The Call of Duty League’s 2025 season is in full flow, and there are plenty of players on the board eager to prove themselves this year. It has been a mixed bag of matches to kickstart the competitive season, and some shockers have been handed out. In the opening weeks of the CDL 2025 season, Atlanta FaZe plummeted to the bottom of the table, sending shockwaves through COD’s community.
In this guide, I’m going to break down the top Call of Duty players to watch in 2025. From the upcoming rookie talent to the future world champions, this list covers everyone worth watching this season.
Mixed Bag
Here are the players you should keep an eye on as the competitive season unfolds.
Isaiah ‘Gwinn’ Gwinn
Gwinn hit the ground running this year with the Carolina Royal Ravens. He served an instrumental role in the team being propelled to the top of the table, securing a perfect record in the opening weeks against some capable squads, including Atlanta FaZe. He was pivotal in handing FaZe the first 0 – 3 loss the team has secured in almost two years.
By mid-December, Gwinn was sitting on a KD of 1.34, leading the pack and standing atop some of the best Call of Duty players in the world.
Thomas ‘Scrap’ Ernst
Scrap’s ascension has been a glorious thing to watch. He started as a loud-mouthed rookie on Toronto Ultra, beefing with anyone who would look in his direction. He eventually mellowed and became much more rounded out as a player, but the Call of Duty League Championship has remained out of reach for him two years in a row.
With a second-place finish in 2023 and a third-place finish in 2024, it’s only a matter of time before this world-class player secures his trophy, and this year, he’s backed by a killer team on LA Thieves.
Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro
It’s impossible to jot down the most electrifying competitors in COD esports and not include Shotzzy. For years, this young pro player has been a superstar of the game, securing two world championships and dominating from every angle. He’s one of the most entertaining players to watch, and many consider him to be godlike on the sticks.
Last year, he secured the world championship with OpTic Texas, and he’s already started strong this season. In Black Ops 6, Shotzzy can make the most of Omnimovement, flying around the map with reckless abandon, and even if he doesn’t go back-to-back at CDL Champs, he’s one of the most hilarious players to watch, period.
Khalid ‘Khhx’ Almadhi
Khhx is one of the newest players in the Call of Duty League, entering the fray with the Vegas Falcons, an all-new squad backed by a Saudi Arabian investment. Fans wrote off the Vegas Falcons ahead of the competitive season, and a donut hasn’t helped the squad gain much traction, but a standout member of the team is Khalid ‘Khhx’ Almadhi.
At the time of publishing, the Vegas Falcons boasted a 0 – 4 win record and a 14% map win percentage, which is woeful, but Khhx has been working like gangbusters to escape the bottom of the leaderboard.
His debut match against the Royal Ravens was a loss, but it saw him secure a solid opening KD, and per the stats, he went on to hit a 1.28 KD in his second spin, becoming the first player to kickstart his tenure in the CDL with two matches above a 1.2 KD. To open the season, he sat above the likes of Dashy and Pred in terms of overall KD.
Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez
HyDra has been a phenomenal player year in, year out since debuting with the New York Subliners in 2021. In the Modern Warfare II season, he skyrocketed to success with the squad, securing two Major wins and a world championship victory, along with a smattering of MVP awards.
Last season, he snatched a second-place finish at COD Champs, securing some of the most exhilarating plays in the wider tournament and cementing himself as one to watch for years to come. This year, he’s flying the LA Thieves banner alongside Envoy, Scrap, and Ghosty, which many consider to be one of the greatest potential-filled rosters ever.
He has opened the season with a 1.18 overall KD and a perfect record of 4 – 0, at the time of publishing. Few players are more worthy of your time or attention than HyDra.
What do you think about this list? Are there other players you’d like to see on this page? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to Insider Gaming for more of the latest esports coverage
