| 2021 Call of Duty League Season | |
| League: | Call of Duty League |
| Sport: | |
| Duration: | January 23 – August 22, 2021 |
| No Of Teams: | 12 |
| Mvp: | Chris “Simp” Lehr |
| Season2: | Stage Champions |
| Season Champ2 Name: | Stage 1 |
| Season Champs2: | Atlanta FaZe |
| Season Champ3 Name: | Stage 2 |
| Season Champs3: | Toronto Ultra |
| Season Champ4 Name: | Stage 3 |
| Season Champs4: | Atlanta FaZe |
| Season Champ5 Name: | Stage 4 |
| Season Champs5: | Atlanta FaZe |
| Season Champ6 Name: | Stage 5 |
| Season Champs6: | Minnesota ROKKR |
| Finals: | Grand Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Atlanta FaZe |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Toronto Ultra |
| Finals Mvp: | Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris |
| Prevseason Link: | 2020 Call of Duty League season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2020 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2022 Call of Duty League season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2022 |
The 2021 Call of Duty League season was the second season for the Call of Duty League, an esports league based on the video game franchise Call of Duty.
| Atlanta FaZe | Atlanta, GA | Gateway Center Arena | 2020 | Atlanta Esports Ventures, FaZe Clan | |
| OpTic Chicago | Chicago, IL | Wintrust Arena | 2020 | NRG Esports | |
| Dallas Empire | Dallas, TX | Toyota Music Factory | 2020 | Envy Gaming | |
| Florida Mutineers | Orlando, FL | Addition Financial Arena | 2020 | Misfits Gaming | |
| London Royal Ravens | London, UK | Copper Box Arena | 2020 | ReKTGlobal, Inc. | |
| Los Angeles Guerrillas | Los Angeles, CA | Shrine Exposition Hall | 2020 | Kroenke Sports & Entertainment | |
| Los Angeles Thieves | Galen Center | 2021 | 100 Thieves | ||
| Minnesota ROKKR | Minneapolis, MN | Mystic Lake Casino Hotel | 2020 | WISE Ventures | |
| New York Subliners | New York City, NY | Kings Theatre | 2020 | Andbox | |
| Paris Legion | Paris, France | La Seine Musicale | 2020 | c0ntact Gaming | |
| Seattle Surge | Seattle, WA | WaMu Theater | 2020 | The Aquilini Group | |
| Toronto Ultra | Toronto, Ontario | Mattamy Athletic Centre | 2020 | OverActive Media |
For the 2021 season, the twelve teams are evenly split into two groups of six teams each. The season consists of five stages, with teams playing group play matches over the course of three weeks to determine seeding for that stage's Major. For Stage 1, the finalists of 2020 season Dallas Empire and Atlanta FaZe got to pick which teams plays in which group, with Dallas Empire first getting to pick a team for the group of Atlanta FaZe, followed by Atlanta FaZe picking a team for the group of Dallas Empire. The team which was picked by Dallas Empire for the group of Atlanta FaZe then got to pick a team for the group of Dallas Empire, with this process continuing until both groups consist of 6 teams. The six teams in each group will then play each other over the course of three weeks to determine seeding, with teams being awarded 10 CDL Points for each victory. At each Major, teams are awarded CDL Points based on their final standings; 75 CDL Points for 1st place, 60 CDL Points for 2nd place, 50 CDL Points for 3rd place, 40 CDL Points for 4th place, 30 CDL Points for 5th/6th place, 20 CDL Points for 7th/8th place, 10 CDL Points for 9th/10th place and no CDL Points for 11th/12th place. For Stage 2, the top two teams from the Stage 1 Major will have the first two picks for the Stage 2 groups, repeating the same process before Stage 1 kicked off.[1]
The prize pool distribution has changed heavily since the 2020 season. This is due to the increase of the prize pool as well as all 12 teams qualifying for each major tournament. There is $500,000 for each major event and $2,500,000 for the playoffs making a total of about $5,000,000 for the whole season in prizes.
