The CDL Kickoff Classic took place over the weekend, giving players and fans the chance to see Call of Duty: Vanguard on LAN for the first time. Although a successful event, players have gone on record to say that they used the event to find bugs and try out different strategies for future events. After the Kickoff concluded, LA Thieves player Sam “Octane” Larew weighed in on one of the biggest controversies that arose from a strategy of using both smoke grenades and sniper rifles.
Previously, sniper rifles were on the Gentleman’s Agreement (GA) list, which means players agreed to not use them. However, after public backlash, this decision was reversed. Now, CDL pros are allowed to use smokes and snipers together. While many players and fans think the two items go hand-in-hand, LA Thieves’ Octane doesn’t seem to think that way.
Octane weighs in on smokes and sniper discussion
The argument in the community is centered around how smokes should be used. Many feel that they should only be used for blocking off lanes so enemies can’t see where players go on the map. However, the main fear with smokes being in the game is that other players will use them as a “one-way.”
A one-way smoke only gives the player who threw it the ability to see inside of the smoke itself. LA Thieves Zack “Drazah” Jordan used a smoke grenade this way over the weekend at the CDL Kickoff Classic.
Call him the iceman 🥶️ @Drazah_ pic.twitter.com/4HXTT7v1co
— LA Thieves (@LAThieves) January 24, 2022
One-way smokes are thought to be a direct counter to sniper rifles. Snipers can’t see through a smoke grenade, thus rendering them useless. However, LA Thieves’ Octane believes that smoke grenades are an entirely other problem, as none were used to counter sniper rifles at the CDL Kickoff Classic.
“Smokes and snipers do not correlate at all,” Octane explained on Twitter. “The amount of times smokes are used to ‘counter’ a sniper and how often they’re used otherwise aren’t even close.”
Many players in the CDL wanted smoke grenades to remain off the GA list so that they could counter snipers and be used to block off lanes. But Octane, one of the best snipers over the weekend, believes that smokes and snipers shouldn’t be correlated whatsoever. This could lead to an entirely new discussion surrounding smoke grenades.
It’ll be interesting to see how the pros decide to move forward with smokes and snipers. Fans will see the CDL back in action on Feb. 4 when the first online matches begin.
