Call of Duty League Launch Weekend: Stream, results, VODs, interviews

The Modern Warfare season officially kicks off on January 24 with the Call of Duty League Launch Weekend.

Competitive Call of Duty is entering a new era, with the premier competition no longer being an open circuit of events, but instead a franchised league.

The first stage of the CDL will be a launch event on January 24-26, taking place in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  All twelve teams will compete, meaning fans will be treated to the debut of every new roster.

Here’s everything you need to know about the CDL Launch Weekend.

Jump to section:

• • VODs
  • Schedule & results
  • Content
  • Format & rules
  • Rosters

VODs

On January 24, it was announced that YouTube Gaming had obtained the exclusive streaming rights for all Call of Duty League matches and events. We have included the videos-on-demand for all three days of action at the Launch Weekend.

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Schedule & Results

The official schedule for all three days of matches at the CDL Launch Weekend.

Friday, January 24

Day one recap:

• The highly-anticipated matchup between Huntsmen and Empire turned out to be a rather one-sided affair, as Chicago took care of business on all three respawn games and won with a convincing 3-1 scoreline.
• Surge came in as heavy favorites against Mutineers but their Search & Destroy struggles really showed, which meant that Florida had to take just one respawn map to clinch the series victory.
• Controversy struck the Guerrillas – ROKKR match after Los Angeles were forced to forfeit the second map after one of their players apparently used a restricted perk. Instead of falling behind 0-2, Minnesota instead tied the series and went on to not lose another map.

Saturday, January 25

Day two recap:

• Day two started off with a dominant showing from the London Royal Ravens as they destroyed New York Subliners 3-0 in the CDL debut match for both teams.
• Making their league debut, Ultra took the Surge to a game five, round 11, which ultimately went the way of Toronto. Seattle dropped to 0-2 with the loss after they had gotten 2-1 leads in both of their matches.
• Coming off of their controversial first match in day one, LA Guerrillas got their first win of the season in a 3-2 thriller over Florida Mutineers. Both teams finished CDL Launch Weekend 1-1.
• OpTic Gaming LA and Paris Legion both made their CDL debut in day two but their match turned out to be the biggest upset of the weekend. The Legion came ranked lowest in the preseason rankings and were heavy underdogs against OpTic, but managed to pull off a stunning 3-2 victory for their first win.
• One of the highly-anticipated matchups of the weekend saw the top-ranked Atlanta FaZe make their debut against Dallas Empire, the team right under them in the power rankings. The match ended up extremely one-sided, as Atlanta came out guns blazing and demolished Dallas in 3-0 fashion, dropping them to 0-2 to start the season.

Sunday, January 26

Day three recap:

• The first-ever meeting between Legion and Royal Ravens marked the birth of what will likely become an intense European rivalry. However, the match turned out to be anything but intense, as Paris dominated London 3-0, including winning six straight rounds in the S&D after going down 0-4. The Legion became the first team to improve to 2-0 in the CDL following their day-two upset of OpTic Gaming.
• It’s no secret that Huntsmen features three of the biggest names in OpTic Gaming history – Scump, FormaL, and H3CZ – so their first-ever matchup was a highly-anticipated affair. Just as the first match of the day, however, this one proved to be very one-sided, as Chicago executed their gameplan perfectly to dominate OGLA 3-0. Huntsmen joined Paris Legion as the second CDL team to start 2-0.
• Fresh off of their dominance of the Empire, Atlanta FaZe took care of business against Subliners 3-1 to improve to 2-0 on the young season. New York will be looking for answers after looking overwhelmed in both of their losses.
• The final match of the weekend saw the first chapter of the ‘Battle of the North’ rivalry between ROKKR and Ultra. Minnesota looked the more convincing side as they took home the 3-1 victory to join Legion, Huntsmen, and FaZe in the 2-0 column.

