The CDL Kickoff Classic concluded on Sunday with the Toronto Ultra defeating the Seattle Surge and earning $30,000. There weren’t any CDL Points up for grabs, and many players have stated that they used the event to find bugs within Vanguard and test out different aspects of the game. LA Guerrillas professional player Peirce “Gunless” Hillman took things a step further when saying the event didn’t mean anything to him.
Hey guys since nobody on the stage wants to tell you this but this event legit means nothing and is being used to find all the bugs and problems that plague our game so it doesn’t happen during the real season. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk
— Peirce (@Gunless) January 22, 2022
“Hey guys since nobody on the stage wants to tell you this but this event legit means nothing and is being used to find all the bugs and problems that plague our game so it doesn’t happen during the real season,” Gunless said on Twitter. “Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.”
Shortly after Gunless’ tweet, the conflicting responses began to roll in. The most prominent came from Esports Engine founder Adam Apicella. Esports Engine recently partnered with the CDL to produce all events for the 2022 season. Apicella disagreed with Gunless’ decision to tweet out how he felt about the event, saying it was “so counterproductive to building in the right direction.”
When people are quite literally shitting down our throats I think it’s just cause to fire back no? But that’s just me
— Peirce (@Gunless) January 22, 2022
Gunless fired back, explaining that he and the LA Guerrillas players were receiving hate from fans over their performance at the Kickoff. LA was first-rounded by the Florida Mutineers 3-1.
Apicella had a simple fix for this problem, though. “Don’t read Twitter if you don’t want to see criticism but don’t lash out with something that hurts what CDL is trying to build.”
While Gunless received his fair share of criticism, he also stated that he and the Guerrillas tried their hardest to win. The team was able to take away some things from their match that they can use going forward. He still maintains the event was mainly for fun and he wouldn’t be mad if they lost.
It seems Gunless’ thoughts were shared by at least one other player, though. Reigning MVP Chris “Simp” Lehr responded to Gunless’ tweet, saying “Fun Kickoff.”
CDL players and teams can now focus on the regular season, which begins on Feb. 4 with the first set of online matches.
