The Atlanta FaZe have increased the prize pool for its Call of Duty Challengers event from $10,000 to $25,000. This event will happen on the same date as their first home game, Feb. 22 – 23. Teams of five players and an optional coach that are interested in participating must purchase a team pass for the Atlanta FaZe Open at a price of $399.
With the increase in competition we thought it was only suiting to increase our Challengers prize pool.
$10,000 –> $25,000#EZAF
Get your team passes here: https://t.co/DdW5mwOy8D pic.twitter.com/hhTJaM2DNM
— Atlanta FaZe (@ATLFaZe) January 31, 2020
Atlanta FaZe’s Call of Duty Challengers
The initial announcement by the Atlanta FaZe had the prize pool at $10,000. However, the Minnesota RØKKR featured a $250,000 prize pool at the launch weekend, even if it was funded by the Call of Duty League itself. After a great turnout and an interested community, an increase in prize earnings seems like a great idea.
In the newly franchised Call of Duty League, each team is required to host a Call of Duty Challengers event along with its home event. This amateur league event provides a pipeline for interested players to advance into the main competitive environment. It features a $1 million prize pool, with both online and offline LAN events. Players will compete for Challengers Points, which will rank them individually and then also determine the seeding for their overall team.
While this new system is in place to substitute the previous Call of Duty World League (CWL) Amateur circuit, the initial reveal was met with backlash. The Points system was later updated to remove the large points bonus given to players on franchised teams. Instead, they will receive 1000 Challengers points for certain weeks, with the points only being used for seeding and not the rankings.
Unlike how the CWL had a promotion system for teams, there is no direct qualification for Challengers players into the main league. Instead, it will work similarly to Overwatch Contenders, where franchised teams will scout for those that showcase great performance in the amateur scene. Make sure to catch all of the action on YouTube, the new platform for Activision Blizzard Esports.
