Call of Duty

The Top 10 Players Of 2020 In The CDL

Written by

Cameron Taylor

Published

8th Jan 2021 19:00

It's no surprise that the CDL, and every other esport for that matter, faced challenges in the unprecedented times of 2020. But these ten players faced that adversity, and still came out on top. They were even good enough and put in stellar enough performances to make our list of the top ten CDL player of 2020.

#10 - iLLeY

After announcing he was turning professional at the beginning of the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare season, Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal drew a lot of attention from the community wondering if he could translate his godlike status in the Search and Destroy community over to the CDL. Being picked up by the Dallas Empire alongside veteran talents such as James “Clayster” Eubanks and Ian “Crimsix” Porter; it seemed like a match made in heaven between experienced championship winners and young up and coming talents. Whilst his early season performances didn’t quite live up to expectations, as the year progressed, iLLey was a crucial piece of the Dallas Empire team that won the World championship.

#9 - Arcitys

Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson has become a household name for Call Of Duty esports fans ever since his breakout season during Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare year as part of eUnited. Since then, Arcitys has been at the very top of the scene, consistently in the conversation for best player in the game. While this wasn’t the case for last season, with Arcitys playing as a flex AR role alongside Matthew “Formal” Piper playing the main AR role. However, Arcitys was still apart of the Chicago Huntsman team that won two home series events and over the course of the season he achieved a 1.06 K/D, a more than respectable stat line for a player not playing his preferred role.

#8 - Huke

The second member of the world championship-winning Dallas Empire to make the list is Cuyler “Huke” Garland. Whilst Huke’s stats may not jump off the page as much as others on the list; it can’t be understated how much of an impact his selfless SMG entry play had on his team being the undisputed number one team in the game. Coming up clutch in many high-pressure situations and helping out a lot with the objective, Huke sacrificed his star player ability to be the gel that held the team together and allowed other players on his team to shine.

#7 - Skyz

During some stages of the first season in the CDL, it could’ve been argued that Cesar “Skyz” Bueno was the best AR player in the game. When the Florida Mutineers was the best team in the game, winning three out of four tournaments, achieving a staggering 1.42 K/D during the team’s victorious run at the CDL Paris home series. Whilst his performances slightly dropped off after that along with the Mutineers performances, after finishing the year with an overall 1.24 K/D and winning three championships, it is hard to argue with Skyz’s inclusion on the list.

#6 - Cellium

As part of the Atlanta FaZe roster than looked unstoppable during some parts of the season, McArthur “Cellium” Jovel was in the conversation for the best player in the game for large parts of the season. After winning MVP during CDL Atlanta, achieving a 1.32 K/D and winning the championship, it was evident to all once again that Cellium was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the league. However, whether it be meta changes or just a general downturn in his individual performances, Cellium’s stats dropped off at the end of the season, stopping his push for the number one position on the list.

#5 - Octane

Whilst this may be a controversial pick for some to place Samuel “Octane” Larew this high on the list given the dismal performances of the Seattle Surge, this is definitely a case of a player that shouldn’t be judged on his team’s results. Whilst on the face on things, being on a team that achieved one top four performance and a majority of top-eight finishes, many people would immediately write off his chances of being the fifth-best player of the season. However, people who tuned into Surge games this past season will be familiar with seeing Octane dropping monster numbers even in his team’s losses, constantly fighting an uphill battle to carry his team to wins. Despite spending a lot of the year losing, Octane still achieved an overall K/D of 1.24, showing people why he’s still a top player.

#4 - Envoy

As arguably the best player on the Chicago Huntsman, Dylan “Envoy” Hannon consistently took over games with probably the hardest role in the game as an SMG player. Averaging a staggering 0.87 kills per round in Search and destroy, that is where Envoy had his biggest impact on the team. As well as nearly achieving a kill a round, Envoy also averaged a 1.28 K/D in the game mode as well.

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Anyone who can have such a profound impact on what many consider the most important game mode in a series, as well as filling in the gaps that were left in respawn game modes, it's hard to argue with Envoy being this high on the list.

#3 - aBeZy

As part of the most feared SMG duo in the game, Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris. As an entry SMG player, one could be forgiven for expecting that his stats might suffer from this. However, as the exception to the rule, aBeZy proved throughout the year why he was a top-three player in the game with a 1.07 K/D over the course of the year. Not only was aBeZy individually successful, but his performances also helped Atlanta FaZe be the clear number two team in the game and still achieving two championships during the season.

#2 - Shotzzy

Whilst he might have been named the overall season MVP of the CDL, rookie superstar and world champion Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro only makes number two on this list. Since transitioning from Halo at the beginning of the season, some people were sceptical whether or not he would be able to immediately reach the heights from his Halo days. These doubters looked like they may be proven right at the start of the season, with Shotzzy only achieving a 0.70 K/D on the launch weekend. However, since the slow start, he really proved why he was seen by many as a prodigal talent, finishing the season with a 1.06 overall K/D as an SMG player and being the catalyst for the Dallas Empire being the best team in the game.

#1 - Simp

As the duo partner to the previous entry on the list aBeZy, Chris “Simp” Lehr was the best player in the game in the opinion of many people. Since being arguably the best player in the game during the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 season, as a rookie, it was obvious he would be a superstar for many years to come. These high expectations were definitely met this year, with Simp being able to do things that seemingly no other players could do. As an SMG player, achieving an overall K/D of 1.15, being consistently great in all game modes is what sets Simp apart from the competition. Achieving a 1.31 K/D in search and destroy while dominating with the sniper rifle as well as SMG, it seemed he could do no wrong on the map.