The start of the second season of the Call of Duty League is fast approaching, which means it’s time to take a look at the 12 franchises that are professional Black Ops Cold War action.
I reached out to professional players and coaches over the weekend to get their power rankings for each team before the start of the 2021 season. However, votes for a player’s or coach’s own team were not counted in this ranking.
With the Call of Duty The league will start playing on February 11th. Here’s a little insight into how all the teams feel they have walked together so far during the preseason.
1) Dallas Empire
- Average ranking: 1.6
- Grill: iLLeY, Crimsix, Shotzzy and Huke
- Coaching staff: Rambo
- Substitute: Felo
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-0 win against New York Subliners
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this team could move on Cold War and remains dominated. Huke, Shotzzy and iLLeY looked like they could be the best player on the team at some point. And with Crimsix being the leader, this group shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
2) Atlanta FaZe
- Average ranking: 1.9
- Start grid: Simp, Cellium, Arcitys and aBeZy
- Coaching staff: Crowder, RJ and EasyMac
- Substitute: Sib
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 loss to Florida Mutineers
From top to bottom it contains this entire list of the most talented players in the league. Each player can drop large numbers on any card at any given time and they also have the coaching talent of Crowder, RJ and EasyMac behind them. There is no way this team should be out of the top three this year.
3) OpTic Chicago
- Average ranking: 2.5
- Grill: Scump, FormaL, Dashy and Envoy
- Coaching staff: Steer
- Substitute: General
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-0 win against Los Angeles Thieves
Most fans have probably not been surprised by the top three teams so far. Although some OpTic may set a little higher, I think this is a good call for now. Dashy and Envoy both looked good after this game, and since moving to Texas, FormaL has been playing its best since the Infinite warfare season.
4) Florida Mutineers
- Average ranking: 4.4
- Grill: Skyz, Owakening, Slacked and Neptune
- Coaching staff: Atura
- Substitute: Havok
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 win against Atlanta FaZe
The Mutineers started this preseason with Havok as an appetizer. But after three months of practice, the organization decided to bank him and add former Halo player Neptune to the starting lineup. Neptune has stood out so far and looks like a precursor to rookie of the year.
5) Los Angeles Thieves
- Average ranking: 4.8
- Grill: SlasheR, TJHaLy, Kenny and Temp
- Coaching staff: JKap and Novus
- Substitute: Drazah
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-0 loss to OpTic Chicago
SlasheR, Kenny and TJHaLy started the season without knowing what their future might hold, but Nadeshot eventually answered the call and acquired the CDL spot from OpTic Gaming in Los Angeles. The team was then renamed the Los Angeles Thieves and they secured Temp as their fourth. This series sometimes seemed rocky, but any team with SlasheR on it tends to start slower than they should. Expect improvements to this roster as the year goes on.
6) Minnesota RØKKR
- Average ranking: 5.6
- Grill: Attachment, Accuracy, Priestahh and MajorManiak
- Coaching staff: BrianSaintt and Reppin
- Substitute: BrianSaintt
- Kick-off tournament match: 3-2 win against Toronto Ultra
The RØKKR cleared its entire rankings during the off-season and locked up four top players in Attach, Accuracy, Priestahh and MajorManiak. The team has looked solid so far and proved it with a 3-2 win over Toronto Ultra in the Kickoff Classic last month.
7) Toronto Ultra
- Average rating: 6.5
- Grill: Methodz, Cammy, CleanX and Bance
- Coaching staff: MarkyB and RBOFLX
- Substitute: Insight
- Kick-off tournament match: 3-2 lost to Minnesota RØKKR
Toronto Ultra finished seventh in the regular season last year and placed in the top six in 2020 Call of Duty League Championship. At the start of this season, the organization decided to continue with four of its players, joining Dallas as the only other team in the league that did not have to add a new face to its starting lineup. But if this team struggles, Insight, who previously played for Team Singularity, is ready to wait on the bench.
8) New York subliners
- Average rating: 7.5
- Grill: Clayster, Asim, Mack and DiamondCon
- Coaching staff: Revan and JP
- Substitutes: HyDra and ZooMaa
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-0 loss to Dallas Empire
Four days before the Kickoff Classic, ZooMaa announced he would take a step back from the competition Call of Duty due to a lingering hand injury. While HyDra was stuck in France, the Subliners had few options to pick its list. Eventually, the organization called DiamondCon from its academy team. DiamondCon played well, but New York lost 3-0 to the defending world champion during the Kickoff Classic. With more practice, this team just needs to improve. If that fails, HyDra could make it into the country sooner than you think.
9) Paris Legion
- Average ranking: 8.2
- Grill: Skrapz, AquA, Classic and Fire
- Coaching staff: Theory
- Substitute: Theory (unconfirmed)
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 win against London Royal Ravens
Paris dropped its entire rankings during the off-season, looking for almost enough players to form its own league. Eventually, the Legion locked up Skrapz, AquA, Classic and rookie player Fire. The four players individually may not be the most talented in the league, but they all have a point to prove this year. They are the underdogs entering this season.
10) London Royal Ravens
- Average ranking: 8.7
- Grill: Dylan, Seany, Alexx and Parasite
- Coaching staff: Shane and dominate
- Substitutes: Zer0 and Afro
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 lost to Paris Legion
Unfortunately for Zer0, he could not secure his visa and will be stuck until further notice in the UK. As a result, Parasite, who has not been in the pro league since Black Ops 4, got his first real opportunity in the newly established event Call of Duty League. To be even more officially announced, Parasite is making its debut for London against the Seattle Surge this weekend.
11) Guerrillas in Los Angeles
- Average ranking: 9.6
- Grill: Apathy, simple, assault and lively
- Coaching staff: Bevils and Ricky
- Substitutes: Cheen and Mental
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 win against Seattle Surge
Apathy showed up during the Guerrillas’ Kickoff Classic game and dropped a 1.22 K / D – the eighth highest K / D of the weekend. The guerrillas hope to repeat the success of Assault, Silly and Apathy in 2018 where they Call of Duty World League Championship in WO II. But they have a long way to go before they become a serious contender for this league.
12) Seattle Surge
- Average ranking: 10.8
- Grill: Octane, Gunless, Loony and the Priestess
- Coaching staff: Nubzy
- Substitute: Nubzy (unconfirmed)
- Kickoff Classic Match: 3-2 loss to Los Angeles Guerrillas
The talent is there, but again, the Seattle Surge is struggling on its way to the 2021 season. They still have a lot to work on before they can climb up the rankings – and luckily the season has not started yet. But they will have to find out before it’s too late.
The 2021 season of the Call of Duty The league officially starts on February 11 at 14:00 CT.