saw all manner of roster changes throughout the season -- a surprising amount of which worked out really well.
I know my colleague will wax poetic about Joseph "Owakening" Conley and the Florida Mutineers, but I maintain that Makenzie "Mack" Kelley's start on the New York Subliners was just as, if not more, impactful. At that time in the season, the Subliners were talented on paper, but the results weren't there onstage. Mack joined the team after another disappointing Subliners performance at the Los Angeles home series, where the team lost both of its matches and was one of the first squads eliminated from competition.
At their next showing, with Mack on the team, the Subliners upset the Huntsmen in the first round and nearly beat the Atlanta FaZe in the qualification match. Although they fell to the Huntsmen and didn't make semifinals, it was a much stronger and more cohesive showing. From this point forward, the Subliners continued to steadily improve and eventually won their own home series event. It's not that Mack single-handedly transformed the team, but for some reason, his addition unlocked something in the Subliners.
Ocal: Indeed, Emily, I shall wax poetic about Owakening. And while Mack is certainly a fantastic pick, it truly was an awakening for Florida after Mr. Conley joined the fold in May. The team that built itself for online success did just that. Mack did lead his team in K/D this season at 1.13 and led the CDL with a 96.96 slayer rating (shoutout to Easy Mac for the public stats -- absolutely crushing it as usual). Owakening might not have had the best K/D on his team (that honor belongs to Cesar "Skyz" Bueno with 1.24), but he was still tied for second best in the league with a 1.17 K/D. This team won way more chips than pundits were expecting them to, and it all started with the paradigm shift that came with Owakening's arrival on the Mutineers.
Watch: Arda Ocal and Emily Rand discuss Florida's back-to-back home series titles
Best moment of the season?
Rand: I'm still shocked that the Los Angeles home series happened in person back in March, just as events around the world were being canceled or postponed due to COVID-19, but my favorite moment comes from that weekend, when the Dallas Empire won their first title of the season. Despite it being only their third event of the season, the narrative around the Empire was that they could only perform in scrims and that their rookie pickups, iLLeY and Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro, were not panning out.
This was the weekend that they proved their naysayers wrong, and it came at a crucial time: the last LAN event of the 2020 season. If the Empire had only won online, this unfortunate narrative would have continued, despite the team's visible improvement since Launch Weekend (and a sudden patch change immediately before that weekend). The Los Angeles home series final between the Minnesota RØKKR and Dallas Empire is one of my favorite matches of the year.
Ocal: There is some personal bias for this, because I was there and experienced the drama unfold firsthand and truly felt it, but for me, it was seeing the twins Arcitys and Prestinni battle it out on stage in Atlanta. That was a big matchup during the early part of the season, and Arcitys and Prestinni had never faced each other in top-level competition. Prestinni had something to prove -- that he wasn't the "Weakest link of eUnited," like some had said. Arcitys definitely didn't want to lose to his twin brother. Arcity's team, the Chicago Huntsmen, were one of the top teams in the CDL and hadn't lost a single series until that point, with one tournament win under their belts. Prestinni's Mutineers at the time weren't even talked about as contenders -- going 1-1 on Launch Weekend with a loss against the Guerrillas, which now seems like an eternity ago.
So there they are, on stage with their respective teams, all of these storylines coming to a head. Everyone thought it would be a 3-0 Chicago stomp. The Huntsmen take a close Game 1 hardpoint on Azhir Cave. They eke out a 6-4 Search & Destroy win on Arklov Peak. Then Florida comes to life, battling back in a 167-121 domination win on St. Petrograd. Then a more convincing map for Florida on Hackney Yard and it's all tied up! A fifth map S&D is needed to settle it, and Florida pulls it off. 6-2! They dethrone the Huntsmen and send them home. Prestinni jumps out of his chair, yelling toward the Huntsmen but really toward his brother. He didn't need him to win. ... He could do it all on his own. ... He proved it.
Watch: Arcitys and Prestinni's interview after facing each other
Arcitys just slumped in his chair, looking at the ceiling. As soon as Prestinni got the thrill out of his system, his elation and feeling of vindication turned to concern for his brother, and he rushed over to Arcitys to give him a big hug. Afterward, I had a chance to interview them, and much like their postgame chat, they looked like they had gone through a roller-coaster of emotions and were completely drained. It wasn't a pleasant experience to talk about it, and it showed. Both were happy it was behind them. In fact, it would be the last time they faced each other as opponents, because Prestinni joined Chicago later in the season. What a story. What a moment.
How many (if any) online issues will we have during the first round of Champs?
Rand: I hope none. Please make it be none. I'm really tired of having to go back and remember which series have an odd asterisk next to them due to someone disconnecting or massive lag or a referee miscommunication. This is wishful thinking, but I really hope that, for Champs at the very least, with so much money on the line, we will have the cleanest online tournament of the year.
Ocal: One will be too many, but we still have to give credit to all involved because this is not easy to execute. With that said, the grace period is over and "online" can't be an excuse anymore. I'm most concerned about online issues plaguing the grand final.
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Pick one of the losers-bracket first-round teams (Seattle Surge, Paris Legion, OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, Los Angeles Guerrillas) to make a deep bracket run and make a case for them.
Rand: I'll make a case for OpTic Gaming Los Angeles. The additions of Zack "Drazah" Jordan and Darien "Hollow" Chverchko seem to have revitalized the team to some extent in a way that we haven't seen from the other teams competing in this first round of play. I think the Paris Legion definitely have the talent, but they're also so inconsistent that the moment I start believing in them, they end up doing poorly.
Ocal: I'm with Emily, OpTic out of that crew. Seattle's season is cursed. LAG have had their share of troubles, and their new additions haven't panned out to massive success. Despite Paris making one home series final, they don't have anything on the season to show for their success other than a Warzone Weekend victory. OpTic certainly have the most potential of the four on paper. But, anything can happen, and that's what makes CDL fun!