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CDL Launch Weekend Content and Highlights

Day three content & highlights

• Scump, FormaL, H3CZ explain why there’s no rivalry with OpTic

INTERVIEWS:

• Priestahh thinks blaming the recent Modern Warfare patch for losses is “dumb.”
• KiSMET names his top three teams in the Call of Duty League right now.
• Scump discusses Crimsix’s complaints about the new Modern Warfare patch – “It’s better to sit down and play instead of complaining.”
• FormaL claims Dallas Empire were scared of the Huntsmen heading into CDL
• Arcitys didn’t like when Empire disrespected the Huntsmen
• ZooMaa reacts to the passing of Kobe Bryant.
• Attach explains why NYSL were dominated by Atlanta FaZe
• Censor reveals how tough it is to be a substitute in the CDL
• Twitch steamer Shiki reveals how she and boyfriend Priestahh first met
• ROKKR coach Saintt reveals how Atlanta FaZe helped them prepare for Launch Weekend
• ROKKR COO Brett Diamond discusses the importance of fans

Day two content & highlights

• FormaL explains why beating Empire was “so satisfying”

INTERVIEWS:

• Shockz explains how Paris Legion took down OpTic Gaming L.A.
• KiSMET not used to crowd not being on OpTic’s side
• Aquaaa reacts to ACHES’ “ROKKR got a free W” sign
• Methodz explains why Toronto Ultra’s substitutes are “critical” to their success
• Wuskin reveals which teams the London Royal Ravens are worried about
• Jurd hits back at pre-season Call of Duty League power rankings
• First look at the Minnesota ROKKR training facility

Day one content & highlights

• Scump roasts Crimsix after Huntsmen dominate Empire
• ACHES criticizes “$300M” CDL after map forfeit vs ROKKR

INTERVIEWS:

• FormaL reveals how it felt to be back competing with his T2P duo Scump.
• Prestinni wants to prove he’s one of the best players in the world after being “overlooked.”
• Havok explains how the Flordia Mutineers will improve going forward
• SiLLY explains why L.A. Guerrillas were forced to forfeit map two.
• Assault reveals how angry L.A. Guerrillas were after forfeiting map two

Pre-event content

• Modern Warfare CDL ruleset stops working days before launch event
• 7 Players to watch during the Call of Duty League Launch Weekend
• Why Dallas Empire vs Chicago Huntsmen is Call of Duty’s new eClásico
• Clayster “can’t believe” location choice for CDL Launch Weekend
• CDL Power Rankings ahead of Launch Weekend
• CDL Challengers venue location sparks major debate
• CDL events and matches to stream exclusively on YouTube Gaming

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CDL Format & Rules

The first weekend of the CDL will see all twelve teams competing in predetermined match-ups, with each team playing two series.

After the original plans for a league-based format received criticism from Call of Duty fans and players, the CDL has moved to a structure in which each weekend of competition will consist of a tournament featuring eight of the league’s teams. This change will only come into effect from the second weekend onwards, however.

• Read more: Call of Duty League team skins and items coming to Modern Warfare

While the Launch Weekend doesn’t follow the same format as subsequent weekends, however, it will still count towards the overall standings, with teams earning 10 CDL Points for each win.

For the first time, teams will also be able to make substitutions mid-series, a system that Overwatch League fans will be familiar with. With this never before having been a possibility in Call of Duty, it will be interesting to see which squads, if any, make use of the new rules.

The launch weekend will be played on Competitive Settings Version 1.5, and a full breakdown of the game rules, maps, and modes can be found in our comprehensive guide.

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Activision

All 12 CDL teams will battle it out in Minnesota on January 24-26.

CDL Team Rosters

• Atlanta FaZe
• Chicago Huntsmen
• Dallas Empire
• Florida Mutineers
• London Royal Ravens
• Los Angeles Guerrillas
• Minnesota ROKKR
• New York Subliners
• OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
• Paris Legion
• Seattle Surge
• Toronto Ultra

Atlanta FaZe

• Tyler ‘aBeZy‘ Pharris
• Chris ‘Simp‘ Lehr
• McArthur ‘Cellium‘ Jovel
• Michael ‘MajorManiak‘ Syzzmaniak
• Preston ‘Priestahh‘ Greiner
• Juan ‘JurNii‘ Antonio González (Sub)
• Thomas ‘GRVTY‘ Malin (Sub)

