The long-awaited roster move for the Seattle Surge finally occurred on Monday, May 3, when they announced the signing of Jacob “Decemate” Cato. Seattle was one of three teams to not make a roster move during the 2021 season; the other two teams being Atlanta and Chicago. As the Surge are among the worst teams in the Call of Duty League, something needed to change.
Decemate’s signing moves Danny “Loony” Loza to the bench for the second season in a row. He had also been benched by the Toronto Ultra in mid-2020. It’s unclear what Loony’s next move will be, but the Surge will look to improve quickly with Decemate on board.
Decemate joins a winless Seattle Surge team
So far, in Stage 3, Seattle is 0-3, going 0-1 at this past weekend’s Paris Home Series. The team was swept by the New York Subliners and, apparently, that was the last straw for the roster.
In the Surge’s video, announcing Decemate, head coach Joey “Nubzy” DiGiacomo cited poor SMG play as one of the team’s biggest concerns this year.
Sam “Octane” Larew and Pierce “Gunless” Hillman, the team’s two riflers, are performing at a much higher level than the rest of the roster, which consists of SMG players. It appears Loony, who consistently carries a sub-1.0 KD, was thought to be the weak link on the SMG front.
Enter Decemate, the former professional who’s been slaying out heavily in Challengers with his trusty AK74u SMG. Decemate was last seen in the CDL in 2020, where he competed with the LA Guerrillas for the entire year. He was likely passed over at the start of 2021 thanks to the Guerrillas’ poor play in 2020.
However, Decemate has another chance now. The Seattle Surge are certainly a team to keep an eye on for the duration of Stage 3. Perhaps Decemate can breathe new life into a talented roster that, so far, hasn’t been able to put things together.
