Is Call of Duty drama good for the CDL? OpTic’s Scump and FormaL weigh in

Brad Norton
Scump & FormaL on OpTic's preshow

Competitive Call of Duty drama has been back in full swing lately but is it actually good for the scene? OpTic Chicago’s Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper weighed in on the recent arguments. 



When the biggest names in CoD go at it on social media, things tend to get fairly heated. From franchise owners to former commentators, the latest batch of drama had almost everyone chiming in.

While it might have served as some entertainment for fans throughout the day, did it actually leave a good impression for the Call of Duty League? Two of the most experienced players in Scump and FormaL weighed in during the March 4 OpTic pre-show.

From Scump’s perspective, it’s both “good and bad” for the scene. “It makes us look like idiots,” he explained. “But it also makes for more storylines.”

With members of 100 Thieves recently going blow for blow with Dallas Empire’s CEO Mike ‘Hastr0’ Rufail, it caught the attention of everyone in the League. This hostility helped create a more intriguing storyline, according to the T2P duo.

“It’s good for the storylines,” Scump said. “It definitely makes it a little more hype in certain matchups. Now, whenever Dallas and [LA Thieves] play, everyone’s gonna be loving that.”

No strangers to trash-talking in their own amusing ways, FormaL recently argued that anyone offended is simply “soft.” Though if teams are going at it, he prefers for the beef to start in a genuine way.

“I like when it comes more naturally,” the former world champion said. The latest drama might have been too artificial to do the scene any favors, according to FormaL. “Hastr0 kind of went in for no reason.”

The relevant topic begins at the 24:10 mark below.

Regardless of where you stand on the matter, there’s no denying that drama certainly adds some intrigue to future matchups. We may have to wait a minute to see the payoff surrounding another LA Thieves and Dallas Empire showdown. Though the two juggernauts could soon meet up in the current tournament.

After a 3-0 win over the Subliners, OpTic is set to meet Empire in Round 2 of the Major. Keep up to date with all the CDL action with our live coverage.

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About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com