Wikipedia - Call of Duty League
The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the video game series Call of Duty, produced by its publisher Activision. The Call of Duty League follows the model of the Overwatch League as well as other traditional North American professional sporting leagues by using a set of permanent, city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups. In addition, the league plays in a tournament point system and playoffs format rather than the use of promotion and relegation used commonly in other esports and non-North American leagues, with players on the roster being assured a minimum annual salary, benefits, and a portion of winnings and revenue-sharing based on how that team performs. The League was announced in 2019 with its inaugural season starting in 2020.
History
In February 2019, Activision Blizzard officially confirmed their intention to launch a city-based, franchised league for Call of Duty, marking their second such organization following the Overwatch League, founded in 2017. To prepare for establishing the League, Activision terminated both the Call of Duty Pro League and Call of Duty World League in mid-2019.
The first five teams to purchase a spot for the league was announced in May 2019; the companies – OverActive Media, Atlanta Esports Ventures, Envy Gaming, c0ntact Gaming LLC, and Sterling.VC – were also parent companies for teams in Activision Blizzard's other franchised league, the Overwatch League. All twelve franchises were finalized in October 2019, with a majority of the franchised having never professionally competed in Call of Duty. The Washington Post estimated that the franchise cost was US$25 million.
Initially, the CDL announced that they would be running a regular season format culminating in postseason playoffs. However, after criticism from the Call of Duty esports community, the league elected to switch to a tournament system, which was officially announced in January 2020.
In the days prior to the launch of the inaugural season, Activision announced it had made a multiyear deal with Google for all of its esports content, including the CDL, to be exclusively shown through YouTube. Prior Activision esports, particularly OWL, had used Twitch. Activision also announced other official sponsors of the league on eve of the first season: On March 9, Activision announced partnerships with both Twitter and the United States Army.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On March 13, 2020, the Call of Duty League released a statement entailing that all live home series events were cancelled due to concerns over the novel COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, to which they said that upcoming events will be done via online play and possibly return to live events if logistically and feasibly possible. On May 19, 2020, the Call of Duty League announced changes to the 2020 Call of Duty League Championship. Instead of 8 teams making it to the Championship weekend all 12 teams would now compete for the Championship in a double-elimination tournament. A US$4.6 million prize pool was announced, with the winning team taking home US$2 million.
On July 5, 2020, the Call of Duty league announced that the postseason would also be played online as a result of the pandemic. Additional measures to further protect the competitive integrity of the league were also announced. All competitors are to be provided with a universal camera which will need to be activated throughout all matches with the camera providing league officials visibility each competitor's console, controller and monitor.
Department of Justice lawsuit and settlement
On April 3, 2023 the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit and Activision Blizzard agreed to settle the suit on the same day, with provisions that would prohibit it from implementing a salary cap or luxury tax, or any other measure that would unfairly depress player salaries in the Overwatch League, the Call of Duty League, or any other esports league.
Call of Duty League er en professionel esportsliga for spillet Call of Duty. Ligaen blev grundlagt i 2020 og er en del af Call of Duty Championship Series.
Ligaen består af 12 hold fra hele verden, herunder Nordamerika, Europa, Asien og Oceanien. Hvert hold spiller en række kampe i løbet af den regulære sæson, og de fire bedste hold kvalificerer sig til slutspillet.
Call of Duty League er en af de mest populære esportsligaer i verden. I 2021 havde ligaen over 100 millioner visninger på tværs af alle platforme.
**Hold i Call of Duty League**
De 12 hold i Call of Duty League er:
* Atlanta FaZe
* Chicago OpTic Gaming
* Dallas Empire
* Florida Mutineers
* Guerrillas de Los Angeles
* London Royal Ravens
* Minnesota Røveri
* New York Subliners
* Paris Legion
* Seattle Surge
* Toronto Ultra
* Vancouver Titans
**Format for Call of Duty League**
Call of Duty League-sæsonen er opdelt i to stadier:
* **Den regulære sæson:** Den regulære sæson består af 12 uger, og hvert hold spiller 11 kampe. De fire bedste hold kvalificerer sig til slutspillet.
* **Slutspillet:** Slutspillet er et dobbeltudskilningsturnering, og det vindende hold krones som mestre i Call of Duty League.
**Prispulje for Call of Duty League**
Den samlede præmiepulje for Call of Duty League-sæsonen 2023 er $5 millioner. Vinderholdet får $2 millioner, mens andenpladsen får $1 million.