Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is going pro.
Earlier today, Activision Blizzard Esports announced details around the Call of Duty League's inaugural season, which will begin in Minneapolis, Minnesota from January 24-26, 2020.
The Minnesota Røkkr - which is owned by the Wilf Family (owners of the Minnesota Vikings) and Gary Vaynerchuk - will host the league's first event.
The event will feature all 12 professional Call of Duty League teams, as they compete over the three day period. The opening weekend of the regular season will feature additional fan and player experiences to celebrate the launch of Activision Blizzard Esports’ highly anticipated new city-based league.
The Call of Duty League follows a home-vs-away format with 5-versus-5 professional match play, with 12 teams in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, London, Los Angeles (2), Minnesota, New York, Paris, Seattle, and Toronto. Throughout the season, each team will host “Home Series” weekends in their market, with multiple pro teams competing at each event.
Launch Weekend will also feature the season’s first Call of Duty Challengers™ Open, where amateur players from around the world can compete as teams in an open bracket tournament format. Beginning in November, Call of Duty Challengers competitors will begin battling via online ladders and tournaments for their share of an overall dedicated prize pool of more than $1 million during the 2020 season. Challengers team passes for Launch Weekend will go on sale in early December.
