Japan is set to get their very own version of a CWL Pro League. Six of Japan’s best teams have been invited to participate in a series of matches that will take place between April and September. These matches will culminate with a playoff series at the end.
The teams will compete for a whopping ¥10,000,000 (~$93,500). Each and every match will be streamed on YouTube and Twitch with the Grand Finals taking place at the Tokyo Game Show 2018 from September 20th-23rd.
The Six Japanese Teams
- Rush Gaming
- CYCLOPS Athlete Gaming
- Detonatio N Gaming
- Libalent Vertex
- SCARZ
- SunSister
These are six of the best Call of Duty teams in Japan right now. For good reason, Rush Gaming are the favorites going into this tournament. They’ve consistently been one of the top performers in Japan and will even be participating in CWL Anaheim after their win at the Tokaigi 2018 tournament. Rush is planning to do a two week bootcamp in South Carolina before their appearance in Anaheim.
The Matches
Each match will be recorded and will be re-watchable on Twitch via VODS or on YouTube following the performances. There will be monthly video recaps and articles released involving the teams participating. This will make it possible for Competitive Call of Duty fans to keep up to date, even in western countries. The dates the matches will take place are as follows:
- Round One: April 21st, 2018
- Two: May 19th, 2018
- Three: June 23rd, 2018
- Four: July 21st, 2018
- Five: August 18th, 2018
- Grand Finals: September 20th-23rd, 2018
Future of Competitive Call of Duty
This is one of the most major additions to the world of Call of Duty. Now, the Esport is making a break into Eastern countries. With countries like Japan and Korea being some of the biggest countries in Esports gaming in the world, it’s super critical to get their addition to the world of Call of Duty. This was one of the downfalls to professional CoD. There were only major tournaments taking place in NA/EU and the vast audiences that exists in Asia weren’t ever allowed to participate. This will, hopefully, begin the full inclusion of Asia and its large number of Esports fans.
Just imagine the crowds that will show up for a Call of Duty World Tournament. One that actually involves all the countries in the world instead of just those that exist in the current Call of Duty World League.
One of Japan’s best teams is making the journey to Anaheim to participate and it’s one of the most major steps forward for the game and its Esport. Avid CWL watchers are expressing vast amounts of interest in the progression of this Esport and what the addition of Japanese crowds could mean for the popularity of Call of Duty on tournament stages. It would mean more places to scrimmage for current pro players which could advance the current series of tactics that we know and even set up possible new metas. Hopefully, this begins the inclusion of teams in Korea and even in China or Russia as well.
Well Deserved
This is one of the most exciting announcements for Call of Duty as an Esport for a while and viewers can’t wait to see what this means for its future. Hopefully more viewers, because the game deserves it. There are some of the best gamers in the business in this Esport and they deserve the attention for their hard work. The inclusion of other countries should only bolster the crowd and bring in a wider world audience.
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