The Call of Duty League (CDL) has announced the schedule for the New 2020 Home Series, replacing the formerly scheduled LAN events.
Coronavirus has caused disruptions in just about every aspect of life, sports being no exception. There have been major cancellations and delays from the Olympics, the NBA, the MLB, the Masters, and the list goes on. In March, Activision Blizzard announced that they would be cancelling all scheduled events for the 2020 season, with more information to come.
Many fans saw these cancellations coming, but that did not make it any easier to pallet once it became official. Those same fans can rest easy, however, because the CDL has announced the schedule for the replacement Home Series, in which teams will be competing online. The 2020 Home Series will kick off this Friday, April 10 at 4 p.m. ET. Spectators can watch the events just like those previous, by tuning into the official COD League YouTube channel.
The statement says that players and all other personnel "will compete and work safely from locations of their choice," which begs the question – which teams will compete from their team facilities and which will elect to compete from their own homes?
The CDL will look to continue the fast-paced, high-powered action that fans have come to expect from these events; Exciting, play-by-play casting can be expected, similar to that of the few events that have already taken place. It looks like the CDL has been using the recent exhibition matches to ensure that they can maintain both competitive integrity and broadcast quality throughout a larger online online format.
Though the rest of the season's schedule has been released, no more information on the CDL Championship Weekend has been given yet; Activision Blizzard did state that they will provide that information at a later date, however. They will not be neglecting the Challengers competition either, as they announced five dedicated two-day Challengers events, the first of which will take place next Saturday, April 18.
It has been an undoubtedly difficult time around the world, but it will be nice to be able to get back to some sense of normalcy by watching the CDL continue. Sports give fans a chance to tune out the troubles of their daily lives and engage with something that brings them joy, and for the fans of the competitive Call of Duty, the cancellations were heartbreaking. The return of the CDL will hopefully be a bright spot in the eyes of its fans. This is an esport after all, so why shouldn't it be able to be played online?
Source: Call of Duty League/Twitter