Call of Duty Franchises and League Details Announced
This past weekend, further details about the inaugural Call of Duty League, including the details of all 12 of the franchises that are set to participate in the first season of the new tournament, have been announced publicly.
The start date of the new competition has been confirmed as the 24th January 2020 with the opening match taking place at the Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota, United States.
Further Tournament Details
In addition to the date and location of the first game in the new tournament, organisers have also announced that the season will see each team host a series of games in its home location throughout the tournament, known as home series weekends, echoing the similar set up that Activision Blizzard will bring in to the Overwatch World League, the third season of which will also begin early next year.
Jonathan Wilf, the president and ownership partner of WISE Ventures Esports, who own the Minnesota-based franchise in the Call of Duty League stated that it “is an honour to host the inaugural weekend of the Call of Duty League” and that “we are excited to put on an incredible fan experience to launch the Call of Duty League”.
The teams will be battling for a share of a prize pool in excess of $6 million in the first year of competition. All 12 teams will compete across three days of action in the opening weekend of the regular season.
All 12 Franchises Now Announced
Following on from the announcement of the London Royal Ravens being the first franchise announced in the tournament, all 12 teams and their names, logos and team colours, as well as the players that will start the season on the roster for each team have also been announced.
The full list of franchises competing in the event are as follows:
- Atlanta Faze
- Chicago Huntsmen
- Dallas Empire
- Florida Mutineers
- London Royal Ravens
- Los Angeles Guerillas
- Minnesota Rokkr
- New York Subliners
- OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
- Paris Legion
- Seattle Surge
- Toronto Ultra
How is the Call of Duty League Season Organised?
Each city in the league will host a round of games in the regular season and in addition, the league will also host its own event weekends, including a Midseason Weekend and a League Championship Weekend.
The regular season will be divided into two splits. Teams will be ranked by the number of matches they win and lose to determine which teams advance into the post season and the Playoffs. The top eight teams from the regular season will earn a place in the post season, including the top six, plus two Wild Card teams.
During the Championship Weekend, the final six playoff teams will compete in a double-elimination tournament until just two teams remain, who will then go head to head to be crowned the first Call of Duty League Champion.
As yet, details such as the order in which cities will host the events, together with the different maps, modes and any restrictions in game play, will be published at a later date.
Challengers Registration now Open
Players that want to try and earn a place on the roster of one of the 12 franchises, can now register their interest in the Challengers, the official path to a roster place for players all around the world, and the Challenger tournament itself boasts a prize pool of $1 million.
The first Challenger tournament is expected to get underway on November 9th.
Since: August 10, 2015
