After weeks of competition in Stage 1 of the 2021 season, the first Call of Duty League Major is underway, and we’ve got all the information you need to catch the $500,000 tournament.

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• CDL Stage 1 Major runs from Wednesday, March 3 to Sunday, March 7.
• $500,000 prize pool, all 12 teams will feature. Seedings based on Stage 1 results.
• Seattle Surge and London Royal Ravens eliminated on day one.

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Call of Duty League 2021’s Stage 1 is drawing to its epic conclusion, with all 12 teams competing in the $500,000 Major tournament. A new addition to the 2021 format, the double-elimination tournament is the first time we’ve seen knockout action this year, with Seattle Surge and London Royal Ravens already eliminated after the first day of competition.

Day Two sees the start of Winner’s Bracket play, with LA Thieves facing their local rivals LA Guerrillas, while Chicago OpTic square off with New York Subliners.

Stream

Just like CDL Home Series events, all the action from this week’s Major will be broadcast on the official Call of Duty League YouTube channel, which is embedded below.

This is also the last chance to earn special Stage 1 rewards by linking your Activision and YouTube accounts.

Schedule

Day 2: Thursday, March 4

Round	Teams	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT (Mar. 4)
Winners R1	LA Thieves vs LA Guerrillas	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM
Winners R1	OpTic Chicago vs New York Subliners	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM
Losers R2	Paris Legion vs TBD	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM
Losers R2	Minnesota ROKKR vs TBD	4:30 PM	7:30 PM	12:30 AM	11:30 AM

Day 3: Friday, March 5

Round	Teams	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT (Mar. 4)
Winners R2	Dallas Empire vs TBD	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM
Winners R2	Atlanta FaZe vs TBD	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM
Losers R3	TBD vs TBD	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM
Losers R3	TBD vs TBD	4:30 PM	7:30 PM	12:30 AM	11:30 AM

Day 4: Saturday, March 6

Round	Teams	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT (Mar. 4)
Losers R4	TBD vs TBD	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM
Losers R4	TBD vs TBD	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM
Losers R5	TBD vs TBD	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM

Day 5: Sunday, March 7

Round	Teams	PST	EST	GMT	AEDT (Mar. 4)
Winners Final	TBD vs TBD	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM
Losers Final	TBD vs TBD	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	9:30 PM	8:30 AM
Grand Final	TBD vs TBD	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	11:00 PM	10:00 AM

Results

Day 1: Wednesday, March 3

Round	Teams	Hardpoint	S&D	Control	Hardpoint	S&D
Losers R1	London Royal Ravens 2-3 Toronto Ultra	TOR 250-142 (Garrison)	LRR 6-3 (Garrison)	TOR 3-0 (Raid)	LRR (250-202) (Moscow)	TOR 6-4 (Moscow)
Losers R1	Florida Mutineers 3-1 Seattle Surge	FLA 250-235 (Crossroads)	SEA 6-5 (Checkmate)	FLA 3-0 (Garrison)	FLA 250-157 (Raid)	N/A

The Stage 1 Major ended at the first hurdle for the winless London Royal Ravens, who put up a valiant effort in a tightly-contested affair with Toronto Ultra. Dealt another major blow after the loss of Alexx, who returned to the UK to deal with a family emergency, the Ravens pushed the Ultra all the way to Game 5, but fell 6-4 to Ultra on Moscow.

Seattle Surge joined the Ravens in the following match, with Owakening putting on a sublime showing for the Florida Mutineers to give them a series lead in the Control, before a dominant Raid Hardpoint sent them through to the Losers Round 2.

CDL Stage 1 Major brackets

The Call of Duty League used the Stage 1 standings to determine where teams would start in the Major, with Dallas Empire and Atlanta FaZe receiving a bye in the Winner’s Bracket after winning their respective groups.

The bottom six CDL Stage 1 start in the Loser’s Bracket, with Paris Legion and Minnesota ROKKR receiving a pass through to Loser’s Round 2.

Format & Info

• Location: Online
• Prize Pool: $500,000
• Format: Double-elimination bracket
• Seeding: Determined by Stage 1 standings
• Maps & Modes:
  • Hardpoint: Checkmate, Crossroads, Garrison, Moscow, Raid
  • Search & Destroy: Checkmate, Garrison, Miami, Moscow, Raid
  • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid
• Match format: Best-of-five (HP, S&D, Control, HP, S&D)

Prize Pool and CDL Points Breakdown

Placement	Team	Prize ($USD)	CDL Points
1		$200,000	75
2		$120,000	60
3		$80,000	50
4		$40,000	40
5-6		$20,000	30
5-6		$20,000	30
7-8		$10,000	20
7-8		$10,000	20
9-10		$0	10
9-10		$0	10
11-12	Seattle Surge	$0	0
11-12	London Royal Ravens	$0	0

CDL Stage 1 rosters

All 12 teams will be taking part in the CDL Stage 1 Major, as teams jockey for position in hopes of becoming the Stage 1 Winners, and taking the top prize of $200,000.

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

Activision is enabling fans to support their favorite Call of Duty pro players and content creators with the ‘Support a Creator’ program, so here’s everyone you can support through the Store.

With some of the biggest names in gaming playing and promoting Call of Duty, Activision has launched the ‘Support a Creator’ program. Here, CDL pro players, streamers, and YouTubers receive a cut of the profits made from purchases in the Call of Duty Store.

Across Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War, these creators and pros will receive $5 for every 10,000 CoD Points spent with their code inputted.

How to use CoD Support a Creator code

To support your favorite Call of Duty content creator or pro, you need to enter their code in the Store.

