Call of Duty League announce $500,000 Challengers postseason

The CDL has delighted NA, EU, and APAC players by announcing a $500,000 Challengers open sign-up qualifiers and finals that will be held entirely online. 

Aspiring professional Call of Duty players who couldn’t crack a CDL roster have been able to participate in Challengers events all year, but now the league has announced a light, on top of a fat prize pool, at the end of the tunnel with the Last Chance Qualifiers and subsequent Finals.

While some Challengers players, like the Florida Mutineers’ Maurice “Fero” Henriquez and Joseph “Owakening,” have already used performances to move up and snag league salaries—this postseason should provide others with a chance to bolster their reputation while potentially earning some ducats.

• Read more: Scump reveals surprise factor making online CDL matches harder

As the CDL announced officially on Twitter, the postseason will be played out online in three of the game’s most popular regions: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Although this leaves out a highly active South American region, it should, at the very least, bode well for amateur players who have hoped for better support in the scene’s lower tier.

The Last Chance Qualifier is fittingly named and presents an opportunity for players who haven’t been on top of the standings all year to get into the finals. It will feature open sign-ups and be played out online on August 1 and 2. 

While three-quarters of the top teams, based on year long accrued Challengers Points, will be eligible for the Finals in each region—one quarter will qualify directly through the Last Chance Qualifiers. That means eight teams will make it in via these qualifiers in NA and EU, while four will in APAC.

• Read more: Simp, SlasheR & other CoD pros call for custom gun camos in CDL matches

And that’s where the money is. In the Finals, teams will compete in double-elimination brackets within each region for a cut of the prize pool. 

In North America, 32 teams will compete for $250,000. In Europe, 32 will compete for $200,000. And in Asia-Pacific, where the competition is restricted to just 16 teams, players will be competing for $50,000.

While it may be disappointing that active regions like South America will not be represented in these playoffs, this lends aforementioned credence to Activision’s support for their path-to-pro system. Teams like the Mutineers have already benefited from investing in Challengers talent, so a high-stakes opportunity like this should only continue bolstering Call of Duty’s amateur player pool.