CDL 2021 - Analysing This Season's CDL Maps

The 2021 Call of Duty League (CDL) Super Week is now well under way. This year’s competitors have been battling it out over an action-packed week that saw the original weeks two and three schedule rolled into one. 

With so much competitive Call of Duty already on the books, players and fans have had plenty of time to form opinions on this season’s maps and game modes. Some have proved to be a success and others are very much maligned by both the competitors and the fans.

Some maps haven’t made it onto the competitive scene this year, with the likes of Armada and Satellite left behind, but other less popular ones have managed to sneak their way in. So let’s take a look at some of the least popular maps so far in the 2021 CDL season to start.

Miami

On paper, Miami could have been one of the better maps of this season - if it was slightly smaller. The Search and Destroy exclusive is the only map in the competitive rotation to be set at night, and this could have been a huge success.

The problems with Miami largely relate to its size. The 4v4 format for this season really doesn’t cater towards larger maps, and with only eight players running around the map at any given time, the action can often be extremely scarce. Coupled with the fact that this map can only be played as a Search and Destroy game, Miami feels like it takes ages to generate any action and when it does, it only lasts for a few seconds.

Garrison

While it’s significantly better than Miami, Garrison still has its issues. The map itself is structured well, but it falls short in the details. The central area of the map revolves around a tank with plenty of cover situated in the warehouse area, and that’s where the problems with this one start.

Too much of the middle area of the map can be used as a hiding area, with crates and walls providing the perfect cover before initiating a gun fight. Despite the large and open spawn areas, too much of the map feels claustrophobic and narrow, and due to this it becomes a struggle to get those all-important multi-kills.

Garrison is one of the few maps that features across all three of the 2021 CDL game modes, so fans better get used to seeing it in most matchups as we work through the rest of Super Week.

• Related - CDL 2021 Super Week - Game To Watch

With the least popular maps out of the way, it’s time we looked at some of the better maps in the competitive rotation this season.

Moscow

A classic Treyarch designed map, Moscow was one of the better Cold War maps that featured in the beta prior to release, and its success has carried over into the main release and subsequent competitive scene of Cold War.
 

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The nature of the map means that players can dip in and out of combat via ledges and windows, which link the inside to the outside nicely. Much of Moscow also loops together, creating the three-lane setup - but also blurring the lines and creating passages from one lane to the next.

Crossroads

Crossroads has quickly become a fan-favourite, and has provided us with some of the best action so far in this season’s CDL. Cuyler "Huke" Garland had a stellar game in the Dallas Empire’s first match of the season against the Seattle Surge, finishing a round of Hardpoint with 35 kills and 18 deaths.

The composition of Crossroads is excellent. The small indoor areas are wide enough to accommodate more than two players at a time, while also providing a means of traversing the map without venturing into the larger open areas at the sides and back. The open areas also have adequate cover, but don’t provide too much if someone gets caught in the open.

The map could be ever so slightly larger - and if it was it could have appeared in the rotation more often, as it currently only appears as a Hardpoint map.

Raid

Without a doubt the best map in the CDL rotation this year is Raid. Raid was brought back as an exact replica of the Black Ops II map, and has proved to be a hit once again this time out. With two more open areas contrasted by a large amount interior space, the map presents opportunities to initiate combat both inside and outside.

Its more open areas have longer sight-lines, enabling competitors to pick off any opponent that wishes to challenge them, and these areas loop round the map providing easy access from one side of the map to the other.

This map is extremely well-constructed, and as it features in all three game modes this season, fans will be pleased to know that they will be seeing much more of one of the better maps.

With Super Week continuing into the weekend, we have plenty of competitive Call of Duty to sink our teeth and into, and we'll be staying tuned into the tournament to keep you updated with all the latest from the 2021 CDL.

 

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