The Call of Duty League 2025 season is over, and all eyes are on the Esports World Cup. The Black Ops 6 segment of the EWC is set to play out between July 24 – 27, with a $1.8 million prize pool on the line. It’s the coming together of (almost all) the CDL teams and a smattering of Challengers-tier teams, and it’s set to be more important than last year’s event.
In comments posted during a Twitch stream, superstar LA Thieves player, Scrap, had big things to say about the future of the Esports World Cup and the Call of Duty League Championship.
‘I’m There To Play’
Last year’s inaugural Esports World Cup welcomed Modern Warfare III, but the audience wasn’t really there. It was Atlanta FaZe that stormed to victory after falling short at COD Champs, but the viewership didn’t hit where it was needed, and the Esports World Cup felt a little flat for Call of Duty.
The expectation is that this year, things are much more important for those competing.
Recently, one of the CDL’s most vocal players, Scrap, took to a Twitch comment section to talk about the future of the Esports World Cup and the part it’ll have to play in the Call of Duty esports ecosystem:
I’ll say this about EWC. Last year didn’t feel like people cared about it because we were so mindblown going there. This year different, I’m there to play not go sight-seeing.
Only reason FaZe stayed together is because of that tournament, so we can’t act like it don’t matter.
The only reason EWC is smaller than Champs is because of the League itself. EWC will be bigger than Champs eventually.
(Quote adjusted for clarity and grammar, props to Breaking Point for the spot)
There’s a solid list of organisations headed to Riyadh to compete at the Esports World Cup, including the Challengers teams that have felt, of late, like they’re not as well-represented as they could be. This is their chance ot make a name for themselves on one of the most valuable stages in esports.
The strongest team coming into the EWC might be OpTic Texas, flying the stock-standard ‘OpTic’ banner at this event. Just weeks ago, OpTic Texas secured the first back-to-back COD Champs win in history, snatching the trophy after a stunning upper bracket run that showed what the organisation, which had a shocking year otherwise, is capable of.
Do you think the Esports World Cup will overtake COD Champs? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out the news that Faker might not know much about League
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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