The Minnesota RØKKR, who have arguably had the toughest second half to the inaugural Call of Duty League season, are making a change to their roster before the CDL Playoffs.
The RØKKR have replaced Adam “GodRx” Brown with substitute player Kaden “Exceed” Stockdale, head coach Brian “Saintt” Baroska and assistant coach Jacob “REPPIN” Trobaugh announced today. The coaches explained the decision in a video posted to the RØKKR’s Twitter account.
Saintt and REPPIN said the move was made to increase the pace at which the team plays. They said GodRx was their slowest player, and despite his stellar performances in the first half of the season, the team needs a quicker player to effectively compete against the rest of the league.
Until this roster change, Minnesota was one of four teams in the league to not make a permanent roster change this season. Although Exceed played one match as a starter in place of Alex “Alexx” Carpenter due to injury in July, the team’s roster had remained the same since the beginning of the season.
The coaches said they realized they needed to make a change after winning just one map at this past weekend’s Toronto Home Series. Although Minnesota played the Atlanta FaZe and Florida Mutineers, the first and third seeds, respectively, they said Exceed’s pace and “energy” will improve the team in the postseason.
Related: Here are the final 2020 Call of Duty League standings and CDL Playoffs bracket
Before the CDL’s move to an online format due to the COVID-19 global pandemic in March, the RØKKR were in fourth place in the league’s standings. Since then, however, the team has won just five of the 17 matches they have played online. Additionally, Minnesota has lost their last eight matches, with their most recent win coming on May 22 during the Seattle Home Series.
As a result of their poor online performances, Minnesota finished the regular season with the eighth seed and will play the fifth-ranked New York Subliners in the first round of the CDL Playoffs.
