The demise of Kobe Bryant compelled the Call of Duty League to cancel a shootout between a pair of NBA stars, as an indication of respect for the fallen basketball legend. However most of the opening weekend for the Call of Duty League went off and not using a hitch, primarily based on what I’ve seen watching it from afar.
For this yr’s Call of Duty League, Activision Blizzard has reimagined the competitors primarily based on the city-like construction of the profitable Overwatch League, with groups rooted in native communities as a means of constructing long-term loyalties and rivalries amongst groups and followers.
The league has 12 skilled groups unfold throughout 11 markets in North America and Europe, and Activision has collected an estimated $300 million in charges from the groups. The league will award $1 million in prizes for amateurs throughout on-line and native occasions, and the professional groups stand to win much more.
This weekend’s kickoff in Minneapolis (house of the Minnesota Røkkr) is the primary of 26 occasions throughout 28 weeks in Season One.
I’ve watched the YouTube docu-series (dubbed “The Marketing campaign”) on The Chicago Huntsmen group. It’s fairly properly carried out, and it’s a means of humanizing the group for followers and those that could not care that a lot in regards to the particular person matches. The group consists of some stars that I’ve watched for years like Seth “Scrump” Abner and Matthew “Formal” Piper, after the implosion of the outdated OpTic Gaming group.
Above: The Chicago Huntsmen on the Call of Duty League opener.
Picture Credit score: Activision
Whereas these two gamers are teammates, Piper, a 10-year Call of Duty professional participant, chooses to dwell in Los Angeles whereas the remainder of the group is in Chicago. And Abner refers to Pipe as a “diva” when he doesn’t present to an opening dinner hosted by the proprietor Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez.
That’s good sports activities storytelling, the type you see on the networks as they broadcast conventional sports activities. It’s sufficient to suck you in and get you connected to the gamers so that you just’ll watch their matches. That’s the technique behind the broadcasts, which finally might be the most important supply of revenues for esports occasions just like the Call of Duty League. However it’s form of humorous as a result of some of the avid gamers say they’re “not likely camera-friendly.”
Throughout this weekend, solely 4 groups stay undefeated – Atlanta FaZe, Chicago Huntsmen, Minnesota Røkkr, and Paris Legion.
Minnesota Røkkr earned an ideal document in its hometown debut, defeating Toronto Extremely within the “Battle of the North.” Chicago Huntsmen beat the Dallas Empire and Optic Gaming Los Angeles. The Danish group Singularity received the Call of Duty Challengers beginner championship, incomes the lion’s share of $250,000 prize pool.
The following cease is the London Houses Collection February eight and February 9.