Predicting The All-CDL First and Second Teams
With Stage 4 in the books, concluding with Atlanta Faze capturing their third Major victory of the year, it’s time to take a look at who stacks up as the best players in the Call of Duty League. Over the season, there have clearly been players who have elevated themselves above their counterparts. While there is still a ton of COD left in the season, a definitive top eight players are coming into view.
Last year’s official Scuf Team of the Year consisted of MVP winner Shotzzy as well as Arcitys, Octane, Simp, and Envoy. A couple of familiar names are up for consideration, but first, let’s address the players who, at this point in the season, are not quite in the top-eight in the CDL.
Honorable Mentions
Owakening — The Florida Mutineers assault rifle player is among the best in the game and is a huge reason for the Mutineer’s 6th place standing. He’s tied for 10th overall in K/D over the course of the year and puts down some of the highest damage on the map each game. He’s 7th in damage per 10 minutes in Hardpoint, and 2nd overall in the same category in Control. His skills translate across all game modes as well, as he is 5th overall in SnD kills per round and tied for 4th in first blood percentage. Florida has been a middle-of-the-pack team all year, but with Owakening leading the way, they have a chance to make some noise in Stage 5 and beyond.
Octane — Octane has had another phenomenal season for the Seattle Surge. The Surge are coming off their best performance of the season at the Stage 4 Major where they defeated London and Paris before falling to Optic Chicago in a tough 3–2 series. Octane dropped a 1.22 K/D across all of Stage 4, showing that despite his team’s shortcomings, he remains one of the best in the game. On the year, the Surge assault rifle player is 6th in overall K/D, including 2nd overall in SnD specifically. He’s tied for 1st with MVP frontrunner Abezy in SnD kills per round and sits 7th overall in both Hardpoint and Control K/D. Unfortunately, unless Seattle goes on a miracle run throughout Stage 5, they will most likely miss out on a top-8 placement and a ticket to Call of Duty World Championships 2021.
Standy — Standy entered the Call of Duty League firing on all cylinders and hasn’t slowed down since. He’s tied for 8th in overall K/D on the year and sits 8th in Search and Destroy K/D. The Rokkr rookie is among the best SnD players in the League, sitting tied for 3rd in kills per round and 3rd in first blood percentage. Standy has helped guide Rokkr to a solid season thus far, with Minnesota in 6th place in the CDL and finishing in 5–6th during the Stage 4 Major. With what he’s shown in his first season, Standy could become a top-eight player as early as next season.
Scump — The King and face of Optic for years has had a great individual season so far. Optic, who for years struggled in Search and Destroy, has become a solid SnD team this year, with Scump making it his mission to improve at the game mode. The greatest sub player of all time is 4th in the CDL in SnD K/D with a 1.15. He’s had an overall solid year in Cold War, posting a positive K/D in all 3 game modes, good enough for a 1.01 overall in the CDL. Chicago has hovered just outside the top 3 all year, but with Scump frying like he has this season, there is still potential for Optic to elevate their game as the regular season winds down.
All-CDL First Team Predictions
Abezy — One-half of the Tiny Terrors, Abezy has been dominant throughout the entire season. He’s a lock for a First Team spot while being my frontrunner for season MVP. Abezy’s success with his aggressive playstyle is unparalleled in the Call of Duty League today. His SnD kills per round sits at 0.84, the highest in CDL*. He’s achieved this while playing 52 SnD games on the year, showing his consistency for first-bloods (№1 in the League at 20.7%) and round victories. He sits 7th overall in K/D on the season, including 9th in Hardpoint, 3rd in SnD, and 6th in Control. Most recently, Abezy posted a 1.24 K/D in the Stage 4 Major Finals, the highest on Atlanta Faze as he led the squad on their way to capturing their third Major of the year.
Simp — As the year has gone on it has become increasingly harder to distinguish the better SMG player for Atlanta Faze. Simp came into the season in front of Abezy, but Simp’s duo has stepped it up noticeably this season, putting both of these players atop the Call of Duty scene. Regardless of who has the edge, it’s impossible to leave either of them off the First Team this year. Most recently the duo led the way in the Stage 4 Grand Final where Faze hoisted the trophy yet again, with Simp dropping a 1.21 K/D in the Finals. Simp remains the top player in the Call of Duty League K/D wise with a 1.17 in 148 total games played. He also stands undisputed as the best Control player in the game, leading the way in both kills per 10 minutes and overall K/D in the game mode.
