Following the first Major of the Call of Duty League season, some teams underperformed. Accordingly, with some amateur teams outperforming the franchised teams, changes were necessary. Specifically, the London Royal Ravens CDL 2023 team is looking new – read on to see how!
Moreover, a 13-16th place finish at the Stage 1 Major did not cut it for this roster moving forward. Back in the start of the season, they featured the likes of Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall as a substitue. Having played for the team in previous seasons, many were unsure whether he’d see action this year.
However, since that first Major, the likes of Paul “PaulEhx” Avila has been benched as this team experiments with a new active roster. Here’s how it looks like below:
Byron “Nastie” Plumridge
Trei “Zer0″ Morris
Obaid “Asim” Asim
Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall
Substitute – Paul “PaulEhx” Avila
Credits: CDL
In addition, it’s sentimental to see “Skrapz” return to the team after having not compete after 2 years. Let’s see if he can help this team get on an upward trajectory:
Indeed, as CoD esports waits for Major II Qualifiers to kick off shortly, there’s more to be excited for. Accordingly, Activision Blizzard just announced a new event for later this month. Read on as we preview the newly announced Call of Duty DMZ Gauntlet 2023 event!
Call of Duty DMZ Gauntlet 2023 – Trying Things Out
Mark your calendars for the DMZ Gauntlet!
Tune in as 16 captains and their trios work their way through a variety of challenges in DMZ competing for their share of $30,000!
📅 January 17 at 12PM PST 💵 $30,000 Prize Pool 👥 16 Trios
For those unaware, the new title Call of Duty Modern Warfare II has multiple game modes. Apart from Multiplayer and Warzone, which both have competitive scene, there’s also DMZ which isn’t looked into much.
However, Activision wants to change that, starting next week. Specifically, they just announced a $30,000 event – the Call of Duty: DMZ Gauntlet.
Taking place on January 17th at 12PM PST, Activision is inviting 16 trios from across the world to compete in this novel extraction-based mode.
Credits: Activision
Inspired by titles such as ‘Escape from Tarkov’, this is a new mode for this year of Call of Duty.
Bearing this in mind, we’re unsure as to what exactly the event will entail, but we’re sure that more details will be released over on the Call of Duty Twitter page here.
Following a month or so of break, competitive Call of Duty is back online. Accordingly, the CDL Stage 2 Major Qualifiers 2022 are coming later this week as we build momentum towards the second Major. Bearing this in mind, read on to learn How to Watch this anticipated event in this featured article!
Following the Stage 1 Major, the competition has already started to build up and the ranks are somewhat clearer. Bearing this in mind, the Stage 2 Major Qualifiers will be kicking off in the coming days.
With the season kicking off in December with Major 1, the second Major will be another opportunity for the franchised teams to earn points for the Call of Duty League. Specifically, these Qualifiers will determine the seeding for Major II which will be hosted offline by Boston Breach.
Running from 13th January to 29th January, these online qualifiers will involve the 12 franchised teams below:
With regards to the format, all 12 teams will compete across 4 predetermined matches in an online format.
Overall, everyone will be playing 4 matches per team, where each team earns 10 CDL points for each win. Adhering to CDL rules, the points will determine how teams face one another in the Winners’ Bracket.
All teams will be attending the franchise, but the Qualifiers are huge in determine those early key matches.
Schedule for the CDL Stage 2 Major Qualifiers 2023
Official @OpTicTexas Roster heading into Major II.
Across three weeks of matches, there’s a tonne of competitive Call of Duty to look forward to. Bearing this in mind, here’s the complete schedule of Week 1 below in the CET timezone:
January 13th
Toronto Ultra vs London Royal Ravens (21:00)
Boston Breach vs Minnesota Rokkr (22:30)
Las Vegas Legion vs Seattle Surge (00:00)
January 14th
Florida Mutineers vs Los Angeles Guerrillas (21:00)
Minnesota Rokkr vs London Royal Ravens (22:30)
Atlanta FaZe vs Seattle Surge (00:00)
Los Angeles Thieves vs New York Subliners (01:30)
January 15th
Toronto Ultra vs Florida Mutineers (21:00)
OpTic Texas vs Boston Breach (22:30)
Los Angeles Guerrillas vs Los Angeles Thieves (00:00)
For the whole schedule, we recommend keeping up to date with the Call of Duty League Twitter page.
