The rough start to the CDL Challengers scene continues, as the Call of Duty League announced the cancellation of the series. This was done in order to give amateur players more time to earn valuable Challenger Points.
After the Challengers players requested a delay to the start of their season, over concerns with the competitive state of Vanguard, the CDL had announced that the first Cup was being moved to Dec. 11. This was followed up on Friday by a schedule change to the second Cup, which resulted in the Scouting Series being canceled.
The Scouting Series was introduced last season in Black Ops Cold War. This was a way for professional coaches to see how certain Challengers players performed in a competitive environment. The coaches would draft amateur players to their team and then matches would ensue.
There were several different series to gauge the full scope of how amateurs performed in various situations. Eli “Standy” Bentz, one of the best rookies of the 2021 season, took part in the Scouting Series last season. He was most notably drafted by OpTic Chicago Coach Troy “Sender” Michaels.
The Scouting Series for Challengers is canceled
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) December 3, 2021
Unfortunately, amateurs won’t be given the same opportunity to showcase their skills this season, as players won’t be able to earn Challenger Points by placing well in the Challenger Cups. The Scouting Series wouldn’t earn players any concrete reward but it was a way to earn lesser-known players more exposure within the scene.
In addition to the cancelation of the Scouting Series program, the CDL also announced that a new version of the ruleset would release. Also, the Asia-Pacific region is able to signup for the Challenger Cups, which they’d been unable to do previously.
Over the past couple of weeks, Challenger players have publicly demanded changes from the league. Furthermore, the Kansas City Pioneers, a prominent organization in the amateur scene, disbanded their roster over the “deteriorating Challengers ecosystem.”
The current hope amongst Challenger players is that the release of Vanguard Season 1 will introduce the changes they’ve been requesting. Included in the requests is an official third game mode and bug fixes within Vanguard. Fans can read about the full alterations to the Challengers landscape on Call of Duty League’s website.