Cammy — Toronto Ultra’s superstar is another automatic lock for me on the team of the year. The assault rifle player has helped to elevate Toronto into a top-3 team this year, helping the team win the Stage 2 Major and achieve two 3rd place finishes at the Stage 3 and 4 Major respectively. Cammy leads the way for Ultra in Hardpoint, posting the second-highest damage per 10 minutes in the game mode in the CDL. He is also 7th in kills per round in SnD and tied for 9th in SnD K/D with a 1.10. Cammy is dominant in all three modes, sitting 4th in kills per 10 minutes in Control games. Despite their disappointing finish at the Stage 4 Major, Ultra pose arguably the best chance to unseat Faze as the best team in the game.
Dashy — While Dashy’s team success pales in comparison to his fellow First Team players, there is no ignoring his individual talent at the highest level of Call of Duty. Dashy has the 2nd best K/D ratio in the entire CDL with a 1.16. He is consistently Optic Chicago’s best player on the map throughout a series. Even when a teammate goes off for one game, he is the steady hand across the matchup. Dashy has the 2nd highest Hardpoint K/D in the game, is 6th overall in damage per 10 minutes in Hardpoint, and is 3rd overall in Control K/D sitting only behind Faze players Cellium and Simp. If he maintains this level of play, Optic Chicago stands a chance to break into the top 3 of the CDL and compete for a Major championship.
All-CDL Second Team Predictions
Insight — Ultra’s other assault rifle player has been arguably the most valuable promotion this season. Since taking the starting spot from Methodz, Insight has played at an MVP level. He currently sits tied for 3rd overall in K/D in the CDL, 3rd in Hardpoint K/D, and 8th in Control K/D. He is 2nd overall in hill time per 10 minutes while maintaining the high level of slaying expected out of an AR. He is 9th overall in kills per round in SnD and is an incredible 1st overall in SnD K/D with a 1.24. Insight is neck and neck with his partner in crime Cammy, and could easily end up on the First Team if his high level of play continues through Stage 5.
Cellium — One could easily argue Cellium should be on the First Team. In fact, why not just slot the entire Atlanta Faze roster up there and call it a day right? The fact remains, Cellium boasts comparable stats to both Cammy and Dashy but has the added benefit of playing with Simp and Abezy. Cellium is tied for 3rd overall K/D in the CDL with Dashy. He’s tied for 2nd in Control K/D, also with Dashy. And is 5th overall in Hardpoint K/D in the CDL. Cellium was voted the Player of the Stage for his performance across Stage 4, where he posted a 1.18 overall K/D. Deciding between Cellium, Dashy, Insight, and Cammy for top AR spots is truly splitting hairs as all of these players are in the upper echelon of Call of Duty.
Shotzzy — Shotzzy started to resemble his MVP self during Stage 4. With Empire now having a solid 4th in Vivid, things seem to have settled for the dominant sub player. Shotzzy helped Dallas reverse sweep Ultra in the Elimination Finals before taking Atlanta Faze to nine games in the Major Finals. His 1.08 K/D in the tournament final was the highest on Dallas and made him the only Empire player to go positive. On the year, Shottzy is 9th overall in Control K/D and has helped Empire become the only team other than Faze to appear in multiple Major Finals, having accomplished the feat in Stage 1 and Stage 4. Shotzzy’s movement is among the best if not the best in Call of Duty, making him one of the hardest players to eliminate on the map.
Hydra — Ever since Hydra joined the New York Subliners they have gone from middle of the pack to battling Faze for a Major title. The Frenchman is 5th overall in K/D in the Call of Duty League, the only thing hurting him being his limited number of games played due to only joining the team following Stage 2. Still, in that short time, he’s proven himself as one of the game’s best and elevated New York into a top 3 team when their full roster plays. Hydra has the highest Hardpoint K/D in the CDL with 1.22. He also puts in work in Search and Destroy, where he is tied for 6th in kills per round and tied for 5th overall in SnD K/D.
(*Due to the low number of games played and not being active players, Decemate and FeLo’s stats are not included in the rankings.)
To watch who will solidify their spot as one of the top players in the Call of Duty League, make sure to catch the final Stage of the season which kicks off Thursday, July 8th at 3 pm ET with the London Royal Ravens taking on Atlanta Faze.
Do you agree with these predictions? Who would you slot into your CDL First Team? Let me know in the comments!
Originally published at https://kurtiskendall.com.