Watch the CDL Stage 2 Major Qualifiers 2023 on esportsguide
You can also watch the event live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Naturally, the best way to predict the competition, let’s take a look at the standings from Stage 1 below:
1st – New York Subliners
2nd – Seattle Surge
3rd – Atlanta FaZe
4th – Toronto Ultra
5th/6th – Los Angeles Thieves, Los Vegas Legion
While these may be the favourites, there are some things to bear in mind. Specifically, , OpTic Texas, LAG and London Royal Ravens have all announced roster changes to try and better their chances this time around.
Also, the game has changed quite a bit since last we saw competition – we can’t wait to see how the Call of Duty League stackes up after some time away.
Most of the time, esports organizations avoid making changes early in the season. However, sometimes the opportunity is great and the performance is bad enough to merit it. Accordingly, this is the case for the LA Guerrillas CDL Roster 2023 – read on to learn more!
LA Guerrillas CDL Roster 2023 – Swapping in Academy
For those unaware, the CDL Stage 1 Major included both franchised and amateur teams. Indeed, LAG had both a franchised and academy team attending the event.
Notably, both LA Guerrillas and LAG Academy placed 9-12th – with the Academy roster performing much better overall.
Bearing this in mind, the community was curious to see whether changes between the two rosters will take place- why not, it’s free?
Accordingly, changes have happened with 3 players being brought into the main roster from the academy team as listed:
Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson
Adam “Assault” Garcia – NEW
Kaden “Exceed” – NEW
Joe “JoeDeceives” – NEW
Credits: Blizzard
For those unaware, “Assault” is a world champion (World War II) and “Exceed” has been in the League before (Minnesota Rokkr). In their stead, the likes of “Spart” and “Neptune” are substitues and “Huke” is a free agent.
Let’s see if this exchange with the academy team will boost the organization’s performance:
Indeed, the start of the Call of Duty League in 2020 was hampered by the state of the world back then. However, another factor was a suffocated level of viewership and a format needing revision. Yet, Call of Duty Esports 2023 looks to be turning a new page, one with new peaks of viewership!
Call of Duty Esports – Free From YouTube
Accordingly, let’s kick off by focusing on the pertinent YouTube exclusivity deal. Worth $160 million, the partnership was YouTube’s attempt at competing with Twitch.
Credits: CDL (when YouTube was exclusive media partner)
Indeed, all the Blizzard esports – Call of Duty, Overwatch and Hearthstone were affected as all other esports continued to enjoy Twitch as the most popular platform for esports viewership.
While the YouTube platform offered benefits such as rewinding and more stable connections, the lack in popularity of the platform affected esports viewership for all the Blizzard esports.
Now, heading into the 2023 season for the CDL, the deal has expired and Blizzard declined to resign the deal. Streaming freely on Twitch and the CDL website, some instant success has already been registered.
CDL Stage 1 Major 2023 – Ranking High
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-08 / Photo: JOE-BRADY for Activision Blizzard
Moreover, the first Major of the year for 2023 had multiple things going for it:
Pro-Am Format – Challenger Teams and League Teams competing against one another
MWII Sales – this year’s title is officially the best-selling CoD ever – the excitement for the title is there
Taking place offline at the Raleigh Convention Center, $500,000 was on the line for the attending teams. With regards to viewership, here’s what the Major scored according to Esports Charts:
Average Viewers – 112,276
Peak Viewers – 159,455
For an opening event, these are some awesome figures to go off from!
How does 2023 compare?
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-09 / Photo: Robert Paul for Activision Blizzard
So, let’s give some context. Take a look to see the peak viewership for the past three years of Stage 1 Majors:
2023 – 159,455 Peak Viewers
2022 – 157,421 Peak Viewers
2021 – 118,076 Peak Viewers
Following a steady increase, the Major sits nicely at the top of the tower.
However, while the Major viewership was great, the Major Qualifiers viewership was actually even better! Specifically, the qualifiers were the 7th most viewed competitive CoD event ever – comparable to World Championships!
