After what has felt like an eternity, Call of Duty esports is BACK! The launch weekend of the 2020 Call of Duty League marks the start of a brand-new era of Call of Duty esports.
With all 12 franchises all kicking off their 2020 season with two matches each, launch weekend will be the first time that players and fans will get to see teams compete at a LAN event.
In this article, find the latest results, match recaps and league table tracking CDL Points earned from across the weekend.
Click the link to take you to the relevant sections:
Day Three
It's strange not having a champion being crowned on Championship Sunday! Regardless, there is still plenty of action to get stuck into in the final day of competition. Games get underway at 7.30PM GMT.
Kicking off the day is the Paris Legion taking on the London Royal Ravens in the first battle of Europe of the year while Chicago and OpTic Gaming LA start their bitter rivalry. The New York Subliners take on an in-form Atlanta FaZe and ending the night is the Toronto Ultra taking on the home team of the Minnesota RØKKR in the final game of the weekend. Tweet us your predictions!
Paris Win Battle of Europe
The opening game of the day saw two hot teams battle it out for the chance to become the first franchise to secure a flawless record in the league.
Paris confirmed their respawn game was no fluke, taking Rammaza Hardpoint 250-214 to take the early lead against their European rivals. London looked to bounce back after going 4-0 up on Arklov Peak S&D but the Legion secured six straight rounds to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Paris once again started strong on Gun Runner Domination, heading into the second half with a huge advantage over the Royal Ravens. The UK side vailantly fought back to reduce the deficit to within 20 ponts but thanks to some excellent control of the B flag, the Legion managed to secure a 191-169 win and a 3-0 sweep!
Chicago Knock Down Green Wall
After the events during the off-season, Chicago against OpTic Gaming Los Angeles was always going to be a hotly contested affair and it definitely lived up to expectations!
The Huntsmen started off strong thanks to a solid performance from Envoy, allowing them to secure a 250-176 win on Azhir Cave Hardpoint.
The Huntsmen continued their winning ways, taking Piccadilly S&D 6-2. FormaL FRIED with the sniper, picking off the members of the Green Wall with ease.
Hackney Yard Domination was a much closer contest. Despite solid 2-cap control from the Huntsmen, OGLA answered back strong towards the end of the game, briefly taking the lead but it was not enough to stop Chicago securing their second win of the weekend.
Atlanta Sink The Subliners
The young guns of the Atlanta FaZe took on a tricky opponent in the form of the New York Subliners.
Gun Runner Hardpoint was an extremely close contest but the FaZe held strong to take the early lead in the series. Atlanta did not slow down, taking Piccadilly S&D 6-0 to extend their advantage.
Moving onto Hackney Yard Domination and the Subliners showed some signs of life, displaying some excellent flanks and control of the home flags. Atlanta did manage to mount a comeback but were unable to secure the 3-0 sweep as the Subliners took the map win.
After such a close opening game, could New York complete the reverse sweep? It was not to be as Atlanta came out with the fire to secure the map 250-122 to take the series 3-1.
Minnesota Conquer Toronto
The Minnesota RØKKR looked to end Launch Weekend on a high with their second win of the weekend by taking down the Toronto Ultra.
The opening game was a very close battle between the two Northern teams but the RØKKR managed to clutch up in the closing stages to take Hackney Yard Hardpoint 250-229. Rammaza S&D was just as close, but this time it was the Ultra that walked away with the victory to level the series.
Both sides remained near-inseparable during Hackney Yard Domination. Thanks to a late surge from the RØKKR, they managed to overturn the Ultra to grab a 2-1 lead in the series.
The home team had the crowd and the momentum behind them for Azhir Cave Hardpoint, quickly establishing a very strong lead over the Ultra. Toronto were unable to mount a comeback, enabling Minnesota to take a 3-1 victory, walking away from Launch Weekend with a flawless win record.
Day Two
London Sweeps Subliners
For the first battle between Europe and North America, the London Royal Ravens would take on the New York Subliners.
Thanks to some consistent slaying across the board and strong map control, London managed to take Azhir Cave Hardpoint 250-148 to take the early series lead.
Piccadilly S&D was next and London carried the momentum from game one. With both Bradley "Wuskin" Marshall and Jordan "Jurd" Crowley both successfully clutching rounds, the Royal Ravens secured map two with a convincing 6-2 win.
