Call of Duty Championship 2020 is just around the corner. This is the biggest event in Call of Duty history. A whopping $4.6 million in prize money is on the line. Almost all of the CDL teams made deep runs in various homestands this year. Champs will surely be action-packed with many upsets. There are countless story lines that could occur given the level of talent in the CDL. Any team can make a deep run, but what are some of the key headlines ahead of Call of Duty Champs 2020?
CDL New York Huntsmen Show up
CDL New York was arguably the Huntsmen’s best tournament despite walking away as runner ups. Chicago dominated the Atlanta FaZe in the semifinals, one of the two best teams in the game. Furthermore, Atlanta are the best Search and Destroy team in the game. This did not matter to Chicago as they destroyed Atlanta 6-1. Yet, in the subsequent tournament, CDL Toronto, the Huntsmen had one of their weakest performances of the season. Plagued by inconsistent play, Chicago bowed out before Championship Sunday. So, which Huntsmen team will show up at Champs this year?
The Huntsmen have been active on social media letting fans know they are working hard. Chicago are tweeting about “today is the day to improve” and “the extra push.” Talking the talk is one thing, but can they walk the walk? The Huntsmen’s Search and Destroy has improved immensely since the first event of the season. Late in the season, Chicago needed to put more emphasis on the respawn game modes, especially Domination. If Chicago can make the little fundamental changes to respawn game modes, they will certainly make an appearance on Championship Sunday.
Toronto Ultra Slated to Make a Deep run
The Toronto Ultra had an extremely volatile season. Their performances ranged from getting dominated and losing both matches to beating the two best teams in the game in the final event of the season. A large catalyst behind the Ultra’s late success was adding CleanX to the starting lineup. The Ultra went from just competing with the best teams to beating the best teams. Toronto jumped out of the losers bracket and into the winner bracket after their CDL Toronto victory.
Everything is going in Toronto’s favor. A huge tailwind for the Ultra is they ended the regular season on the highest note possible. They have proven they have what it takes to win an online tournament while taking down the best teams. Fighting out of winners round one will surely be a long journey for Toronto. Their path requires them taking out London, Florida and then Dallas before the winners final. This is certainly a tall task; however, Toronto have proven they have what it takes to battle it out with the best.
Do not Sleep on OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles have had a very disappointing season. The team simply did not perform despite the resumes on the roster. World champions, runner ups and tournament champions could not get the job done. As a result, OGLA recently dropped Chino and Dashy for two amateur players: Drazah and Hollow. This move drastically turned OGLA’s season around.
OpTic Gaming have looked far better recently. They have gone toe-to-toe with top teams in the league and even beat them in the process. The few weeks ahead of the event might just give them enough time to come together and smooth out any looming issues. OGLA have played teams very close even in losses showing a lot of promise ahead of Champs.
The largest issue ahead of OGLA? Their seeding. Unfortunately for OpTic, they ended up in the losers bracket. This creates an extremely long arduous journey for OpTic. It is worth noting that crazy runs like this happen at Champs. Last year, 100 Thieves lost in winners round one. They were down 0-2 and two rounds of Control to FaZe. They then stormed back, beat FaZe, and made it to a map five against eUnited in the Grand Finals. The road ahead is tough, but not impossible. If OGLA can use their momentum and capitalize on these last few weeks of practice, they are poised to go for in the largest tournament in Call of Duty history.
Featured image courtesy of MLG
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