Cineplex World Gaming Announces Call of Duty Canadian Championship

If you wanted to be a professional Call of Duty player in Canada, now is your time to shine.

Cineplex World Gaming announced the Canadian Championship Series Presented by PlayStation® in a press release Tuesday, where the best team in Canada will earn $20,000 and a free trip to the CWL Anaheim Open in June if they are able to bring home gold at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto on Mar. 26.

The tournament is open to Canadian teams only, and all participants must be 18 years of age in order to compete..

In total, the Canadian Championship Series will give out $65,000 to the top-32 teams, along with the free trip to Anaheim for the first place team. The trip will include a team pass and a full trip to Anaheim, and does not appear to be for a group play spot. However, with all expenses paid and $20,000 on the side, this tournament is sure to jumpstart a Canadian team’s pro career if the squad is able to prove that it is the best in the Great North.

To get to Toronto, there are two stages of qualification. There will be ten online qualifers from Jan. 28 to Feb. 19, as well as twenty-four regional qualifiers at select CIneplex Cinema locations around Canada. The top four teams from each of the online qualifiers, as well as the first place team from each in-theatre qualifier, will advance to the 64 team bracket for the Online Playoffs, taking place on March 4. 

The teams will then be split into four groups of 16 in a online double-elimination tournament, where the top two sides from each group will qualify for the National Finals in Toronto. Eight teams will compete for a $20,000 grand prize and a trip to play at MLG Anaheim in June. 

Prize Pool

• 1st – $20,000 and a trip for four to MLG Anaheim
• 2nd – $10,000
• 3rd-4th – $4,000
• 5th-6th – $2,000
• 7th-8th – $1,000
• 9th-32nd – $400

With most North American sides fielding talent from the United States, this tournament will not only give hopeful teams a shot at the big leagues, but could potentially be an opportunity to see the level of talent that Canada can offer.

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James Mattone is a journalist for GAMURS and can be contacted on Twitter – @TheJamesMattone.