Call of Duty League

Activision's franchised Call of Duty league, where 100 Thieves play as the Los Angeles Thieves.

The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the Call of Duty series, produced by its publisher Activision. It follows the model of the Overwatch League and traditional North American sports leagues, with permanent city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups, and is Activision Blizzard's second franchise-based league.

Quick Facts

Formerly: Call of Duty World League; Call of Duty Pro League
Game: Call of Duty
Sport: esport
Founded: 2020
Commissioner: Daniel Tsay
Champion: FaZe Vegas (2nd title)
Most titles: FaZe Vegas; OpTic Texas (2 each)
Owner: Activision

Lore & Background

Activision also runs a Call of Duty Challengers series for amateur players, which lets franchised teams field academy rosters. The league switched from 5v5 to a 4v4 format from the 2021 season, and its schedule is split into stages that each end with a Major tournament. The 2021 opening weekend peaked at 131,000 viewers, up 50% on 2020.

After initially saying in 2019 that it would not join, 100 Thieves announced in November 2020 that it would enter the league as the Los Angeles Thieves after acquiring the OpTic Gaming Los Angeles slot. In 2022 the Los Angeles Thieves beat Atlanta FaZe 5–2 in the Championship Grand Final to win the organisation's first world championship.