The Call of Duty League is finally set to host some action next weekend with its Kickoff Classic tournament, featuring all 12 of the league’s teams competing.
The tournament isn’t an official part of the 2022 CDL regular season, which is scheduled to begin on Feb. 4. But it will have a $30,000 grand prize for the winners and it will be played in-person at Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas.
The top four teams from last year’s CDL Championship all have a first-round bye. That means Atlanta FaZe, Minnesota RØKKR, OpTic Texas, and Toronto Ultra will all await winners of the matches in the first round.
The most exciting first-round matchup is probably the New York Subliners taking on the currently unnamed team from Boston, which has taken the Chicago spot previously owned by OpTic and Envy after those two franchises merged to form OpTic Texas late last year. And OpTic Texas might get to play their first match against the Los Angeles Thieves—if Nadeshot’s team gets past the Paris Legion.
In the semifinal round, we could see matches between Atlanta and New York or Minnesota, plus OpTic vs. Toronto, all of which are considered to be top rosters heading into the CDL season featuring Vanguard.
As with all CDL content, the tournament will be livestreamed on the league’s YouTube page beginning next Friday, Jan. 21, and taking place all weekend long.
