All players & teams that won a Call of Duty World Championship

Matt Porter
New York Subliners lifting trophy from behind

The 2023 Call of Duty League Championship Weekend is over, and four new players have etched their names in COD’s history books.

Everything changed for Call of Duty fans following the 2019 CWL Championships, with the esport moving to a franchised model that saw 12 teams purchase a place in the newly-minted Call of Duty League.

Since then, the end-of-year spectacle has undergone several different formats and iterations, but one thing has remained the same: every player in the CDL wants to get their hands on that trophy and their championship rings.

There have now been 11 crowning world championship events in Call of Duty, dating back to 2013’s Black Ops 2 when Karma, KiLLa, Parasite, and Mirx dominated the competition and became all-time CoD greats. Fast forward to 2023, and while those players have long since retired, a new batch of players are joining the elite club following New York Subliners’ dominant victory over Toronto Ultra.

All players to win a Call of Duty World Championship

Crimsix with Dallas
Crimsix is one of the most successful Call of Duty players of all time.

30 competitors have earned a Call of Duty world championship ring, and nine legends have multiple championships to their name. Karma, Crimsix, and Clayster lead all challengers, winning three world championships each.

This list of players has already cemented their COD legacy:

  1. Karma (3)
  2. Crimsix (3)
  3. Clayster (3)
  4. ACHES (2)
  5. JKap (2)
  6. Apathy (2)
  7. Simp (2)
  8. aBeZy (2)
  9. Arcitys (2)
  10. KiLLa
  11. MiRx
  12. TeePee
  13. Crowder
  14. John
  15. Scump
  16. FormaL
  17. SiLLY
  18. Prestinni
  19. Huke
  20. Shotzzy
  21. iLLeY
  22. Cellium
  23. Octane
  24. Envoy
  25. Kenny
  26. Drazah
  27. Assault
  28. SlasheR
  29. Attach
  30. Parasite
  31. HyDra
  32. Priestahh
  33. KiSMET
  34. Skyz

All teams to win a Call of Duty World Championship

New York Subliners lift CDL Championship trophy
The New York Subliners are the latest Call of Duty world champions.

There have been two dynasties in COD history, but no organization has ever won back-to-back World Championships. ACHES, TeePee, Crimsix, alongside Clayster, and eventually Karma, formed the first dynasty in Call of Duty esports under the CompLexity and Evil Geniuses banners.

The decorated group won 13 offline tournaments in two years and recorded 16 top-four finishes. And then over a two-year time frame, OpTic Gaming, with the key figures of Scump, FormaL, and Crimsix, alongside Nadeshot (briefly) and Karma, won 18 offline tournaments and placed top four 28 times.

Despite going on dominant runs, both dynasties only won one World Championship.

Here is a year-by-year recap of every World Championship winner.

Year/TitleTeamRoster
2013 / Black Ops 2Fariko ImpactKiLLa, MirX, Parasite, Karma
2014 / GhostsComplexityAches, TeePee, Crimsix, Karma
2015 / Advanced WarfareDenialClayster, JKap, Attach, Crowder
2016 / Black Ops 3EnVyJKap, SlasheR, John, Apathy
2017 / Infinite WarfareOpTic GamingScump, FormaL, Crimsix, Karma
2018 / World War 2Evil GeniusesAches, Apathy, SiLLy, Assault
2019 / Black Ops 4eUnitedClayster, Arcitys, Prestinni, Simp, aBeZy
2020 / Modern WarfareDallas EmpireCrimsix, Clayster, Shotzzy, Huke, iLLeY
2021 / Cold WarAtlanta FaZeSimp, aBeZy, Arcitys, Cellium
2022 / VanguardLA ThievesEnvoy, Octane, Kenny, Drazah
2023 / Modern Warfare IINew York SublinersHyDra, KiSMET, Skyz, Priestahh

Who misses out?

There are not that many noticeable absences from this list, given the fact that the overwhelming majority of big names have, at some point, won a championship.

There are several top players who failed to win CoD Champs, both retired and active. The likes of Nadeshot, ZooMaa, Dashy, and Gunless are all names that arguably had all the makings of world champions — be it insane individual ability, dominant teams, or even a mix of both.

Nadeshot will no doubt have been happy to see his LA Thieves win it all in 2022, but the likes of Dashy will definitely still be waiting in the wings to earn the ring that seems inevitable.

That’s everything you need to know about the storied Call of Duty World Champions list. For more, check out the rest of our CDL coverage.

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About The Author

Matt is a former Dexerto writer. Hailing from Northern Ireland, he is games journalist who specializes in Call of Duty. Matt joined Dexerto in August 2018, covering a variety of games as a Senior Writer before moving to CharlieINTEL in 2020.