After purchasing CoD Points, make sure you have inputted one of the creator codes below before purchasing any bundles from the Store.

To select a creator to support:

1. Launch Modern Warfare, Warzone, or Black Ops Cold War
2. Navigate to the Store tab
3. Select “Support a Creator”
4. Input one of the creator codes below
5. Purchase a Bundle or Battle Pass with your CoD Points
6. Your selected creator or pro will now receive a portion of the profits from your purchase

These codes will expire after two weeks, so make sure to double-check you have a code inputted before making a purchase.

• Read more: How to get Ambassador Adler skin in Warzone & Cold War Season 2

And as a reminder, enter these creator codes in all caps.

Twitch and YouTuber creator codes

The Support a Creator program was released in August 2020, and as it continues to develop, more and more creators are receiving codes.

Here are the creator codes for some of the biggest and most recognizable names in Call of Duty:

• FaZe Swagg: “SWAGG”
• TimTheTatman: “TIMTHETATMAN”
• TeeP: “TEEP”
• Spratt: “SPRATT”
• Symfuhny: “SYM”
• NuFo: “NUFO”
• NoisyButters: “BUTTERS”
• ShawnJGaming: “SHAWNJ”
• Vikkstar123: “VIKK”
• Michi: “MICHI”
• GoldGloveTV: “GOLDGLOVE”
• NICKMERCS: “MFAM”
• Drfit0r: “DRIFT0R”
• JackFrags: “JACKFRAGS”
• MarleyThirteen: “MARLEY”
• CouRage: “COURAGE”
• Chaos: “CHAOS”
• HusKerrs: “HUSKERRS”
• PrestigeIsKey: “PRESTIGE”
• KRNG Espresso: “ESPRESSO”
• Tejbz: “TEJBZ”

Call of Duty League players creator codes

A selection of “all-star” CDL pros have received creator codes. With the program continuing to develop, expect more players to be added as the 2021 Season develops.

• Read more: How to watch $500k Call of Duty League Stage 1 Major

Here is a list of the 2020 and 2021 Season’s CDL pro players creator codes:

• aBeZy: “ABEZY”
• Apathy: “APATHY”
• Arcitys: “ARCITYS”
• Attach: “ATTACH”
• Blazt: “BLAZT”
• Crimsix: “CRIM”
• Cammy: “CAMMY”
• Cellium: “CELLIUM”
• Clayser: “CLAY”
• CleanX: “CLEANX”
• Dashy: “DASHY”
• Denz: “DENZ”
• Enable: “ENABLE”
• Envoy: “ENVOY”
• FormaL: “FORMAL”
• GodRX: “GODRX”
• Huke: “HUKE”
• iLLeY: “ILLEY”
• KiSMET: “KISMET”
• Kuavo: “KUAVO”
• Mack: “MACK”
• Methodz: “METHODZ”
• Octane: “OCTANE”
• Scump: “SCUMP”
• Seany: “SEANY”
• Shotzzy: “SHOTZZY”
• SiLLY: “SILLY”
• Simp: “SIMP”
• Skrapz: “SKRAPZ”
• Skyz: “SKYZ”
• SlasheR: “SLASHER”
• Vivid: “VIVID”
• Owakening: “WAKE”
• Wuskin: “WUSKIN”
• ZooMaa: “ZOOMAA”

If you have a creator code and aren’t included here, please Tweet us @CharlieINTEL, and we’ll be delighted to add you to this list.

Image Credit: Activision / Zippo / Vikkstar / NICKMERCS

Members of OpTic Gaming including Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper have explained how Black Ops Cold War’s League Play system could be improved.

Fans have been divided over Black Ops Cold War’s League Play system since its launch on February 8. On one hand, it offers a competitive 4v4 experience with a much more balanced weapon and equipment pool. On the other, many find the ranking system confusing and unrewarding.

During an OpTic Gaming round table discussion alongside OpTic Hitch and H3CZ, CDL pro players Scump and FormaL discussed how Treyarch could fix Black Ops Cold War’s League Play.

Offer League Play rewards as incentives to play

Hitch and FormaL discussed how there’s no incentive for a casual player to play League Play. Currently, League Play offers calling cards and emblems to players who consistently finish at the top of their ladders, but Hitch, FormaL, and Scump don’t feel this is enough.

• Read more: How to watch CDL Super Week stream

Scump said that Cold War’s League Play won’t “bring any outsiders in,” and FormaL and Hitch continued this train of thought. Hitch brought up that there should be gear and “cool ranks” to grind for, and FormaL feels that even offering Double XP weekends in League Play would bring in more players.

FormaL elaborated on offering ranks, making reference to Valorant and how players are grinding to reach the top tier of its ranked system, but there’s nothing to grind for in Cold War. If the game launched with a “dope-a**” ranking system for players to grind, “that’s how you bring in new people,” explained FormaL.

A standardized League Play Elo system

Although admitting they don’t know the inner workings of Activision and its companies, the OpTic boys also felt that Call of Duty’s League Play would benefit from a standardized Elo system across all titles. Scump and FormaL brought up Halo and CoD: WWII as examples of a strong Elo system and Black Ops 4 and Cold War felt like a step back.

• Read more: The best aim assist settings in Black Ops Cold War

FormaL admits that developing a brand new system in a pandemic may be tough, but he doesn’t see why they can’t ask Sledgehammer Games for the code to their popular system so it can be added to Cold War. H3CZ chimed in, saying he doesn’t know why “whoever has the best League Play doesn’t say: ‘yo, use this algorithm or use this structure’.”

Treyarch’s David Vonderhaar has responded to players’ frustration with League Play, so it’s possible that the system will be revamped in the future.

Image Credit: Treyarch / Zippo