Call of Duty League recently announced the schedule for its inaugural season, as well as the matches in the first half of the regular season.
The league is structured so that each team hosts two events throughout the season, and since there are teams from four different countries, lengthy travel is unavoidable. However, some teams will only play one match even though they are traveling thousands of miles to compete.
Matthew “FormaL” Piper, who plays for Chicago Huntsmen, vocalized his displeasure in a tweet:
Lol international events for one series to be played for some of the teams, hahahahhaahahhaahahahah
— OpTic FormaL (@FormaL) November 15, 2019
In Week 2 of the regular season, London Royal Ravens is hosting an event in London, and Chicago Huntsmen is competing at it.
They are only scheduled to play one match that weekend, against Paris Legion. Chicago is 4000 miles away from London and an eight-hour flight if there is no transfer. Understandably, a professional gamer would feel a bit of annoyance with this.
FormaL’s team member Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, reacted to his tweet:
i think im getting sick if thats a thing
— alec (@Arcitys) November 15, 2019
Obviously, this statement was made in jest, but one knows that some displeasure helped create this tweet.
Eric “Muddawg” Sanders, who is the General Manager of the league team OpTic Gaming LA, tweeted to FormaL:
we have to fly to paris to play a singular regular season match vs Atlanta lmao
— 100T Muddawg (@Muddawg) November 15, 2019
In Week 4, OpTic Gaming LA is scheduled to compete in Paris, facing off in one match against Atlanta FaZe. Los Angeles is much further west then Chicago, so they’re facing an even longer travel day.
Another Call of Duty League professional, the Head Coach of Minnesota Røkkr Brian “Saintt” Baroska, replied to FormaL as well:
We play 1 match there as well, flying off Eiffel tower if we lose it
— Brian Baroska (@BrianSaintt) November 15, 2019
A little dramatic, but he has a point. Minnesota Røkkr is traveling to Paris in Week 4 to face off in one match against the New York Subliners.
Just because these three teams have had vocal members, doesn’t mean other teams aren’t facing the same concerns. Virtually every team is affected by international travel while only playing one match.
Call of Duty League has invested a lot of money into bringing Call of Duty esports into the mainstream, and part of it is the inclusion of European markets.
This will be an issue that competitors will have to deal with, but the silver lining is that the teams can visit new places and play a game they love.
FormaL did acknowledge that to a certain degree:
Trust me I’m truly grateful for the position I’m in, it’s awesome. But at the same time I’m a competitor, and I’d like to compete.
— OpTic FormaL (@FormaL) November 15, 2019
It will be interesting to see if anyone else voices their displeasure publicly, or if competitors will treat it as the nature of the job.
