Call of Duty League didn’t go one single day without controversy. The very first match between the Los Angeles Guerrillas and the Minnesota RØKKR was set to be exciting because it featured two of the best teams out there doing battle. It ended up being interesting - but for entirely different reasons than expected.
Call of Duty League restricts numerous weapons, perks, and upgrades. This includes all shotguns, marksman rifles, LMGs, laser attachments, recon drones, weapon drops, deployable cover, and - notably - the Hardline perk. Use of restricted items causes a team to forfeit a round. The Guerillas initially led the series 2-0 following a 6-3 Search and Destroy victory. Unfortunately for the team and its fans, things took a bad turn at that point.
Bleeding Cool reports that a member of the Guerillas enabled the Modern Warfare Hardline perk, which reduces the number of kills needed to earn a killstreak. Since a banned perk was used, the Guerillas were stripped of the victory on that map, which left the series at 1-1. When the teams returned to playing, RØKKR players seized upon the opportunity they had just been handed and won the next two rounds, freezing out the Guerillas. Guerillas Captain Patrick “ACHES” Price shared his thoughts on the debacle via Twitter.
“The fact that st like this happens in a 300 million dollar league is f*ing insane,” Price added. He told another user on Twitter who taunted him, “Us being up 2-0 Full momentum waxing their ass vs getting forfeited a bit different but alright.” Other teammates chimed in, calling the event “pathetic.” Jacob ‘Decemate’ Cato claims that the rules had left the perk “unbanned.” However, it is clearly listed in the rule set posted on the official CDL website. The Guerillas released a statement claiming that “the allowance of specialist bonuses despite including banned perks was decided through an impromptu vote in which no Guerillas team member was invited” despite League claims that the team participated in such a vote. The statement clarifies that the team bears no ill will against the Minnesota RØKKR and that the Guerillas hope that this debacle will “help the overall competitive integrity” of the Call of Duty League.
The Call of Duty League is poised to be a massive moneymaker both for Infinity Ward and for YouTube, who just clinched an exclusive contract to broadcast Call of Duty League games. Unfortunately, if rules are not clarified enough that the teams playing can fully grasp them, this will present problems in the long run. This should serve as a teachable moment - both for teams to check their perks and for the CoD League to clarify rules before matches start.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Bleeding Cool
