Call of Duty League switching to a tournament format
Activision Blizzard announced they will be altering the format of the inaugural 2020 Call of Duty League by switching to a tournament-based format starting with the first competitive week in Minnesota, while the new point system is set to go live during the second competitive week, which will be hosted by London Ravens in London, United Kingdom.
With the announcement of CDL, Activision also unveiled a new format for their franchised league, which would see 12 teams participate in 11 competitive weeks per split, which were to take place in each of the 11 cities across the globe, where the home team would host the event and welcome a few teams to their arena.
The format for CDL has been under heavy fire since it was announced with fans, Call of Duty pros and teams voicing their disagreement with the structure of the format as it would force them to travel across the country or even across the sea to play a single series. That alone is not only non-economical from the travel and accommodation cost but also very stressful on the players who would be constantly travelling from one time zone to another which would ultimately take a toll on their health and their performance throughout CDL.
Furthermore, the fans voiced their opinion on the topic, with a vast majority claiming they would much rather prefer tournaments, where they would get a chance to see all 12 teams in action which would not only make for a more exciting event but also give the fans the full experience they were seeking.
Activision seemingly listened to the complaints and found a solution, which would see the CDL move to a much favourable tournament-format. While the specifics and the new point system haven't been disclosed as of yet, it was said more should be uncovered during the first competitive week, which will kick off on January 24, 2020.
"We could sense that tournaments were on a lot of people’s wish lists within our community," said Johanna Faries, Commissioner of Call of Duty Esports and former NFL executive.
"So we and our teams worked hard to create a fresh new take on a beloved format that we all feel will make the competition even more exciting going into the 2020 season. It took some effort, but it’s been nice to be able to ‘gift’ the news to our fans around the holidays. We can’t wait to get started in January."
The change to the format was unveiled barely a month before the Launch Weekend, which will be hosted by Minnesota Røkkr at Minneapolis Armory, Minneapolis and it reminded everyone Activision are prepared to listen to their community’s feedback as they strive to optimize their experience and properly represent the Call of Duty esports with the CDL.
While the Call of Duty game had its problems with numerous in-game bugs, which the players discovered, it goes without saying Activision alongside Infinity Ward are putting in work to make the Call of Duty League an unforgettable experience for the players, teams, fans and the overall esports community, which will see CoD continues its path in the competitive esports scene, which started over 10 years ago and is still going strong.
CDL will kick off on January 24, 2020, with the first split ending on May 2, 2020, when the Midseason weekend will take place. Following the Midseason event, CDL will see 11 more events which will be succeeded by Call of Duty League 2020 Playoffs, set to begin sometime in August at a yet undisclosed venue.