Call of Duty League 2020 Finals – Peak Viewers 331,558
CoD World League Championship 2018 – Peak Viewers 324,086
Call of Duty League 2022 Playoffs – Peak Viewers 275,244
Call of Duty League Championship 2021 – Peak Viewers 238,794
CoD World League Vegas – Peak Viewers 200,859
Call of Duty World League Championship – Peak Viewers 189,217
CDL 2023 Stage 1 Major Qualifiers – Peak Viewers 184,583
It’s always surprising to see Qualifiers registering more viewership than Majors – though do note that some of the favourite teams did see an early exit.
High Hopes for CDL Championship
Credits: CDL
Usually, the highest peak of viewership is seen at the very end of the season. Considering this impressive start, we have very high hopes that CDL Championship this season could set new records for Call of Duty esports.
Call of Duty Esports 2023 – What Could Success Bring?
Consequently, this season could be huge for competitive Call of Duty.
Ever since its conception, the Call of Duty League has not merited expansion of the franchised league. Multiple years later, a successful season here could finally prompt the investments needed to expand the league and scale it upwards.
Also, considering that MWII will be the featured Call of Duty for 2 years, it needs to succeed for the longevity of the title heading into 2023.
We can’t wait to see how viewership changes over the course over the year. Keep up to date with CoD esports on esportsguide here.
As is tradition at esportsguide, we love working on an Esports Tier List every now and then. Indeed, following the conclusion of some of the largest esports events ever, now is the best time ever. Accordingly, feel free to read on for an updated list for Esports Tier List 2022 Q4!
Indeed, as always, we’ll fill you in on the same criteria we’ve always used to dictate our tier lists:
Event Proportions – Size of prize pools, number of participants, third and first party organizers, environment and arena capacities
Event frequency – is the year bursting with competition or solely reliant on infrequent first-party organizers
Competitiveness – the level of competition in an esports scene is related to its livelihood
State of the community – health of the lower tier sectors and general condition of the esport as a dynamic entity
Credits: Garena
Accordingly, with that taken care of, always remember that these lists are subject to our opinion too. Otherwise, we’ll be listing the top viewership from the time period, although it’s not the only factor considered. We’re not looking at growth – just where they stand.
Tier 1 – Welcoming VALORANT and Free Fire – Esports Tier List 2022
LoL – 2022 World Championship – Peak Viewers 5,147,701
CS:GO – PGL Major Antwerp 2022 – Peak Viewers 2,113,610
Dota 2 – The International 2022 – Peak Viewers 1,751,086
VALORANT – VALORANT Champions 2022 – Peak Viewers 1,505,804
Free Fire – Free Fire World Series 2022 Sentosa – Peak Viewers 1,477,545
So, let’s talk about the changes involved here. Firstly, since our last Esports Tier List, we’ve decided to promote VALORANT to Tier 1 after an incredible second season, breaking the million peak viewer mark.
In addition, we’ve decided to demote PUBG Mobile from Tier 1 to Tier 2 due to a quieter year, failing to reach the same level of viewership. In contrast, Free Fire managed to grow in the past year and have earned a spot as the top Mobile Esport in the world.
Otherwise, LoL and CS:GO retain their spots as the two very best esports in the world, each having incredible years. Although still worthy of Tier 1, Dota had a rough year and will look to improve next year.
Tier 2 – Multiple Promotions and Demotions
PUBG Mobile – 31st Southeast Asian Games PUBG Mobile – Peak Viewers 903,011
Rocket League – RLCS 21-22 World Championship – Peak Viewers 368,721
Overwatch League – OWL 2022 Playoffs – Peak Viewers 397,868
CoD – CDL 2022 Playoffs – Peak Viewers 275,244
Credits: Psyonix
While Tier 1 has remained somewhat the same, Tier 2 has seen multiple changes since last year.
Perhaps the most impressive climber is the likes of Rocket League – after an impressive year with constant improvement in viewership, the esport is kicking up very well. They’re climb to Tier 2 from Tier 3 is joined by AoG which has remained consistent over the past two years.
Also, Overwatch has made the jump thanks to a much needed improvement of viewership from last year. In fact, it was doubled this year thanks to the excitement behind Overwatch 2.
As we explained prior, for now we’ve had to demote PUBG Mobile to Tier 2 as they’ve failed to be consistent this past year. Let’s see if things improve next year.
