A Change For Good? – Will The CDL Roster Moves Help Or Harm?
Although there is hardly any downtime between each of the five stages of competition, a number of Call of Duty League (CDL) teams have opted to make changes to their starting roster ahead of the beginning of Stage 4 and a return to offline competition. As CDL Points become even more valuable as the season-ending championship draws ever closer, Stage 4 could well determine the fate of many teams sitting inside and outside of the top eight places in the league table.
While some changes seemed obvious, others caught many by surprise, leaving many questioning whether the team had made the right decision, but with a chance to compete for another shot at a $500,000 prize pool, the stakes have never been higher.
With a total of four out of the 12 teams confirming changes to their starting line-ups, we take a look at whether the changes with either help the team improve, or harm their chances heading into the final two stages of the regular season.
London Royal Ravens
2021 has not been kind to the London Royal Ravens. Travel restrictions prevented Trei “Zer0” Morris from competing at the highest level, leaving a significant hole in the team, which saw them start the Black Ops Cold War season on the back foot. After a number of substitutes managed to temporarily fill the hole, the Royal Ravens started their resurgence in form with a top-eight finish at the Stage 3 Major. While a top-eight placement isn’t exactly ideal, it’s an improvement from Stage 1, where the team failed to win a single match.
Despite the upturn in form, the decision to replace Alex “Zaptius” Bonilla and Zach "Zed" Denyer in favour of a returning Alex “Alexx” Carpenter and Marcus “Afr0” Reid was made. With three-quarters of its initial roster now playing, Stage 4 could be the start of a hugely impressive resurgence in form if the team can get to grips with a metagame that favours assault rifle players even more.
The return of Alexx will certainly help chemistry within the team. Sean “Seany” O’Connor has previously played with Alexx under the Team Reciprocity banner during Black Ops 4, and was widely regarded as one of the strongest European teams. The combination of Afr0 and Alexx as the submachine slayers alongside Paul “PaulEhx” Avila and Seany as the main assault rifle players leaves the Royal Ravens with all the ingredients to improve. Expect them to be making a charge for the top eight during Stage 4.
Seattle Surge
The struggles for the Seattle Surge continue to mount despite recruiting some of the best North American talents during the short history of the CDL. Despite an overhaul for the Black Ops Cold War season, the Surge sits at the bottom of the league table after three stages of the competition.
After a few short weeks with the team, Jacob “Decemate” Cato mutually parted ways with Seattle after another disappointing placement at the Stage 3 Major. Despite the team showing improvements, it wasn’t enough to move away from the bottom of the table. With time ticking and fewer CDL Points up for grabs, the Surge has bought in Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo in its latest bid to reverse its fortunes.
Classic brings a wealth of experience to a group of players that are no strangers to competing at the very top of the Call of Duty mountain. Could another experienced submachine gunner to support Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson be all that’s needed to shine some light on what has been another season of disappointment for the Surge? There’s every chance a turnaround is possible, but it has to happen now before it’s too late.
Dallas Empire
The Call of Duty community was left in a state of shock when the team announced the departure of Cuyler “Huke” Garland. Widely considered to be the poster boy of Team Envy and the Empire, Dallas bought in Tyler “Felo” Johnson to fill his place in a roster that was struggling against teams that many would consider inferior to the defending CDL champions.
The addition of Felo was certainly a solid choice after showing impressive form in Challengers tournaments, but his addition to the Empire was unable to halt the sharp slump in form. A top-eight placement at the Stage 3 Major was the final straw, and soon after the tournament came to an end, Felo was demoted back onto the bench in favour of Los Angeles Guerrillas substitute Reece “Vivid” Drost.
Although Vivid has spent a considerable amount of time on the Guerrillas’ bench, his early-season form where his slaying often gave his team an advantage did lead to some solid form in the opening two stages. If Vivid can rekindle that form alongside an out-of-sorts Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal, the foundations of the Empire could be reassembled just in time to consolidate its position towards the very top of the standings.
Los Angeles Thieves
The Los Angeles Thieves have been a very interesting team to watch in their debut CDL season. The early form indicated plenty of potential for the roster to contend at the top of the standings with the more established names, but some questionable losses to teams lower down the table led to Thomas “TJHaLy” Haly being placed on the substitute bench.
Armed with some fresh talent, the Thieves did manage to find some form, but after a top-six finish at the Stage 2 Major, TJHaLy was dropped in favour of the recently-recruited Huke. With plenty of talent in the form of Huke, many expected Stage 3 to be much more successful for the Thieves, but another top-six followed at the Stage 3 Major, puzzling many who thought the team had made somewhat of an improvement with a new-look line-up.
Having been on the team for just 20 days, it was announced that TJHaLy would be returning to the starting roster in place of Huke, much to the surprise of many. Coach Jordan “JKap” Kaplan cited levels of consistency as the factor that led to the change, and with CDL Points becoming increasingly important, TJHaLy returning to the team may be the right call.
TJHaLy’s early form during his first stint in the starting four was exceptional, regularly performing highlight-worthy plays that often kept his team in contention to secure a map victory. With his return to the team and LAN coming back at the end of Stage 3, there is a real opportunity for the Thieves to steal a space at the very top of the league table.
Images via Call of Duty League | Dallas Empire | Los Angeles Thieves