Should Atlanta FaZe be Blacklisted for Using the AUG?
Some drama has gone down in the last week of the Call of Duty League. Since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s latest update, professional players have been figuring out the best weapons to use. The patch nerfed the MP5, which has been the submachine player’s bread and butter since release. However, it appears that some in the CDL aren’t too keen on changing up the meta this late in the year. We’ve seen a couple of Gentleman Agreements regarding weapons in the SMG category. The Uzi was rendered useless from these G.A.s and a majority of teams reportedly voted to completely ban the AUG. Well, the Atlanta FaZe didn’t agree to this, and are now paying the price.
Atlanta FaZe choose to use the AUG
The Gentleman Agreement is a hot topic in the CDL community right now. Some feel that since Infinity Ward doesn’t balance Modern Warfare for competitive that it’s up to the players to do so. Although, others believe the banning of weapons and items has simply gone too far.
If you’re not familiar with the term “Gentleman Agreement”, it essentially means that a majority of professional players collectively voted to not use it. While teams aren’t forced to follow this ruling, it’s somewhat expected to blacklist a team from scrimmages if they don’t adhere to it. So, you can see the quarry that this arrangement can present.
Currently, the Atlanta FaZe are right in the middle of this quarry. During the time of players trying to find the right meta, FaZe decided to start using the powerful AUG submachine gun in scrimmages. This started around a week ago and was mimicked by other teams once the Mini-Uzi wasn’t as strong thanks to a G.A. on ammunition attachments.
Since then, there’s been a huge debate regarding the AUG and its prowess. However, that debate was thought to be brought to a close when 10/12 CDL teams voted to G.A. the weapon. The two outcasts? FaZe and the Dallas Empire, both who practised extensively with the AUG. While Dallas didn’t argue the ruling as much, FaZe players were seen on social media publicly bashing the decision. In fact, the players felt so strongly about the AUG’s place that Atlanta decided to keep using the weapon. This has reportedly resulted in the team being blacklisted from scrimmages, as expected.
The reasoning behind Atlanta wanting to use the AUG is sound. The squad plays later today at the New York Home Series and has been practising for a week with an AUG on the playing field. To change that up last minute would throw a huge wrench into the team’s chemistry ahead of the event. However, that doesn’t seem to have deterred the other CDL teams from blacklisting them two days prior to CDL New York.
FaZe faces consequences for its decision
To throw more fuel into the fire, FaZe isn’t only facing a blacklist for using the AUG. According to several players, namely aBeZy and Simp, CDL New York could get pretty messy. aBeZy claims that other teams have threatened to use every banned weapon and item against them if FaZe ends up equipping the AUG. This could include a wide variety of utility such as killstreaks, tactical sprint, and the aforementioned ammunition attachments like 10mm rounds.
Click to enlargeObviously, this is tremendous theatre for anyone watching at home. Although, for those directly involved, it turns this CDL event into a bit of a trainwreck. Casters will be forced to explain why certain items are being used and any match result with Atlanta FaZe will be brought into question. With the CDL postseason quickly approaching, this weekend could have major results on the standings.
It seems like the players against the AUG are acting a bit over the top. Atlanta FaZe has a legitimate gripe with wanting to use the SMG and with how much craziness has been going on with Modern Warfare this week, many agree Atlanta should be given a break. However, that apparently won’t stop the other teams attending CDL New York. To put it short, this should be a Call of Duty event for the ages if all of the verbal threats go through.
Images via aBeZy and CODLeague