The Call of Duty League is set to make its official return on April 10, and fans aren’t the only ones ready for the action to restart.
“I’m super excited for the league to come back again,” said James “Clayster” Eubanks of the Dallas Empire. “With the change to online, I’m just ready to start again. We played a lot of online competitive Call of Duty our entire careers. Even two to three years ago, a majority of the league was online, so this is nothing new to a lot of us.”
Clayster, one of the oldest veterans in the league, has played more than a decade of online events spanning back to 2009, participating in numerous online pro Call of Duty seasons long before the foundation of the Call of Duty League. His teammate, Cuyler “Huke” Garland, notably earned Rookie of the Season honors in the 2015 MLG Pro League’s first season, which took place entirely online.
Another pro player who competed back then—alongside current commentator Joe “MerK” Deluca—is Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto of the New York Subliners. Like Clayster, ZooMaa is ready to get back to meaningful matches and he’s eager to compete with the Subliners’ most recent roster addition.
“We just picked up a new player and we’re excited to get back,” said ZooMaa, referencing the Subliners’ recent signing of promising rookie Makenzie “Mack” Kelley. “We obviously needed a fast, aggressive SMG player; it’s been something our team’s been missing. Ever since we got Mack, we’ve been playing really well and are seeing drastic improvements.”
Another team that has bolstered its roster is the Florida Mutineers, who brought in Maurice “Fero” Henriquez. Fero played in the Los Angeles Home Series but has had a lot more time to jell with the other starters in the last month. A new-look lineup and online play might just be the spark the Mutineers need to make a move out of the middle of the standings.
“We’ve just been grinding,” said Chance “Maux” Moncivaez of the Mutineers. “We just happened to put everything together with him and work on the little things, and we’ve actually progressed so much over the past couple weeks since he joined the team.”
This shift to online play was a focal point for all 12 pro teams, with Minnesota Røkkr starter Justin “SiLLY” Fargo emphasizing the change while also sharing his enthusiasm for playing again.
“We’ve been taking our online practice a lot more seriously considering the format we’re now playing,” SiLLY said. “We’re really excited to play another tournament, especially considering we came up short at the last one, so we’re really excited to get those matches in.”
In addition to adjusting to roster shuffles and practicing for online competition, players have also been spending their time engaging with the Call of Duty community and contributing their time to support charities.
The Minnesota Røkkr used the lull in competition to launch a Call of Duty: Warzone Tournament that featured Røkkr players and staff, along with content creators and celebrities from around the country...and even a certain twin brother duo—Bradley “wuskin” Marshall and Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall—from the London Royal Ravens.
If you come for the king, you best not miss. @wuskinz is BEAMING in the #RokkrRoyale $40k Charity Tournament. #LRRWIN pic.twitter.com/qUrYRFiCuP
— London Royal Ravens (@RoyalRavens) April 4, 2020
The Røkkr Royale, which took place Saturday, raised money for COVID-19 relief, with every team of three representing a specific charity for a prize pool of US $40,000. Additionally, anyone who donated during or prior to the event directly supported the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Children’s Hospital, with the Røkkr matching all donations made to the nonprofit pediatric hospital.
SiLLY’s squad, which featured coach Brian “Saintt” Baroska and American DJ Sam “Jauz” Vogel, represented the Mayo Clinic of Minnesota and finished third behind the Marshall twins, who took the top spot for NHS Charities.
“Everyone is having a hard time right now and we feel really lucky to still work and stream, so we’re trying our best to give back to the community however we can,” SiLLY said.
Other players have tried to provide entertainment to the millions of people stuck at home seeking engagement and entertainment.
“We’ve been definitely focusing on the content creation side of things,” Clayster said. “We have nothing but time while we’re stuck at home. Everybody is looking for some form of entertainment, and it’s just been awesome to see me and Crim (Ian “Crimsix” Porter) take advantage of the popularity of Warzone and branch out even outside of the Call of Duty scene.”
“I’ve been streaming a lot, and a lot of other players on my team have been too,” ZooMaa said. “Any way we can to stay active and give content to our supporters, that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s still hard because we grind a lot—we put a lot of time into practice, so a lot of our day is practicing—but other than that, we put a lot of time into content.”