Majors:[1]
Playoffs:[1]
Stage 1 group stages began on February 11, 2021, and ended on February 28.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Empire | 4–1 | 14–7 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | Los Angeles Thieves | 4–1 | 12–7 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | New York Subliners | 3–2 | 11–7 | |
| 4 | Minnesota ROKKR | 3–2 | 10–8 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Seattle Surge | 1–4 | 6–14 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | London Royal Ravens | 0–5 | 5–15 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5–0 | 15–6 | Winners Round 2 Seed | |
| 2 | 4–1 | 14–6 | Winners Round 1 Seed | |
| 3 | Los Angeles Guerrillas | 2–3 | 8–13 | |
| 4 | Paris Legion | 2–3 | 10–11 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Toronto Ultra | 1–4 | 9–13 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Florida Mutineers | 1–4 | 6–13 |
The Stage 1 Major ran from March 3 to March 7, 2021. Atlanta FaZe won the Major, with the Dallas Empire as the runners-up.[3]
Stage 2 group stages began on March 18, 2021, and ended on April 4. Starting with Stage 2, Crossroads Hardpoint and Garrison Search & Destroy were removed from the list of maps being played, with Apocalypse Hardpoint and Express Search & Destroy being added.[4]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta FaZe | 4–1 | 14–4 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | New York Subliners | 4–1 | 13–8 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Toronto Ultra | 2–3 | 9–11 | |
| 4 | London Royal Ravens | 2–3 | 7–10 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Los Angeles Guerrillas | 2–3 | 9–11 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Los Angeles Thieves | 1–4 | 6–14 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota ROKKR | 3–2 | 9–10 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | OpTic Chicago | 3–2 | 9–9 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Dallas Empire | 3–2 | 13–9 | |
| 4 | Seattle Surge | 2–3 | 10–10 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Paris Legion | 2–3 | 8–10 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Florida Mutineers | 2–3 | 8–9 |
The Stage 2 Major ran from April 7 to April 11, 2021. Toronto Ultra won the Major, with the Atlanta FaZe as the runners-up.[6]
Stage 3 group stages began on April 22, 2021, and ended on May 9. Matches were played on Thursday through Sunday.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Ultra | 5–0 | 15–1 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | Florida Mutineers | 3–2 | 10–9 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Dallas Empire | 3–2 | 9–10 | |
| 4 | Minnesota ROKKR | 2–3 | 9–12 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Los Angeles Guerrillas | 1–4 | 9–12 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Paris Legion | 1–4 | 5–13 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Subliners | 4–1 | 14–7 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | Atlanta FaZe | 4–1 | 14–8 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Los Angeles Thieves | 3–2 | 12–10 | |
| 4 | OpTic Chicago | 2–3 | 8–10 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | London Royal Ravens | 2–3 | 10–12 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Seattle Surge | 0–5 | 4–15 |
The Stage 3 Major ran from May 13 until May 16, 2021. Atlanta FaZe won their second Major of the season, with the New York Subliners as the runners-up.[8]
Stage 4 group stages began on May 27, 2021, and ended on June 13. Matches were played on Thursday through Sunday. Starting with Stage 4, Checkmate Search & Destroy was removed from the list of maps being played, with Standoff Search & Destroy being added.[9]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta FaZe | 5–0 | 15–2 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | OpTic Chicago | 3–2 | 11–8 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Minnesota ROKKR | 3–2 | 10–10 | |
| 4 | Paris Legion | 2–3 | 9–11 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Los Angeles Thieves | 1–4 | 7–14 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Seattle Surge | 1–4 | 7–14 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Ultra | 4–1 | 14–3 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | New York Subliners | 4–1 | 12–8 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Dallas Empire | 3–2 | 11–10 | |
| 4 | Florida Mutineers | 3–2 | 13–9 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | London Royal Ravens | 1–4 | 5–13 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Los Angeles Guerrillas | 0–5 | 3–15 |
The Stage 4 Major ran from June 17 to June 20, 2021. For the first time since March 2020 the league moved back to playing on LAN.[11] Atlanta FaZe won their third Major of the season, with the Dallas Empire as the runners-up.[12]
Stage 5 group stages began on July 8, 2021, and will end on July 25. Matches are played on Thursday through Sunday.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OpTic Chicago | 4–1 | 14–5 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | Atlanta FaZe | 4–1 | 14–4 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Los Angeles Thieves | 3–2 | 11–11 | |
| 4 | London Royal Ravens | 2–3 | 7–13 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | New York Subliners | 1–4 | 7–14 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Paris Legion | 1–4 | 7–13 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Overall Series | Overall Games | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Empire | 4–1 | 13–5 | Winners Round 2 Seed |
| 2 | Toronto Ultra | 4–1 | 13–5 | Winners Round 1 Seed |
| 3 | Minnesota ROKKR | 3–2 | 11–7 | |
| 4 | Florida Mutineers | 3–2 | 10–9 | Losers Round 2 Seed |
| 5 | Seattle Surge | 1–4 | 4–12 | Losers Round 1 Seed |
| 6 | Los Angeles Guerrillas | 0–5 | 2–15 |
The Stage 5 Major ran from July 29 to August 1, 2021. Minnesota ROKKR won their first Major of the season after being down 0–4 in the finals with the Toronto Ultra as the runners-up.[14]
The 2021 Call of Duty League Championship began on August 19 and concluded on August 22, 2021. The top eight teams competed in the Championship, and all matches were played in Los Angeles.