CDL announces return date for LAN events, starting with Stage 4 Major

The Call of Duty League is returning to LAN! Actual offline events are back on the horizon after the league officially confirmed that the Stage 4 Major will be held at the Esports Stadium in Texas.

It’s been over a year since the CDL’s last offline event – the Los Angeles Home Series, hosted by Guerrillas and OpTic Gaming March 7-8. It was right after that when the CDL, like every other esports league, had to cancel all their 2020 live events and play them online.

Now, the wait to return to live matches is coming to an end. On May 6, the league announced that starting with the Stage 4 Major, they’ll be going back to hosting in-person LAN events, hopefully culminating with what every fan and player wants: an offline CDL Championship.

“Teams will be welcomed back and able to compete on stage once again, reintroducing the dynamics of in-person play and re-igniting season rivalries after a full year of remote play,” the league said in a press release.

When is the CDL returning to LAN in 2021?

The $500,000 Stage 4 Major will be the first offline event hosted by the CDL in the 2021 season, taking place on June 17-20 at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas.

• Read More: CDL Dallas Home Series schedule & scores

Unfortunately, only the teams and limited CDL staff will be allowed, meaning that there will be no fans in attendance for at least this first tournament, as part of strict protocols that the league has to follow for “the safety and comfort of all participating players and staff.”

There’s no word yet on if the league plans on allowing fans at any future LAN events this season, but the Stage 4 Major will be available for live viewing on YouTube.

What other CDL LAN events will there be in 2021?

As of now, the league has not announced plans for any other LAN events beyond the Stage 4 Major. One would presume that they’ll try to host the Stage 5 Major and CDL Playoffs/Championship offline as well, while the weekly Home Series events in between stay online.

• Read More: Why Chicago OpTic struggle to beat top CDL teams

This would make the most sense because the Home Series are all city-based, meaning they’d need to be held at the city of the hosting team, which could prove too big and tricky to pull off on short notice.

Majors and Champs are not tied to any team or city and thus can be held wherever, so those events could be a lot easier to go through with – not to mention they’re a degree or two more significant than the weekly Home Series.