Grand finals of CoD Champs 2022 brings most peak viewers to CDL since 2020

The Call of Duty League had its biggest audience in nearly two years yesterday when more than 275,000 viewers watched the Los Angeles Thieves take down the reigning CDL champions, Atlanta FaZe, to claim their first world championship, according to Esports Charts. 

The nearly 300,000 peak viewers are the most for the league since 2020 when more than 330,000 fans saw the Dallas Empire, whose parent company Envy merged with OpTic Gaming in 2021 and sunset the Empire brand to form OpTic Texas, take down Atlanta for the championship in the CDL’s inaugural season. 

The 2022 Call of Duty League Championship was a great weekend for the CDL overall with the event generating five matches with more than 150,000 viewers. Three of the top five included the league’s most popular team, OpTic Texas, with their elimination bracket finals matchup against the Seattle Surge generating more than 190,000 viewers at its peak. 

Los Angeles, the team representing the extremely popular organization 100 Thieves in the CDL, snagged the championship with a dominant 5-2 victory over Atlanta. A perfect 4-0 mark this weekend led to the foursome of Drazah, Kenny, Octane, and Envoy earning their first world championship. Team owner Nadeshot, who played professionally for OpTic Gaming, also gets his first world championship in the esport he first rose to stardom in. 

The Thieves’ victory at CoD Champs 2022 marked their second consecutive major tournament win after they claimed the New York Major title last month. The 2022 Call of Duty League season is over but the series’ newest title, Modern Warfare 2, is coming in October.