Tier 3 – Halo Infinite Making a Mark
Halo World Championship 2022 – Peak Viewers 143,585
FIFA – FIFA eWorld Cup 2022 – Peak Viewers 149,465
PUBG – PUBG Nations Cup – Peak Viewers 239,112
Rainbow Six Siege – Six Invitational 2022 – Peak Viewers 262,714
Credits: Blizzard
Here in Tier 3, the likes of Halo and FIFA are newcomers. With Halo restarting esports operations this year, it joins an improving FIFA scene which returned with offline events this year.
Meanwhile, we’ve decided to demote PUBG and Rainbow Six Siege as they both seem to be lacking growth. Bearing this in mind, both esports are making big changes for 2023 in search of success.
Tier 4 – Wild Rift Experiment Failing?
Credits: Blizzard
StarCraft II – IEM Katowice 2022 – Peak Viewers 50,635
Fortnite – Fortnite Champions Series 2022 Invitational – Peak Viewers 381,915
Hearthstone – Hearthstone World Championship – Peak Viewers 21,786
Following the opening weeks of qualifiers and the Major, the Call of Duty League is taking shape. Accordingly, the Call of Duty League 2023 standings do provide an interesting picture – read on as we take a look at how the competition stands below!
With multiple stages remaining, Major one concluding the opening chapter of the season. Specifically, there looks to be 4 more events prior to the final event of the season.
Here are the standings listed:
#1 – New York Subliners – 85 points
#2 – Seattle Surge, Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra – 60 points
#5 – Minnesota Rokkr, Los Angeles Thieves – 40 points
#7 – Florida Mutineers, Las Vegas Legion – 30 points
#7 – OpTic Texas – 20 points
#9 – Los Angeles Guerrillas, London Royal Ravens, Boston Breach – 20 points
Why are the standings such a big deal? Well, that’s because towards the end of the season, the standings will be essential for determining seeding to CDL Championship Weekend.
Bearing this in mind, teams are trying to land in the top 8 in order to qualify for the most important event of the year.
Naturally, there are a few surprises here – such as OpTic and LAT being rather lower than expected.
Although it’s early, teams need to think ahead with regards to points.
Overall, 2022 has been great for the esports industry. Bearing this in mind, we can’t help but look forward to the next year of esports. Indeed, in this featured we’ll be taking the time to preview the prospects for the Esports Industry 2023 – read on to learn more!
Specifically, in this featured discussion, we’ll be previewing two types of esports scenes. Firstly, those which are incredibly young and look to capitalize on another. Secondl;y, new upcoming titles which could really develop the esports industry!
Esports Industry 2023 – Young Scenes Shaping Up
Credits: Call of Duty League
So, let’s start by looking at some esports which have a lot to prove in the coming year.
To begin with, we have established esports scenes with new game titles – as follows:
CoD Esports – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Released by Infinity Ward in October of this year, CoD MWII looks to revolutionize Call of Duty esports on two counts.
In terms of viewership, this title will be the very first since the start of the Call of Duty League which does not involve exclusive YouTube streaming. Bearing this in mind, the first weeks of competition have already broken records for the esport.
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-09 / Photo: Robert Paul for Activision Blizzard
Furthermore, this is the first time in roughly 10 years, that a Call of Duty title will be supported for more than 2 years.
For both the competitive and casual scene, Infinity Ward will have to do their best to continuously provide content and also manage the Call of Duty League. Such a change could do wonders for the future of CoD esports.
Overwatch Esports – Overwatch 2
Also supported by Activision Blizzard, Overwatch 2 released earlier this year with hopes to rejuvinate Overwatch.
Since 2016, the title and the Overwatch League hae been on a slow decline and needed a boost of energy. That’s why the release of Overwatch 2 in October of this year is rather exciting.
Overwatch League 2020 Season 2020-03-07 / Photo: Joshua Roberts For Activision Blizzard
Although released, the title is still receiving quite a bit of updates and doing its utmost to comply with the community and keep the title up to date. Considering this, this coming year will let us know what the future holds for Overwatch and the Overwatch League.
In conclusion, the likes of CoD and Overwatch esports, established esports, are hoping for a good year with their new titles.
Wild Rift Esports
On the note of mobile esports, Riot Games’ efforts to grow Wild Rift have been great in 2022. Hosting the Icons Global Championship 2022 with $2,000,000 on the line proved the prospects of this esports.
While we know little about the upcoming schedule of the season, we remain hopeful and curious to see how this title pushes the ceiling for mobile esports.
New Esports 2023 – Could Riot Games Surprise?
