New tournament format and point system for Call of Duty League revealed
Activision announced the new tournament format and schedule for the 2020 Call of Duty League, as well as a revamped point system, which will be used to determine which eight teams will advance into the playoffs.
The 2020 CDL season is rapidly approaching and Activision are making the final changes to the tournament in a bid to make its inaugural season a successful one. Shortly after the CDL was announced, Activision were under fire from the fans and Call of Duty pro players, who were not all too satisfied with the format, which would divide the CDL season into 22 individual home series, in which only a handful of teams would play between one and two matches.
That would ultimately mean the teams would have to travel across the world only to play one or two series, which even from the economic standpoint is far from optimal. Then there is also the tedious travelling, which would take a toll on the players, their health and sequentially their performance in the CDL.
Activision were listening to the outcries and announced last week they are working on implementing the needed changes to the league's format. While no additional information about the new schedule was released at the time, Activision unveiled the full schedule and new point system this Wednesday on their official website.
Instead of the 22 home series events, the new format will be tournament-based, featuring 15 tournaments across the season, including the All-Star Weekend and the Championship Weekend. Each of the regular season tournaments will be hosted by one of the 12 franchises, while the All-Star Weekend and Championship Weekend will be hosted by Activision at a neutral venue.
Each of the Home Series events will feature eight teams, with the sole exception being the Launch Weekend in Minnesota, which will see all 12 teams.
The full schedule of the events for 2020 CDL:
LAUNCH WEEKEND – Minnesota RØKKR (January 24-26)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto ULTRA
London Royal Ravens Home Series (February 8-9)
Teams:
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
New York Subliners
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto ULTRA
Atlanta FaZe Home Series (February 22-23)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
Minnesota RØKKR
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Toronto ULTRA
Los Angeles Guerrillas & OpTic Gaming LA Home Series (March 7-8)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Seattle Surge
Dallas Empire Home Series (March 28-29)
Teams:
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto ULTRA
Chicago Huntsmen Home Series (April 4-5)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Seattle Surge
Florida Mutineers Home Series (April 11-12)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
Minnesota RØKKR
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Toronto ULTRA
Seattle Surge Home Series (April 18-19)
Teams:
Chicago Huntsmen
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Minnesota RØKKR Home Series (May 9-10)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
Seattle Surge
Toronto ULTRA
Paris Legion Home Series (May 16-17)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Toronto ULTRA
New York Subliners Home Series (June 6-7)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
New York Subliners
Paris Legion
Toronto ULTRA
Call of Duty All-Star Weekend (TBA)
London Royal Ravens Home Series (June 20-21)
Teams:
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
New York Subliners
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto Ultra Home Series (June 27-28)
Teams:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago Huntsmen
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR
Seattle Surge
Toronto ULTRA
Call of Duty League Championship Weekend (TBA)
New point system for CDL
Beginning in London, on February 8, home series weekend events will feature eight teams competing in the tournament brackets. The teams will be divided into two groups of four. Top two teams will then advance into the single-elimination bracket to determine the home series weekend champions.
Each win the team will achieve throughout the series will be worth 10 CDL points, with the champions of the event getting an additional 10 points, meaning that the home series champions get to walk home with 50 CDL points. The CDL points distribution is as follows:
1st place – 50 CDL Points
2nd place – 30 CDL Points
3rd/4th place – 20 CDL Points
5th/6th place – 10 CDL Points
7th/8th place – 0 CDL Points.
As mentioned above, the only home series event which won't follow the eight-team format will be the Launch Weekend in Minnesota, where we will see all 12 teams. In that event, each team will play two matches, with all victories worth 10 CDL points.
When the regular season concludes, the top eight teams with the most points will advance into the playoffs. The top four teams will earn a direct invite, while the remaining four will enter the playoffs as "wildcards".
The wildcard teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket to determine which two will advance into the playoffs. The two teams who will advance from the wildcard matches will then face off against the third and fourth overall seeds to start off the double-elimination bracket, while the top two overall seeds get first-round byes.
In the end, the two remaining teams will duke it out in the 2020 CDL Grand Finals for a shot at claiming the title of Call of Duty League Champions.
