Enable explains how Dallas Empire can become CDL contenders again

Theo Salaun
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The Dallas Empire have shaken up their roster, again, and had mixed results. Reverse Sweep’s Enable and Pacman break down how this new team can shift into CDL Champs gear once Vivid and iLLeY buy in.

The Empire are now on their third SMG duo of the season, having given up on two other submachine gun partners for 2020 MVP Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas. In three games since acquiring Reece ‘Vivid’ Drost, Dallas is 2-1, but, according to the Reverse Sweep crew, more work is needed before they’re a real title threat.

First it was Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland. Then it was Tyler ‘FeLo’ Johnson. Now, it’s Vivid. But Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt and Jonathan ‘Pacman’ Tucker aren’t convinced changing one player will be a final solution for Empire’s inconsistency.

Reflecting on the first two Dallas matches since Vivid’s signing, a 3-2 win over the London Royal Ravens and an 0-3 loss to the Toronto Ultra, Enable and Pacman break down what needs to change. And that pressure is put on two players: Vivid and Indervir ‘iLLeY’ Dhaliwal.

Both analysts seem to agree that Vivid and iLLeY’s success in Modern Warfare 2019 is essentially detrimental to their game sense in CDL 2021. Comparing the 5v5 game to Black Ops Cold War’s 4v4 offering, they each contend that a shift in thinking is needed.

As Enable specifies about iLLeY in particular, “it might be hard to rework his brain on how he thinks Call of Duty should be played.”

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If Vivid shifts his mindset, he could elevate Empire back into contention.

Enable elaborates that the two high-potential players don’t have any talent issues, but need to follow Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter’s guidance about how to navigate the map. 

Following a 3-0 sweep of Vivid’s former Los Angeles Guerrillas, the capacity of this Empire squad is legitimized. However, as Pacman and Enable explain, the team needs to keep grinding and learning this “fundamental” game if they want to truly compete with the league’s best.

About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.