Chicago Huntsmen

• Seth ‘Scump‘ Abner
• Matthew ‘FormaL‘ Piper
• Alec ‘Arcitys‘ Sanderson
• Dylan ‘Envoy‘ Hannon
• Peirce ‘Gunless‘ Hillman
• Jordon ‘General‘ General (Sub)
• Marcus ‘MBoZe‘ Blanks (Sub)

Dallas Empire

• James ‘Clayster‘ Eubanks
• Ian ‘Crimsix‘ Porter
• Anthony ‘Shotzzy‘ Cuevas-Castro
• Cuyler ‘Huke‘ Garland
• Indervir ‘iLLeY‘ Dhaliwal
• Thomas ‘Tommey‘ Trewen (Sub)
• Paul ‘Tisch‘ Tischler (Sub)

Florida Mutineers

• Preston ‘Prestinni‘ Sanderson
• Colt ‘Havok‘ McLendon
• Chance ‘Maux‘ Moncivaez
• Cesar ‘Skyz‘ Bueno
• Bradley ‘Frosty‘ Bergstrom
• Nick ‘MaNiaC‘ Kershner (Sub)

London Royal Ravens

• Bradley ‘wuskin‘ Marshall
• Matthew ‘Skrapz‘ Marshall
• Jordan ‘Jurd‘ Crowley
• Rhys ‘Rated‘ Price
• Sean ‘Seany‘ O’Connor (Sub)
• Dylan ‘MadCat‘ Daly (Sub)

LA Guerrillas

• Patrick ‘ACHES‘ Price
• Ulysses ‘AquA‘ Silva
• Jacob ‘Decemate‘ Cato
• Renato ‘Saints‘ Forz
• Andres ‘Lacefield‘ Lacefield
• Rasim ‘Blazt‘ Ogresevic (Sub)

Minnesota ROKKR

• Justin ‘SiLLY‘ Fargo-Palmer
• Adam ‘Assault‘ Garcia
• Adam ‘GodRx‘ Brown
• Alex ‘Alexx‘ Carpenter
• Obaid ‘Asim‘ Asim
• Kaden ‘Exceed‘ Stockdale (Sub)
• Devin ‘TTinyy‘ Robinson (Sub)

New York Subliners

• Thomas ‘ZooMaa‘ Paparatto
• Donovan ‘Temp‘ Laroda
• Lamar ‘Accuracy‘ Abedi
• Trei ‘Zer0‘ Morris
• Dillon ‘Attach‘ Prive
• Doug ‘Censor‘ Martin (Sub)
• Nick ‘Happy‘ Suda (Sub)

OpTic Gaming LA

• Thomas ‘TJHaly‘ Haly
• Brandon ‘Dashy‘ Otell
• Kenny ‘Kenny‘ Williams
• Austin ‘SlasheR‘ Liddicoat
• Jordan ‘JKap‘ Kaplan
• Martin ‘Chino‘ Chino (Sub)
• Jevon ‘Goonjar‘ Gooljar-lim (Sub)

Paris Legion

• Luke ‘Louqa‘ Rigas
• Conrad ‘Shockz‘ Rymarek
• Denholm ‘Denz‘ Taylor
• Matthew ‘KISMET‘ Tinsley
• Timothy ‘Phantomz‘ Landis
• Zach ‘Zed‘ Denyer
• Paul ‘Breszy‘ Breszynski

Seattle Surge

• Damon ‘Karma‘ Barlow
• Ian ‘Enable‘ Wyatt
• Sam ‘Octane‘ Larew
• Josiah ‘Slacked‘ Berry
• Bryan ‘Apathy‘ Zhelyazkov
• Casey ‘Pandur‘ Romano (Sub)
• Nicholas ‘Proto‘ Maldonado (Sub)

Toronto Ultra

• Daniel ‘Loony‘ Loza
• Anthony ‘Methodz‘ Zinni
• Carson ‘Brack‘ Newberry
• Alejandro ‘Lucky‘ López
• Adrian ‘MeTTalZ‘ Serrano
• Tobias ‘CleanZ‘ Juul Jønsson (Sub)
• Nicholas ‘Classic‘ DiCostanzo (Sub)
• Cameron ‘Cammy‘ McKilligan (Sub)
• Ben ‘Bance‘ Bance (Sub)
• Mehran ‘Mayhem‘ Anjomshoa (Sub)

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