It has been an exciting year for Call of Duty esports, but like all good things, it must come to an end. It has been a banner season all around, with record-high viewership figures having been secured despite this year’s Call of Duty game being less than desirable. It has been a monumental year for rookie superstars, and a heartbreaking, soul-crushing year for some veterans. It all ends this weekend with COD Champs, and we’re wondering if it’s going to be the best Call of Duty World Championship event on record.

There’s no big secret surrounding the fact that many fans of the franchise have had issues with the Call of Duty League in recent years. However, changes made exclusively for this season, combined with the representation of rookie talent and the Challengers circuit have settled some bad blood across the community. While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is far from being regarded as a top COD title, it has allowed some of the most exciting matches in recent years to be played out.

So, will this year’s COD Champs event be the best we’ve ever seen?

What Happens in Vegas…

For the first time ever, the Call of Duty League Championship is headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s under the bright lights of Sin City that the next grand champion of the Call of Duty scene will be crowned, and following a mixed year, it’s hard to say which team that could realistically be. Even the most dominating squads have proven that they can’t handle every challenge thrown their way, and some of the most cracked teams have still managed to experience immense upsets.

As we’ve already stressed, this has been one hell of a year for Call of Duty esports. It kicked off in historic fashion with Activision pulling the start date forward closer than ever before to the previous season, keeping the gap small so as to not lose the interest of players. That also meant that we returned to a five-Major season, giving players an extra opportunity to secure a massive cash prize.

Since 2023 opened up in earnest, we’ve had some huge events land in our laps. From the heartbreaking retirements of Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni to the introduction of some of the sharpest rookie talent the Call of Duty scene has ever seen, it has been such a busy few months. We’ve seen almighty teams collapse, we’ve heard rumours of complete reorganisations, and we’ve seen some edgy beefs play out in real time in front of our eyes on social media.

And now, the stage is set. It all comes down to COD Champs, and given the way the year has unravelled, this could be the best one yet.

The Numbers Can’t Lie

The Subliners have been a monumental team this season, can that momentum continue?

There are a few key figures we need to draw attention to if we’re going to back that argument up. Firstly, love it or hate it, Modern Warfare II is the fastest-selling Call of Duty game of all time, and one of the most highly populated titles in the history of the franchise. Out of all Call of Duty games, it broke records in a matter of days, and despite ongoing struggles, it has remained extremely strong – and we know that later this year, Modern Warfare III will follow.

In terms of viewership, this year’s Major tournaments have pulled in higher peak numbers than almost every other Call of Duty event on record. Here’s a breakdown of what we mean:

• COD League 2023 – Stage 3 Major: 335,170 (Most hours watched in Call of Duty esports history)
• COD League 2020 – Finals: 331,558
• COD World League 2018 – Championship: 324,086
• COD League 2023 – Stage 2 Major: 301,953
• COD League 2023 – Stage 4 Major: 276,499

It’s important to stress that Major tournaments are period marks that cap off a stage – and this year, they’ve been bringing in more viewers than previous seasons’ Championship stages. That’s owed in part to the number of watch parties that have popped up on Twitch. For instance, Scump retired to kick off a content creation career in earnest, and he hosts a dramatically successful watch party whenever the CDL goes live.

The Combination of Forces

Image Credit: Activision Blizzard

During the Championship weekend at COD Champs 2023, we’ll not only see the CDL’s final matches play out, but we’ll also see Challengers teams highlighted like never before. On the 18th of June, the Grand Final of ‘Challengers Champs’ will take place on the main stage in the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. It’s what we referred to earlier as the showcase of the rookie talent that has made the Call of Duty League something special this year.

And on that note, the Thomas and Mack Center is coincidentally the biggest arena to play host to a Call of Duty Champs event in several years.

Read More: Is COD Challengers Becoming More Exciting Than The CDL?

It’s such a mixed bag of teams going into COD Champs this year, and honestly, they’re all capable of walking away with the trophy. It has never been this close, and there’s so much community backing coming into the event, it’s staggering. Here are the teams taking to the stage this year:

• Atlanta FaZe (won Major 2, top of the table)
• OpTic Texas (2nd in two Major events, first team in history to have back-to-back perfect stages)
• New York Subliners (first team since 2020 to win two Majors in a single season)
• Toronto Ultra (won Major 3, huge rookie presence)
• LA Thieves (won Major 4, reigning champions)
• Minnesota Rokkr (Cinderella story started by breaking a 9-match losing streak)
• Boston Breach (The Ultimate Underdog)
• Seattle Surge (Long overdue a huge victory)

With much more visibility across streaming platforms, higher viewership than ever before, ‘drops’ campaigns ongoing, and every team having a fair chance, this honestly could be the best COD Champs ever. It’s so hard to call a potential winner, but like most of the Call of Duty esports community, we’d love to see OpTic Texas lift the trophy when the dust has settled.

What do you think?

For more COD coverage, check out our latest Call of Duty news.