This past weekend, the World Series of Warzone Global Final took place in London, England. If there’s one wildfire debate that came out of the back of the tournament, it’s whether a Warzone pro player could hang with the esports professionals that occupy the Call of Duty League. This discourse was kicked off by certain Warzone competitors stressing that they would entertain an offer from a CDL team, which sparked aggressive retorts from COD pros both past and present.

It has now erupted into a full-blown debate on Twitter and other social platforms. There are those who claim the Warzone pro player is the better competitor and those who are firm in the belief that it takes more skill to be a Call of Duty League player. Across the wire, both sides are lobbying arguments backed by earnings, viewership, dedication, and the overall profile of both types of players, and it has turned into an electrifying debate.

Could Warzone Players Join The CDL?

Scump has done it all – could any others do it? (Image Credit: Activision)

Let’s put it out there immediately – there are some Warzone pro players who could integrate with the CDL, even if that integration would be a bumpy one. For instance, Biffle – a fantastic and capable competitor who won the World Series of Warzone Trios tournament this weekend. He has been a runner-up in previous years and has proven that he can go toe-to-toe with both Apex Legends and Call of Duty League pro players.

But is he an exception, or is it the case that many other Warzone pro players and streamers could break into the CDL?

For the most part, it’s a very similar platform – but at the same time, it couldn’t be more different. Here are some upfront reasons why a Warzone player might find it tougher to break into the Call of Duty League (assuming they play Warzone and nothing else):

In core Call of Duty, the time-to-kill is much lower, given the absence of ‘plates’
Smaller, tighter maps lend themselves to different styles of play than those found in a battle royale
Team-based game modes might not be best played by Warzone competitors that often fight alone or as a fragmented team
Objective-based modes require tactical knowledge and strategic map knowledge that a Warzone player might not have
There are more limitations to what ‘can be used’ in the Call of Duty League, whereas a battle royale is much less restricted

We’ve seen Call of Duty League players – both past and present – do very well in Warzone. For instance, Seth ‘Scump’ Abner – one of the best Call of Duty players in history – won the SOLO YOLO $100,000 event in 2021.

On the other side of that, we’ve never really seen a Warzone player make it in the Call of Duty League – or even in COD Challengers.

Is It Even A Debate?

Perhaps it’s time for a ‘money-where-their-mouths-are’ type of competition. It’d be interesting to see an exhibition match that pits four Call of Duty League players against four Call of Duty Warzone players. It’s not like the CDL competitors are aching to break into Warzone esports – the debate is the other way around at the moment. So, it’d be a good idea to put that concept to the test and see how the Warzone pros fare against the competitors they’d like to face.

It might be that Warzone players and streamers earn a little more, have a more diverse palette when it comes to tournaments, and are more appreciated by the casual community, but could they successfully face off against the CDL crew? Perhaps we could find out in the near future.

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