HomeMain MenuPress ReleasesCALL OF DUTY LEAGUE REVEALS FIRST DETAILS OF 2020 COMPETITION

CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE REVEALS FIRST DETAILS OF 2020 COMPETITION

CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE REVEALS FIRST DETAILS OF 2020 COMPETITION

Call of Duty’s First City-Based League to Begin Home vs. Away Match Play in Early 2020

Oct. 21 , 2019, Activision Blizzard Esports officially reveals details for the new Call of Duty LeagueTM. The League is scheduled to begin home-vs-away 5-versus-5 professional match play in early 2020 with 12 teams in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, London, Los Angeles (2), Minnesota, New York, Paris, Seattle, and Toronto, in addition to select League-run major events throughout the season.

Each team in the league will host two ‘home series’ weekend events in their respective markets in 2020, one in a Spring split and a second in a Summer split. Multiple pro teams will compete at each home series event, giving fans a wide range of must-see competition throughout the weekend. In between the Spring andSummer splits, the League will host a special Call of Duty League Midseason Weekend event where all 12 teams will be featured in special all-pro tournaments and more.

Professional regular season competition will feature best-of-five-matches series played in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare on Playstation®4. Pro teams with the best win-loss records will advance to the postseason, where they will compete in a double elimination Playoffs until the season champion is crowned. Playoff berths will include 2 wild card slots, and both the Playoffs and Championship matches will take place at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend in Summer 2020.

In addition to pro play, the League will continue to foster the growth and development of emerging player talent with Call of Duty ChallengersTM, its amateur path to pro competition system. Call of Duty Challengers will include online ladders, online tournaments, and open tournament event competitions throughout the year beginning in November 2019, with a dedicated prize pool of over $1 million. Several Call of Duty League pro teams will also support amateur player pipeline development by hosting Call of Duty Challengers competitions in their markets. More details regarding amateur events can be found on CallofDutyLeague.com.

Fans will also be able to compete on behalf of their cities, in a new, casual competition system called the Call of Duty League City CircuitTM. In the City Circuit, fans can compete on behalf of their pro team cities through online or LAN (local area network) tournaments held exclusively by the 12 Call of Duty League teams. This fan-focused competitive circuit – set to launch later in

2020 – will feature a duos-based format in the Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare mode “Gunfight.” Call of Duty League City Circuit carries its own prize pool and will culminate in a finals event at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend.

Call of Duty League’s vision is to engage fans in dynamic ways across all 12 team markets and beyond. Home Series Weekends will showcase the best Call of Duty esports players in the world as well as the unique energy and passion of teams’ local fanbases.

“It is an honor to introduce the Call of Duty League, built to reimagine what esports can be,” said Johanna Faries, Commissioner of the Call of Duty League. “We’ve partnered with top-tier organisations who share our commitment to supporting the best players in the world and to entertain fans in unique ways. Together, we seek to bring incredible experiences to our pro, amateur, and fan communities, and to blaze new trails for the future of sports entertainment.”

The full roster of cities and ownership groups are:

  • Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Esports Ventures, a joint venture owned by Cox Enterprises and Province, Inc.
  • Chicago, IL – NRG Esports
  • Dallas, TX – Envy Gaming, Inc.
  • Florida – Misfits Gaming
  • London, United Kingdom – ReKTGlobal, Inc
  • Los Angeles, CA – Immortals Gaming Club (IGC)
  • Los Angeles, CA – Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
  • Minnesota – WISE Ventures
  • New York, NY – Sterling.VC
  • Paris, France – c0ntact Gaming
  • Seattle, WA – The Aquilini Group
  • Toronto, Canada – OverActive Media

For more information on the new Call of Duty League, visit callofdutyleague.com.

About Call of Duty League

Call of Duty® LeagueTM is the official esports league of the Call of Duty franchise, from publisher Activision. The inaugural season of Call of Duty League includes 12 teams from four countries and spotlights the best Call of Duty esports players from around the world. Call of Duty League launches in 2020, and will feature fresh ways for pro players, amateurs, and fans to come together around one of the world’s most beloved games.

About Activision Blizzard Esports

Activision Blizzard Esports (ABE) is responsible for the development, operation, and commercialization of Activision Blizzard’s professional gaming properties including the Overwatch LeagueTM, the Call of Duty® League, Call of Duty Challengers, Hearthstone Masters,

the StarCraft II World Championship Series, and the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International, among others. ABE also operates Tespa, the leader in collegiate esports. It is ABE’s vision to be the most innovative, scalable, and valuable developer of global competitive entertainment.

About Activision

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

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©2019 Activision Publishing, Inc. CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE and CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Blizzard’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about ticket availability and the dates, features and locations and the features of the Call of Duty League, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.