The Call of Duty League introduced the groups for Stage One of the 2021 season today during the Kickoff Classic preseason event.
In a unique twist, the CDL had the franchises participate in a group selection show to draft each team into their pool for the first stage of the competition.
For Stage One, the Dallas Empire were automatically placed into Group A after being crowned the 2020 Call of Duty League champions in August. The Atlanta FaZe, on the other hand, were put in Group B. Dallas was given the first pick of the selection show to draft a team to go into Group B and Atlanta then responded by picking a franchise for Group A. This reverse snake draft process continued until all 12 teams were separated into two groups.
Here are the groups for Stage One of the 2021 Call of Duty League season.
Group A
- Dallas Empire
- Los Angeles Thieves
- Minnesota RØKKR
- London Royal Ravens
- New York Subliners
- Seattle Surge
Group B
- Atlanta FaZe
- OpTic Chicago
- Florida Mutineers
- Toronto Ultra
- Los Angeles Guerrillas
- Paris Legion
“Tournament seeding will be determined by head-to-head group play matches over the course of three Home Series weeks leading up to each Major,” the CDL said. “During each stage, all teams will compete in five group play matches to determine their seed in each Major.”
The 2021 Call of Duty League regular season will feature five stages. Stage One will begin on Feb. 11 with the Opening Weekend hosted by the Atlanta FaZe.
The final match of this weekend’s Kickoff Classic will see OpTic Chicago take on the Los Angeles Thieves. You can watch this highly anticipated exhibition series on the official Call of Duty League YouTube channel.
