CDL Champs 2021: Team of the Week & MVP

Jacob Hale
cdl champs team of the week mvp

And that’s that. The Call of Duty League’s 2021 season is over, with Atlanta FaZe securing the bag at CDL Champs. The league’s eight best teams fought through the bracket and the game’s biggest superstars did not disappoint.

CDL Champs was a fitting climax to a wild season of professional CoD, with teams like OpTic Chicago and the Minnesota ROKKR falling out despite herculean efforts. Ultimately, the Toronto Ultra robbed the Dallas Empire of a Championship repeat — before being robbed themselves by the dominant Atlanta FaZe.

LAN, fans, and highlight pop-off plays galore — CDL Champs 2021 had it all. But we can’t only focus on FaZe.

Here’s our Team of the Week after the league’s playoff bracket, with these stars truly shining and, trophy or not, deserving of praise.

CDL Champs 2021 TOTW

Team of the week - CDL Champs

It’s rare for an MVP to come from a losing side, but Cammy was in rare form this week. A testament to his individual prowess, the Ultra slayer received 44.2% of our Grand Finals MVP vote — edging out the likes of FaZe’s aBeZy (29.3%) and Cellium (23.8%).

Of course, those two FaZe dynamos deserve the gas as well. While Simp and Arcitys were absolute juggernauts, aBeZy and Cell enabled Atlanta to secure the championship by popping off routinely.

But there were incredible performances from players on teams who didn’t make it to the Grand Finals too, with the Empire’s Shotzzy leading the pack. OpTic’s Scump and the ROKKR’s Standy were just barely edged out by 2020’s MVP, who — once again — proved he’s the best POV in Call of Duty.

Here’s how we came up with our CDL Champs 2021 Team of the Week.

MVP: Cameron ‘Cammy’ McKilligan (Toronto Ultra)

How do you even pick a top highlight from Cammy? The timeline was littered with capslocked reactions to the Scotsman’s destructive tendencies, as he went on unimaginable sprees when Toronto needed him most.

While his ace and pop-off moments against FaZe were instrumental to ensuring the match wasn’t as lopsided as it could have been, it was the performance against Empire that truly took the league by storm. Tied 1-1, Cammy went from an abysmal 12-25 K/D to… 33-29. Ultra proved, without a doubt, that they are a top-two team in CoD and that was in major part thanks to Cammy’s takeovers.

McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel (Atlanta FaZe)

The hardest kill in Call of Duty, Cellium doesn’t always get the individual awards, but his impact is practically unrivaled. After Major 5 he got his team to focus on the mysterious L-stick-slide tech and, in Champs, he opened his entire bag of tricks.

Game 1 of the Winner’s Finals vs Empire? Cell dropped a 29-13 with 5.4k damage (1k+ more than anyone else in the lobby). Grand Finals vs Ultra? Cell’s clever plays helped secure the 5-3 win. By the end of Champs, Cell had the highest K/D in the league: 1.32 (via BreakingPoint). Different breed.

Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris

Speaking of different breeds, aBeZy was in peak form this Champs. While 2021 MVP Simp could deserve the praise, it was aBeZy’s relentless pace that enabled FaZe to secure the trophy. And, as an added bonus, he walked away with Champs MVP.

Likely the fastest player in Call of Duty, aBeZy’s absurd gun skill helped him put up stat lines like 24-11 in FaZe’s Game 3 against Ultra. Known as the “First Blood King” for his S&D prowess, the demon showed why he’s the ideal CoD teammate: a dirty worker who somehow, some way still slays out.

Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro

Yes, Scump posted a higher Champs K/D (1.18) and yes, Simp and Bance made it further in Champs. But no, there is not a chance in hell that Shotzzy is being left off of the Champs TOTW.

The 2020 MVP was an animal on the map all weekend. From dropping 25-10 in Game 1 against the ROKKR to finishing with a top-five K/D (1.16), the movement maestro Shotzzy willed the Empire all the way to third place and into our TOTW.


Previous CDL 2021 Team of the Weeks

CDL 2021 Stage 1 TOTWs

CDL Stage 1 TOTWs
Each Team of the Week of CDL Stage 1.

CDL Stage 2 TOTWs

Every TOTW from CDL Stage 2
Every TOTW from CDL Stage 2.

CDL Stage 3 TOTWs

CDL Stage 3 TOTW each week
Every TOTW from CDL Stage 3.

CDL Stage 4 TOTWs

Every TOTW and MVP from Stage 4.
Every TOTW and MVP from CDL Stage 4.

CDL Stage 5 TOTWs

Every TOTW from CDL Stage 5
Every TOTW from CDL Stage 5.

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About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.