Call of Duty League rostermania 2021-22: Tracking all the offseason moves

Last updated Sept. 10

The 2021 season has only been in the books for a few weeks, but already rostermania has dramatically altered the landscape of the Call of Duty League.

World champions are swapping jerseys and a new franchise appears set to make its debut as players and orgs prepare for the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard in November and the ensuing 2022 season.

Here are the latest moves and rumors in the CDL. It includes reported moves that have been unconfirmed by the teams. Check back for updates as the complete rosters are set.

Atlanta FaZe

Key additions: none

Key subtractions: none

All indications are the reigning world champions will remain intact, with Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris telling Nerd Street he hopes to continue playing with teammates Chris “Simp” Lehr, McArthur “Cellium” Jovel and Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson for “a long, long time.”

Read more: FaZe aBeZy: ‘Scary moment where we didn’t know if we were gonna make Champs or not’

Florida Mutineers

Key additions: none

Key subtractions: none (yet ...)

So far, the only move that’s confirmed is the middling franchise parting ways with coach Ricky “Aturo” Lugo. However, CDL Intel reports Mutineers rookie sensation Travis “Neptune” McCloud could be on his way to NYSL via a buyout, which would be a huge loss. Stay tuned.

London Royal Ravens

Key additions: TBD

Key subtractions: Alexx, PaulEhx, Seany and Zed

Only Marcus “Afro” Reid was retained after the rookie was the lone player to post a positive kill-death ratio upon joining the club for Stages 4 and 5, while the Ravens announced they would be parting with Alex “Alexx” Carpenter, Paul “PaulEhx” Avila, Sean “Seany” O’Connor and Zach “Zed” Denyer.

Los Angeles Guerrillas

Key additions: Asim, Gunless, Huke, SlasheR

Key subtractions: Apathy, Assault, Cheen, MentaL, SiLLY

On paper, at least, LAG made a huge splash. Former world champion Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat jumps over from the Thieves to lead a team of solid veterans in Peirce “Gunless” Hillman, previously of the Seattle Surge, and Obaid “Asim” Asim, who really came into his own with NYSL this season.

The question mark here is Cuyler “Huke” Garland. Considered a rising star in the COD scene but a few months ago, Huke was shockingly let go by the Empire midseason, then dogged by controversy and ultimately benched in his brief stint with the Thieves as well. Being his teammate for a few months, SlasheR should have some insight into what went down with the fellow world champion and presumably gave his stamp of approval

Even if things don’t work out with Huke, overall, this still looks like a major upgrade over what was one of the worst units in the league, as LAG parted with Bryan “Apapthy” Zhelyazkov, Adam “Assault” Garcia, Billy “MentaL” Putnam, Martin “Cheen” Chino and Justin “SiLLey” Fargo-Palmer.

Los Angeles Thieves

Key additions: Octane, Envoy

Key subtractions: Huke, John, SlasheR, TJHaLy, Venom

After rotating eight different players through the lineup last season, some welcome stability might be on the way. Kenneth “Kenny” Williams and Zack “Drazah” Jordan will be joined by Sam “Octane” Larew, who will would rejoin 100T after two seasons with Seattle, and Dylan “Envoy” Hannon, a casualty of the reported OpTic-Empire merger.

In addition to the aforementioned Huke and SlasheR, the Thieves also have parted ways with Johnathan “John” Perez, Carlos “Venom” Hernandez and Thomas “TJHaly” Haly.

Minnesota ROKKR

Key additions: none

Key subtractions: Accuracy

The only move announced up to this point is the departure of Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi, who was benched after Stage 3 last season. Given the team’s stunning victory at Major V, it seems likely they would try running it back with largely the same roster of Dillon “Attach” Price, Michael “MajorManiak” Syzmaniak, Preston “Priestahh” Greiner and rookie standout Eli “Standy” Bentz (no pun intended).

New York Subliners

Key additions: [eyeballs emoji]

Key subtractions: Asim and Mack (unconfirmed)

As much as Asim in particular looks like a significant loss for this squad, the rumored potential replacements would more than make up for it.

As mentioned above, Travis “Neptune” McCloud is said to be coming over from Florida after a stellar rookie campaign -- but the real news is rumblings of a reported reunion for world champions James “Clayster” Eubanks and Ian “Crimsix” Porter, the latter being finished in Dallas (more on that next). Makenzie “Mack” Kelley is reportedly joining the Surge (more on that below), but with Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez remaining in the fold, NYSL is shaping up to be a legit title contender if these still-unconfirmed additions are true.

OpTic/Dallas Empire

Key additions: none

Key subtractions: Envoy, FormaL, Crimsix, Vivid

By far the biggest story of the offseason is Envy Gaming’s acquisition of the OpTic brand, presumably transforming Dallas Empire into OpTic Dallas for 2022. Beyond relocating the Green Wall again (OpTic spent one season in Chicago after a year in LA), the sale has massive implications for two star-studded rosters merging into one.

The big surprise to come as a result is the reported exit of three-time world champion and all-time great Ian “Crimsix” Porter, who is a restricted free agent along with Reece “Vivid” Drost. And from the OpTic side, Dylan “Envoy” Hannon announced he is a free agent and is reportedly headed to the Thieves, while Matthew “FormaL” Piper will retire.

That would leave a combined OpTic Dallas roster of Empire holdovers Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro and Indervir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal along with OpTic’s Seth “Scump” Abner and Brandon “Dashy” Otell. A lot of big names in the COD scene here!

Paris Legion

Key additions: TBD

Key subtractions: AquA, Skrapz, Temp and Zaptius

One of three franchises to purge its entire roster -- Ulysses “AquA” Silva, Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall, Donovan “Temp” Laroda and Alex “Zaptius” Bonilla -- after another season in the cellar, little is known or even rumored about what’s next. The only concrete information as of now is Dylan “Theory” McGee will return as head coach.

Seattle Surge

Key additions: Accuracy, Mack, Sib and Pred (all unconfirmed)

Key subtractions: Classic, Gunless, Loony, Octane and Prestinni

Another franchise to go full roster purge after a tough year -- dropping Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo, Gunless, Daniel “Loony” Loza, Octane and Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson -- the Surge seem to be closing in on a new group. According to Dot Esports, COD veteran Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi leaves Minnesota to helm a young group including Makenzie “Mack” Kelly from NYSL, FaZe sub Daunte “Sib” Gray and newcomer Amer “Pred” Zulbeari.

Toronto Ultra

Key additions: none

Key subtractions: none

The only news here is Anthony “Methodz” Zinni is exploring free agency -- but seeing as he has been benched since Week 1, that’s not shocking. After finishing as runners-up to FaZe, Ultra seem poised to forge ahead with a crew of Benjamin “Bance” Bance, Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan, Tobias “CleanX” Juul and All-Star rookie Jamie “Insight” Craven.

Cloud9?

The merging of OpTic and Empire means the CDL is in need of a 12th team, and Cloud9 is rumored to be a potential addition.

The org last fielded a professional COD team in 2017, so it remains to be seen who would comprise the roster. Of course, there’s no shortage of names on the market after the latest round of rostermania, so it’s not outlandish to think somebody could form a credible group out of those players.

Lead image credit: Call of Duty League