In response to frequent criticism of the Call of Duty League and Vanguard, CDL general manager Daniel Tsay addressed several points of contention in a video and blog posted to the CDL’s social media accounts today.
Tsay confirmed a change in the format of the four 2022 Majors, which will now include all 12 teams. The league had previously announced that only eight teams would qualify for these LAN events, which Tsay said was an attempt on the league’s part to make every match more meaningful.
Tsay also defended the decision to have predetermined matchups for seeding matches, arguing that there were some teams that never played each other while other squads played each other numerous times throughout the season. With predetermined opponents, teams will have no distinct advantage or disadvantage in their schedules.
Control was always set to be the CDL’s third game mode, according to Tsay, contradicting a claim made by New York Subliners player Crimsix, who said in December that Warzone nearly joined Hardpoint and Search and Destroy as the competitive game modes. Tsay said the major issue with Control is its playability, which is something that’s being worked on so it can officially be added to the competitive ruleset.
Tsay said he understood the frustrations of key community members who have criticized the absence of Ranked Play in Vanguard, as well as the relatively late start date to the season for a game that releases annually in October or November. The CDL GM said he agreed the season’s start date should be moved up and that will be a goal going forward. Additionally, the league will have “a lot more to share” regarding Ranked Play in a few weeks, according to Tsay.
The third season of the CDL is set to begin with the preseason Kickoff Classic event, which will take place in Arlington, Texas from Jan. 21 to 23.
