Call of Duty Championship 2020 is right around the corner. Wednesday is the day the new format will be rolled out and Champs will kick-off. This year is the inaugural CDL season with franchised teams in place. The format of the season was different than years past which includes Champs. Champs is very different with far fewer teams and a staggered format. This year’s championship will certainly take some adjusting from fans and players.
Courtesy of ESTNN
Far fewer competitors will be at this year’s championship, which is the first large difference. There were 32 teams split across eight pools of four teams in years past. Additionally, there was the Last Chance Qualifier for the amateur teams or teams that missed out on the Pro League. This brought the total player pool at Champs to 128. The extremely large player pool created many Cinderella stories and crazy runs which caught the attention of all fans. The total player pool at this year’s championship is only 60 people excluding substitute players. The 12 franchised teams are the only ones competing this year. The diminished player pool eliminates any room for amateur teams to make a Cinderella story.
Only having 12 spots for teams at Champs led to the CDL creating a separate amateur bracket. While there was an amateur bracket last year, amateur teams still had an avenue to fight for the title. The amateur championship is occurring over the course of August 15 and 16. There is over $500,000 in prizes available to the North American, European and APAC competitors.
There are certainly pros and cons to this decision to exclude amateurs. This year’s main event has a drastic increase in payout for the players. On the opposite side of that, it hurts the amateur prize pool. The decision to only have 12 teams significantly raises the level of competition. The winners and losers round one and two could be lopsided and not much to watch in years past. The 12 teams in the CDL certainly prove any one of them have what it takes to win, so this creates compelling first-round matchups.
Champs used to be played over the course of one week. Bracket play commenced on Wednesday and ended on Thursday. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the winner’s bracket and started bracket play on Friday. Bracket play was then double elimination with the final match occurring on Sunday evening. The format for all matches was best of five with the typical Hardpoint as map one and four, Search and Destroy as map two and five and separate game mode for map three.
This year Champs is split over the course of two weekends. The loser’s bracket starts to play on Wednesday, August 19. The winners bracket semifinal and losers bracket quarterfinals will be the last matches of the weekend on Saturday, August 22. This means only four teams will be advancing to the Championship weekend. Championship weekend will be August 29 and 30. The finals on August 30 will also be different. Instead of a best of five, the finals is best of nine with the team advancing from the winners bracket starting with a 1-0 lead. The map structure is Hardpoint for maps one, four and seven, Search and Destroy for map two, five and eight, and Domination for map three and six.
Courtesy of ESTNN
The last big difference is the fact that Champs will be held online this year. Some of the pros have voiced concerns with the online format, but given the state of the world right now, there are not too many options. Players complaining about competitive integrity and poor connections is likely inevitable. Being an elite athlete includes overcoming adversity. There is no doubt the winners this year will overcome a lot of it.
Additionally, losing the crowd hype will certainly have an effect on players. The teams with large fan bases will miss the crowd support and will have to build their own momentum. Alternatively, some of the teams with smaller fan bases have an opportunity to keep and maintain momentum. Teams have the opportunity to create their own hype which will be crucial down the stretch. This year will certainly be nothing fans have become accustomed to seeing over the years.
Featured image courtesy of the Call of Duty League
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