Hackney Yard Domination featured more of the same from the Royal Ravens. Consistent slaying combined with good control of the map saw the UK team take the map to secure the 3-0 sweep over New York.
Toronto Edge Seattle
Fresh off a loss, the Seattle Surge were looking to bounce back with a win against the Toronto Ultra.
In a thrilling opening game, Seattle secured Gun Runner Hardpoint 250-240 to grab the series lead. The Ultra responded immediately, dominating Gun Runner S&D 6-2 to level the series at one game each.
Gun Runner would feature once again for Domination. In what was a close game between the two sides, Seattle secured a 190-166 win to take the series to a fourth map.
A strong start for Toronto on Azhir Cave Hardpoint put them in a prime position to take the series to a deciding map but Seattle came roaring back, keeping the game close. The Ultra managed to hold on to take the win, forcing a fifth map.
Rammaza S&D could not have been closer, with both teams going blow for blow. In the 11th and deciding round, Toronto managed to defeat the Surge, giving them their second loss of the weekend.
LA Guerrillas Find Redemption
After a controversial loss to Minnesota on day one, the LA Guerrillas looked to redeem themselves against the Florida Mutineers.
Opening the series on Azhir Cave Hardpoint, Cesar "Skyz" Bueno lit up the scoreboard with a great performance to give the Mutineers a 250-176 win. The Guerrillas answered back on Gun Runner S&D, taking the map 6-1 to tie up the series.
Hackney Yard Domination was extremely close but thanks to the late map control from LA, Aches & co walked away with a 218-171 win to move within one map of victory.
Gun Runner Hardpoint would be the setting for game four, Despite securing early control of the hills, LA were unable to handle the outright slaying power of the Mutineers, who took the map 250-238 to force their second game five of the weekend.
Arklov Peak had everything. Near-incredible aces to some efficient trading from both teams. It was a back and forth game but LA managed to secure a 6-4 win to wrap up the series 3-2. Sweet revenge from their loss to Minnesota on day one.
Paris Stun OpTic Gaming LA
Heading into this match as heavy favourites, OpTic Gaming Los Angeles were looking to start their season with a comfortable victory over the Paris Legion.
It was far from straightforward on Azhir Cave Hardpoint, with the Legion taking a surprise 250-235 win to grab the early lead in the series. The Green Wall answered back with a confident 6-1 victory on Arklov Peak to level the series once again.
The respawn performance in game one was not a fluke. The Legion secured Gun Runner Dominatiom 184-166 to regain the lead. Could the French franchise cause the biggest upset so far?
Despite a late comeback from the Legion, OGLA managed to secure the win on St. Petrograd Hardpoint 250-239 to take the series to a deciding S&D, something that hardly anyone predicted.
Matthew "KiSMET" Tinsley put Paris on his back in the final game of the series, ultimately securing a big 6-3 win for the Legion. Certainly a shock to the system for OpTic, who were tipped as one of the top teams heading into the opening weekend of competition.
Atlanta Destroy The Empire
Headlining the second day of launch weekend saw the Atlanta FaZe do battle against the Dallas Empire in what was set to be a highly competitive contest.
A close Azhir Cave Hardpoint went in favour of the young Atlanta roster, giving them the upper hand against a strong Empire team. The momentum contunued for Atlanta, as they swept Dallas on Arklov Peak 6-0 to put them in a primed position to take a huge victory at the opening weekend.
The all-out aggression from Atlanta was too much for the Empire, as the Red Militia took Gun Runner Domination 188-118 to secure a very comfortable 3-0 win. Looks like the power rankings weren't wrong about Atlanta!
Day One
Headlined by the Chicago Huntsmen taking on the Dallas Empire, the opening day of competition looks to be a very competitive affair. Don't forget to check back here for the recaps of each match and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates!
Chicago Shock Dallas
The first match of the CDL certainly did not disappoint as Chicago and Dallas opened up the new season with a bang.
Azhir Cave Hardpoint was a very back and forth contest between the two sides but it was the Huntsmen that managed to draw first blood, taking the map 250-209. The Empire responded with a vengeance, securing Arklov Peak Search & Destroy 6-1 to level the series at one map apiece.
Hackney Yard Domination was a very one-sided affair for Chicago. Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson excelled with the MP5 sub-machine gun as the Huntsmen raced to a 130-69 lead at the half. Dallas did manage to mount a comeback but it wasn't enough as Chicago took the map 202-157 to take a 2-1 lead.
