Call of Duty League introduces Warzone Weekends, confirms new Champs format

The Call of Duty League will be going to war this weekend.

Four players from each of the 12 CDL teams will compete in a $10,000 Call of Duty Warzone match, which the league has dubbed as “Warzone Weekends.” The first game will air May 24 before the final day of the Seattle Surge Home Series. The league said the 48 players involved will be the only ones in the lobby, meaning no outside players will be able to affect the game’s result.

Additionally, the league has confirmed the new format for the 2020 Call of Duty League Championship. In this new format, all 12 teams will compete in the final event of the season, which is set to take place in August. Two pros, TJHaLy and Clayster, unofficially revealed the format on May 1 on Twitch and Twitter, respectively.

Unlike the previously-announced format, teams will now be awarded round byes based on their final placing in the regular season. The top two teams will skip the first two rounds of bracket play, while the bottom four teams—who originally weren’t invited to the event—will begin the tournament in the losers bracket. The third and fourth-placed teams will receive a one-round bye and the teams between fifth and eighth place will play each other in the first round of bracket play.

While every team benefits from this change, the bottom four franchises in the league standings—Toronto Ultra, Seattle Surge, New York Subliners, and Los Angeles Guerrillas—are guaranteed spots at the biggest event of the year no matter how the rest of the Home Series events go.

Additionally, the league announced the breakdown of the $4.6 million CDL Championship prize pool. The two teams who make it to the grand finals will be guaranteed $1 million, with the winners receiving $2 million. Third and fourth will earn $500,000 and $300,000, respectively, while the fifth through 10th-place teams will get between $75,000 and $200,000 per team depending on their final placing. The bottom two teams will receive no prize pool money.

Eight teams, including three of the bottom four, will have chances to improve their standing in the online Seattle Home Series, which takes place from May 22 to 24.