After a turbulent inaugural season, the Call of Duty League is back in 2021.
The league, like many esports events, moved to a fully-online format in the middle of its first season last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the changes and the subsequent issues with online play, the league concluded with the Dallas Empire becoming the first CDL champions in August.
Over the offseason, teams trimmed their rosters after the league ruled the 2021 season would be played in four-vs-four matches, a format previously used in competitive CoD until late 2018. Additionally, with no traveling scheduled due to the ongoing pandemic, the league altered the structure of its events.
The 12 CDL teams will battle it out for more than six months in the hopes of winning the 2021 CDL Championship.
Here’s how to watch the 2021 Call of Duty League season.
Format
Unlike last season, every team will be involved in every Home Series. While some teams will play one more group match than others in a week, every team will play five best-of-five matches during a single Stage.
Three Home Series events and a Major, a double-elimination tournament, make up a Stage. In total, there are five Stages throughout the season, meaning there will be 15 Home Series events and five Majors before the $2.5 million CDL Playoffs.
With each Home Series win, teams will earn 10 CDL Points. After the three Home Series events have concluded, the CDL Points standings will determine how the teams will be seeded in the Major’s double-elimination bracket.
Majors, which boast $500,000 prize pools, also give out CDL Points based on teams’ final placings. Here’s the CDL Points breakdown for Majors.
| Placing | CDL Points |
| First | 75 |
| Second | 60 |
| Third | 50 |
| Fourth | 40 |
| Fifth-sixth | 30 each |
| Seventh-eighth | 20 each |
| Ninth-10th | 10 each |
| 11th-12th | 0 |
Stream
The Call of Duty League’s 2021 season will be exclusively streamed on YouTube.
Schedule – Stage Five Major
Thursday, July 29
| Time (CT) | Team One | Team Two |
| 2pm | Seattle Surge | Paris Legion |
| 3:30pm | New York Subliners | Los Angeles Guerrillas |
| 5pm | Atlanta FaZe | Minnesota RØKKR |
| 6:30pm | Toronto Ultra | Los Angeles Thieves |
Friday, July 30
| Time (CT) | Team One | Team Two |
| 2pm | London Royal Ravens | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Two |
| 3:30pm | Florida Mutineers | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Two |
| 5pm | Dallas Empire | TBD – Winners Bracket Round Two |
| 6:30pm | OpTic Chicago | TBD – Winners Bracket Round Two |
Saturday, July 31
| Time (CT) | Team One | Team Two |
| 12:30pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Three | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Three |
| 2pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Three | TBD – Losers Bracket Round Three |
| 3:30pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Quarterfinals | TBD – Losers Bracket Quarterfinals |
| 5pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Quarterfinals | TBD – Losers Bracket Quarterfinals |
| 6:30pm | TBD – Winners Bracket Final | TBD – Winners Bracket Final |
Sunday, Aug. 1
| Time (CT) | Team One | Team Two |
| 2pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Semifinals | TBD – Losers Bracket Semifinals |
| 3:30pm | TBD – Losers Bracket Finals | TBD – Losers Bracket Finals |
| 5pm | TBD – Grand Finals | TBD – Grand Finals |
This article will be updated throughout the 2021 season to reflect the current event’s schedule.