The Empire came out swinging on Gun Runner Hardpoint, needing to win the map to stay alive in the series. Dallas did manage to build a slender lead in the opening rotation of hills but Arcitys, once again showed his SMG prowess. The Huntsmen eventually secured the map 250-173 and a 3-1 series victory.
Florida Defeat Seattle
The second series saw a battle of the tides as the Seattle Surge take on the Florida Mutineers. St. Petrograd Hardpoint was a back-and-forth contest between two evenly matched teams but thanks to several multikills from three-time world champ Damon "Karma" Barlow, the Surge opened up the series with a 250-198 victory.
The Mutineers bounced back with authority with a polished performance on Gun Runner Search & Destroy to level the series at 1-1. Gun Runner would play host to Domination for map three. After controlling the majority of the game, Florida rallied together in the latter half of the game but the experienced Surge roster hung on to win 188-184, taking a 2-1 series lead.
Azhir Cave Hardpoint would be next. In what was yet another close game, Florida walked away victorious after Colt "Havok" McLendon flanked through the back alley of the cave to secure the victory to force a deciding game five.
The momentum was fully in favour of the Mutineers and it showed on Rammaza S&D. Florida dominated Seattle and swept them aside 6-0 to take the series 3-2.
RØKKR Hold Strong Amid Controversy
The third and final game of the night saw the event hosts, the Minnesota RØKKR begin their CDL campaign against the Los Angeles Guerrillas.
Kicking off the series on St. Petrograd Hardpoint, Minnesota started on the front foot, establishing an early lead but the solid rotations from LA made the difference as CDL villain Patrick "Aches" Price led his team to a 250-169 win.
The Guerrillas managed to secure Piccadilly S&D to take a commandng 2-0 lead but it was later found that one of the Guerrillas players used a restricted item therefore giving the RØKKR the map win, levelling the series.
What followed was a back-and-forth contest on Hackney Yard Domination. Minnesota's ability to control the B flag put them in a good position to win but LA came roaring back to reduce the deficit. In the end, it wasn't enough as Minnesota held on for a 192-174 win to take the lead in the series.
Back on Hackney Yard for Hardpoint and the slaying supremacy from the RØKKR was on show. The Guerrillas managed to stay within touching distance but the slaying power from Adam "Assault" Garcia and Alex "Alexx" Carpenter proved too strong as Minnesota closed out the game 250-167 to take a 3-1 series victory.
Friday January 24th, 10.26PM
Here. We. Go. Dallas Empire take on the Chicago Huntsmen in the first match in the history of the CDL!
Friday January 24th, 9.28PM
The stream is LIVE!
Friday January 24th, 6.43pm GMT
Team items are finally live in Modern Warfare! After being revealed in a blog post from Infinity Ward, each franchise now has bundles containing weapon camos, charms, operator outfits and much more.
Friday January 24th, 6.26pm GMT
Just over four hours until the first match of the CDL gets underway. Who have you got taking the first match between Chicago and Dallas - A re-imagined eClassico? Tweet us and use #CDL2020 to get involved!
Teams
The teams are:
- London Royal Ravens
- Dallas Empire
- New York Subliners
- Atlanta FaZe
- Toronto Ultra
- Chicago Huntsmen
- Paris Legion
- OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
- Seattle Surge
- Los Angeles Guerillas
- Minnesota RØKKR
- Florida Mutineers
Schedule
All times are GMT.
Day 1
- Chicago Huntsmen v Dallas Empire (10:30 PM)
- Seattle Surge v Florida Mutineers (11:45 PM)
- LA Guerillas v Minnesota RØKKR (1:00 AM)
Day 2
- New York Subliners v London Royal Ravens (7:30 PM)
- Toronto Ultra v Seattle Surge (8:45 PM)
- LA Guerillas v Florida Mutineers (10:00 PM)
- OpTic Gaming Los Angeles v Paris Legion (11:15 PM)
- Atlanta FaZe v Dallas Empire (12:30 AM)
Day 3
- Paris Legion v London Royal Ravens (7:30 PM)
- Chicago Huntsmen v OpTic Gaming Los Angeles (9:00 PM)
- New York Subliners v Atlanta FaZe (11:00 PM)
- Toronto Ultra v Minnesota RØKKR (12:15 AM)
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Written byJon Nicholson@MrJonno_95