In addition, we’d like to take about titles which perhaps haven’t established themselves but seem to offer quite the potential.
Warzone 2 – together with the release of the main title, Warzone 2 is the hottest new battle royale with a loyal competitive and causal community. Accordingly, should Infinity Ward captivate on this, they could really put together an impressive esport which we’d love to see happen.
Credits: Riot Games
Project L – although we’re not sure whether it’ll be released in 2023, Riot Games’ experiment in fighting game esports with ‘Project L’ could be incredible. Considering their history with VALORANT and Wild Rift – we can’t wait to see what esport they build.
We’ll continue to cover esports in 2023 here on esportsguide!
It’s been a total of 3 years since the birth of the Call of Duty League. Accordingly, with each year, changes and growth have been noted. Heading into this coming year, the CoD 2023 Esports road map is full of improvements – read on to prepare for the upcoming season!
CoD 2023 Esports Road Map – A New Mid-Season Event
Indeed, before we carry on, there are two main things to note for this season, which kicked off earlier this month (the earliest it’s ever started). Firstly, once again no expansion has been noted, still at 12 teams. Secondly, the platform has moved to Twitch – massive improvements in viewership have been seen already!
Anyways, there are five Major events taking place this year. Indeed, each one will include the qualifier stage followed by the Major itself. Accordingly, Stage 1 has already kicked off:
Stage 1 Major Qualifier – 2nd December
Stage 1 Major – 15th December
Following Major 1, we’ll move on to Major 2 hosted by the Boston Breach, the newest addition to the league:
Stage 2 Major Qualifier – 13th January
Stage 2 Major (Boston) – 2nd February
And the following are the remaining events for the year:
III – 17th February (Qualifiers), 9th March (Major hosted by OpTic)
IV – 24th March (Qualifiers), 13th April (Major hosted by NYSL)
V – 5th May (Qualifiers), 25th May (Major hosted by Toronto)
Mid-Season Event (TBD)
CDL Championship 2023 (TBD)
Presenting the official regular Season Schedule for the #CDL2023 season.
Major I: 12/15 – 12/18 Major II: 2/2 – 2/5 Major III: 3/9 – 3/12 Major IV: 4/13 – 4/16 Major V: 5/25 – 5/28
Naturally, as with all other years, the competition draws to an end with the epic CDL Championship 2023 which will crown another season champion with likely a $1,000,000 prize pool!
Making Changes – More Competition to Enjoy
First of all, all five Stage Majors will contribute to CDL Points. Last time around, both the Kickoff and Pro-Am Classic did not contribute to the seeding, which many did not agree with.
Considering this, there’s more serious competition to enjoy this time around. In addition, this year Activision are trying their hand at hosting a serious Mid-Season Event. While the details are yet to be revealed, this will likely include a combination of Warzone and Pro-Am interaction.
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-09 / Photo: Robert Paul for Activision Blizzard
Indeed, this emphasis of including the amateurs more will certainly help develop the young talent out there.
We believe, especially considering that viewership for the CDL has been improving, that the CoD 2023 Esports Road Map is an opportunity to increase the chances of expansion next season!
In addition, this is officially the last season for the world’s most popular CoD professional – Seth “Scump” Abner – all eyes are on him this year!
Also, we’ll be continuing this series for every single esports offered by esportsguide – stay tuned for more!
Following an incredible three weeks of competition, the CDL Stage 1 Major 2022 is only one week away. Accordingly, with the qualification underway, we have our seeding. Read on to learn about how the Groups have been randomly selected below!
For those unaware, this first $500,000 major event will feature 16 teams.
Indeed, besides the 12 franchised teams, 4 amateur teams from CDL Challengers will compete alongside the big teams. Accordingly, 4 seeds will be determined out of the 8 challenger teams – and will be seeded to join the remainder of the competition.
Regardless, Activision has released the seeding for the Groups, listed below:
A: Los Angeles Guerillas, Minnesota ROKKR, New York Subliners, TBD
B: Toronto Ultra, Florida Mutineers, OpTic Texas, TBD
Do note that for Group C and D, apart from the challenger team, Los Angeles Thieves and London Royal Ravens have to play a tiebreaker beforehand – winner goes to Group D.
Otherwise, each group will play like a double bracket – only two teams from each group will make it into the bracket!
