Following earlier reports, the Los Angeles Thieves have officially announced that Black Ops 3 world champion John ‘John’ Perez will be part of their CDL roster for Stage 5 and CoD Champs.
John has often been touted as one of the best SMG players in Call of Duty history, but at the beginning of the Modern Warfare season he mysteriously disappeared from the scene. He later revealed that health issues had been holding him back from competing.
Throughout Black Ops Cold War, however, John has been a mainstay among the top players in the Challengers circuit, waiting for a chance to make his return to the big leagues and prove that he’s still more than capable of competing with the best.
With the second season of the CDL almost wrapped up, he now finally has a chance to shine with one of the biggest brands in the league.
After reports from CDL Intel via Dot Esports, LA Thieves made the news official in a June 24 announcement, shortly after dropping TJHaly.
“He’s back,” The LA Thieves Twitter account revealed. “Ready to compete in the CoD League, finally,” John followed up.
“A moment in the making and I’m ready to make the most of it!”
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Ready to compete in the @CODLeague finally and the fact that it is with @LAThieves is a blessing, a moment in the making and I’m ready to make the most of it! #LAThieves https://t.co/nrL0reTAYm
— John (@John287) June 25, 2021
While earlier reports suggested that he might not be in the starting lineup right away, LA Thieves quickly put an end to the speculation.
The LA Thieves Stage 5 starting lineup is as follows:
- Kenny
- SlasheR
- John
- Drazah
Of course, this leaves Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland on the LAT bench once again after his groundbreaking buyout from Dallas Empire, after which he revealed he had been using Adderall during his team’s Champs win.
John is now surrounded by familiar faces in the LA Thieves camp.
He won his world championship alongside newly-reinstated LA Thieves starter Austin ‘SlasheR’ Liddicoat and head coach Jordan ‘JKap’ Kaplan, which no doubt played a huge part in their rumored decision to pick him up.