Maven explains why the Huntsmen didn’t get a trophy after CDL London

After many of the Chicago Huntsmen players complained about not receiving a trophy following their victory in the Grand Finals of CDL London, Clint ‘Maven’ Evans outlined why it was a mistake and how it will be avoided in the future.

While the second homestand event in Call of Duty League history saw the transition from standard matches to a fresh tournament structure, the winners of the event were left without a trophy to hoist after toppling all challengers. 

Detailing just why there wasn’t a special moment for the Chicago Huntsmen to round out the London event, Maven described the situation as an “oversight” and explained why it shouldn’t be an issue moving forward.

Sweeping the Dallas Empire in the final series of the event, Chicago Huntsmen were crowned the winners of CDL London, yet the players were stumped by the lack of a trophy or even medal to celebrate their victory. 

After a long day of matches, it turns out that the Copper Box Arena had to be emptied out almost immediately. “We had to be out of the venue at a certain time,” Maven explained during the February 12 episode of Hardpoints. 

“With that venue, we had to be out at 11PM. It would have been a big issue had we gone longer in that series. I don’t know what would have happened exactly.”

• Read More: Top 6 moments from CDL London

Indicating that certain post-match plans might have been in the works, he described how “everything got scrapped” and that everyone simply “got out.” 

Despite the closing moments being exceptionally rushed, even if the tournament ended much sooner and the venue remained open, it appears that the same issues still would have risen to the surface.

Regardless of how much time was left, “I don’t think anyone really thought about the trophy thing because you’ve gotta remember, this was supposed to be league matches,” Maven expressed.

Having shifted to a tournament-based format just weeks out from the new league, the monumental adjustment threw a spanner in the works for the event.

• Read More: Empire’s Tommey slams ‘idiotic’ CDL London crowd for callouts

“When that format changed, you can’t fathom how many little f***ing things changed and how many little things need to be figured out.” 

Katy Eyre/ESPAT Media

CDL London marked FormaL’s first event win since CWL Fort Worth in March, 2019.

“There’s probably a lot of people internally that didn’t think about these as true tournaments…because they’re not exactly. They are, but they’re not.”

While he feels sorry for the “Huntsmen guys,” Maven is entirely confident that a solution will be reached for all events moving forward. Whether the onus falls on the league itself or on each respective homestand host, is yet to be determined.

• Read More: Clayster hits back at Dallas Empire critics after London

“I guarantee you’re not going to see that going forward. I just think it was an oversight and it’ll get fixed,” Maven added.

While the opening event in Minnesota wasn’t under the new tournament format, and CDL London came under fire for not providing a trophy, Huntsmen CEO Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez is designing his own trophy for the squad, hinting that “it’s going to be London themed.”

Moreover, teams competing at future homestand events might be in luck when it comes to raising a trophy after the final series. While their singular 2020 event won’t be taking place until April 18, Seattle Surge will be providing a unique championship for the ultimate victors. 

• Read more: H3CZ, Arcitys explain why esports team houses don’t work

“Already in the works for [the] Seattle Surge homestand,” Director of Business Operations, Bob Morris Jr, said on Twitter days after the London fiasco.

The Huntsmen will indeed be competing at the next CDL homestand event in Atlanta on February 22 where they may be able to raise a trophy this time around if they’re able to secure back to back Grand Final wins.

You can keep up to date with the overall standings and latest results using Dexerto’s dedicated hub.