Call of Duty League moves competition online

As you know, the sports world has taken a hiatus due to the unprecedented global challenges. The Call of Duty League has shifted away from live events, but as an esports league born out of the online world, they’re fortunate to deliver elite competitive entertainment for fans in a way that’s safe for the global community of gamers and fans alike. Starting Friday, April 10, the regular season will continue in a fully online production and competition format, where fans can still follow their favorite teams broadcast live on YouTube.com/CODLeague.

League Commissioner, Johanna Faries, issued this statement: “I spent many years at the NFL, and saw firsthand how sports can lift the human spirit. No one wants to be in this situation, but we are, and we’re thankful that Call of Duty League can forge ahead and deliver live competition to fans when it’s probably needed most.”

Earlier this year the Call of Duty League enjoyed an incredible launch, debuting 12 city-based teams across four countries, stacked with the best Call of Duty players in the world competing live before thousands of fans for the right to be considered the greatest on earth.

While the unprecedented global challenges of the past month required us to shift away from live events, our commitment to delivering elite competitive entertainment for our fans remains unwavering. Today, we are proud to announce that the Call of Duty League returns to action on Friday, April 10, with new online Home Series Weekends broadcast live on our YouTube channel, YouTube.com/CODLeague.

The action, intensity, rivalries, play-by-play, and good old-fashioned smack talk: it’s all back - combined with the utmost dedication to the health and safety of our players, staff, team personnel, and fans. Although this shift may not be what we imagined a few months ago, we are deeply grateful to be able to continue to spotlight our incredible teams in a new way, and to give our cities and fans more reasons to cheer.The new online format will follow the original tournament structure, with eight teams competing until an eventual winner is crowned. Competition will span three days, kicking off Friday (4/10) with group stage play, followed by knockout and semifinals matches on Saturday (4/11), ending with marquee championship matchups on Sunday (4/12) for the ultimate prize: the first Call of Duty League Champion!

The Call of Duty franchise has been one of the most popular video games worldwide since 2003 and was one of the original online communities where competitions led to the creation of professional gamers, and eventually esports. CDL is still firmly committed to giving our cities and fans more reasons to cheer.