Call of Duty League professional player ZooMaa has stepped down from his position as a main roster player in the New York Subliners.

Just mere days before the CDL Season kickoff and weeks before the official CDL seeding on February 11, Call of Duty legend ZooMaa has stepped down competing in the league as a player for the New York Subliners.

In a Twitlonger posted to his Twitter account, ZooMaa cited issues regarding a past injury which led him to this decision. “Going through that process of getting healthy again was one of the hardest things I ever had to do both physically & mentally, which led to a lot of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, the injury has returned making it really hard for me to compete at the highest level against some of the best players in the world.”

ZooMaa’s injury has been an on-going fight for him, dating back to his time as a player for FaZe from 2015-2019. During this time, he suffered with weakness in his thumb/wrist area, which led him to require surgery. Recovering from the surgery was no easy task, which caused him intense stress and anxiety. He eventually overcame this, but recently this injury has resurfaced.

In order to ensure his team’s success and his own, he believes that in his own words “it’s not fair to myself or to my team to go through all that again, potentially causing more damage to my hand.” He still may return back to competitive Call of Duty in the future, stating he loves the game too much to walk away completely.

ZooMaa’s departure leaves a spot vacant on the New York Subliners main roster, and without a confirmed substitute leaves New York in an awkward spot leading into the new season. There will most definitely be a replacement, but we’ll have to wait for additional information.

Image Credits: Activision/Gamefuel/NYSL

Call of Duty League is officially back for 2021 and before the full season swings into action, all 12 teams will compete in the Kickoff Classic — a six match exhibition event to celebrate the league’s first anniversary.

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• 12-team online exhibition on January 23 & 24
• Every CDL team in action, three of six matches voted for by fans
• Dallas Empire play New York Subliners, OpTic Chicago vs LA Thieves

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The 2021 CDL regular season starts in February, but Call of Duty fans will get an opportunity to see teams’ updated lineups for the first time this weekend at the Kickoff Classic, where each team will compete in a special show match to celebrate one year of the competition.

The Kickoff Classic runs over two days on January 23 & 24, with three matches each day. Like a large part of the 2020 season, this event will take place online.

CDL Kickoff Classic stream

As always, the Call of Duty League Kickoff Classic will be live broadcasted on their official YouTube channel.

The stream isn’t currently live, but we’ll be sure to embed it once it’s available.

CDL Kickoff Classic Schedule

Saturday, January 23

Match	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT
Dallas Empire vs New York Subliners	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM (Jan. 24)
LA Guerrillas vs Seattle Surge	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM (Jan. 24)
Atlanta FaZe vs Florida Mutineers	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM (Jan. 24)

Sunday, January 24

Match	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT
London Royal Ravens vs Paris Legion	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM (Jan. 25)
Toronto Ultra vs Minnesota ROKKR	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM (Jan. 25)
OpTic Chicago vs LA Thieves	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM (Jan. 25)

CDL Kickoff Classic team lineups

The CDL Kickoff Classic sees a number of new rosters make their competitive debuts for the first time, with all 12 teams forced to drop a player following the decision to revert back to 4v4 after spending two years playing with 5 members of each roster.

For 2020 Call of Duty League Champions Dallas Empire, the switch lead to James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks departing the roster just days after securing his third ring. Empire fans won’t have long to wait to see him back in action though, as his New York Subliners squad was voted by fans to be their Kickoff Classic opponent.

• Read More: Call of Duty 2021: Release date, developer, leaks

Sunday sees the triumphant return of a H3CZ-owned OpTic to Call of Duty, as they face off against the team owned by one of OpTic’s all-time greats, Nadeshot’s LA Thieves. Atlanta FaZe face a tough task against Florida Mutineers, while it’s an all-European affair for the London Royal Ravens and Paris Legion.

Team	Roster
Atlanta FaZe	Simp, aBeZy, Cellium, Arcitys
Dallas Empire	Crimsix, Shotzzy, Huke, iLLeY
Florida Mutineers	Skyz, Havok, Owakening, Slacked
London Royal Ravens	Seany, Alexx, Dylan, Zer0
Los Angeles Guerrillas	SiLLY, Assault, Vivid, Apathy
Los Angeles Thieves	Kenny, SlasheR, TJHaLy, Temp
Minnesota ROKKR	Attach, Accuracy, Priestahh, MajorManiak
New York Subliners	ZooMaa, Clayster, Mack, HyDra
OpTic Chicago	Scump, FormaL, Dashy, Envoy
Paris Legion	Skrapz, Classic, AquA, Fire
Seattle Surge	Octane, Gunless, Prestinni, Loony
Toronto Ultra	Methodz, CleanX, Cammy, Bance

Image Credit: Activision Blizzard

League play is coming to Black Ops Cold War per an announcement from Treyarch. Here are the details.

League play has been a major request from the Call of Duty community and is coming to the game during Season 1. Confirmed via the official Call of Duty Twitter, we should now be seeing League Play in the coming weeks.

The mode is expected to drop before February 23, which is the last day of Season 1. A huge update is coming February 4, bringing a new Zombies map and remastered Multiplayer map, Express. Considering the large update is slated for release then, we could very well see League Play drop with it.

Welcome to #BlackOpsColdWar Season One: Reloaded.

The biggest year in Black Ops continues with new maps, modes, weaponry, and more. pic.twitter.com/YUpBCGLT0h

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) January 14, 2021

What is League Play?

League Play is a competitive playlist with an aggressive skill matching system. Players will compete in game modes with restrictions to weapons, perks, and attachments in line with the official Call of Duty League ruleset.

Game modes are also adjusted to custom rulesets, and maps are restricted to a custom map pool, voted on by the Call of Duty League professional players. This is the ultimate mode to play like the pros.

What to expect

If Black Ops Cold War’s League Play is a traditional Call of Duty League Play, we should be expecting several rank tiers, with a seasonal reset system. Each season, players should have a variety of ranks to progress through by winning games.

• Read More: Black Ops Cold War & Warzone Season One Reloaded: Express, League Play, more

If Black Ops Cold War follows the Black Ops 4 formula, you will progress through skill ranks by obtaining gems from game wins. As you collect gems, your skill rank will increase. Black Ops 4’s league play was heavily debated amongst players due to it having a gem cap each day. Hopefully, Black Ops Cold War will change this system a bit if they choose to use it.

In the best-case scenario, we could also receive exclusive rewards for progressing through the league play ranks. This could be in the form of tiered character skins, weapon camos, or calling cards. This may be wishful thinking, but it is worth noting that Advanced Warfare’s ranked playlist did have custom exo-suits for the skill divisions, so it could very well happen in another Call of Duty game.

For now, we’ll have to wait for official communication from Treyarch for more info. Stay tuned.