Activision Blizzard Esports officially reveals details for the new Call of Duty League. The League is scheduled to begin home-vs-away 5-versus-5 professional match play in early 2020 with 12 teams in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, London, Los Angeles (2), Minnesota, New York, Paris, Seattle, and Toronto, in addition to select League-run major events throughout the season.
Each team in the league will host two ‘home series’ weekend events in their respective markets in 2020, one in a spring split and a second in a summer split. Multiple pro teams will compete at each home series event, giving fans a wide range of must-see competition throughout the weekend. In between the spring and summer splits, the League will host a special Call of Duty League Midseason Weekend event where all 12 teams will be featured in special all-pro tournaments and more.
Professional regular season competition will feature best-of-five-matches series played in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on Playstation 4. Pro teams with the best win-loss records will advance to the postseason, where they will compete in a double elimination Playoffs until the season champion is crowned. Playoff berths will include 2 wild card slots, and both the Playoffs and Championship matches will take place at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend in Summer 2020.
In addition to pro play, the League will continue to foster the growth and development of emerging player talent with Call of Duty Challengers, its amateur path to pro competition system. Call of Duty Challengers will include online ladders, online tournaments, and open tournament event competitions throughout the year beginning in November 2019, with a dedicated prize pool of over $1 million. Several Call of Duty League pro teams will also support amateur player pipeline development by hosting Call of Duty Challengers competitions in their markets. More details regarding amateur events can be found on CallofDutyLeague.com.
Fans will also be able to compete on behalf of their cities, in a new, casual competition system called the Call of Duty League City Circuit. In the City Circuit, fans can compete on behalf of their pro team cities through online or LAN (local area network) tournaments held exclusively by the 12 Call of Duty League teams. This fan-focused competitive circuit – set to launch later in 2020 – will feature a duos-based format in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare mode “Gunfight.” Call of Duty League City Circuit carries its own prize pool and will culminate in a finals event at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend.
Call of Duty League’s vision is to engage fans in dynamic ways across all 12 team markets and beyond. Home Series Weekends will showcase the best Call of Duty esports players in the world as well as the unique energy and passion of teams’ local fanbases.
“It is an honor to introduce the Call of Duty League, built to reimagine what esports can be,” said Johanna Faries, Commissioner of the Call of Duty League. “We’ve partnered with top-tier organizations who share our commitment to supporting the best players in the world and to entertain fans in unique ways. Together, we seek to bring incredible experiences to our pro, amateur, and fan communities, and to blaze new trails for the future of sports entertainment.”
The full roster of cities and ownership groups are:
- Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Esports Ventures, a joint venture owned by Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc.
- Chicago, IL – NRG Esports
- Dallas, TX – Envy Gaming, Inc.
- Florida – Misfits Gaming
- London, United Kingdom – ReKTGlobal, Inc
- Los Angeles, CA – Immortals Gaming Club (IGC)
- Los Angeles, CA – Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
- Minnesota – WISE Ventures
- New York, NY – Sterling.VC
- Paris, France – c0ntact Gaming
- Seattle, WA – The Aquilini Group
- Toronto, Canada – OverActive Media
For more information on the new Call of Duty League, visit callofdutyleague.com.
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