Call of Duty League 2021 is poised for the return of esports and gaming lifestyle organization 100 Thieves, which will be fielding a roster in the upcoming competition under the team name Los Angeles Thieves. After not participating in Call of Duty League last year, the North American establishment has officially confirmed its rumored return, taking over the OpTiC Gaming Call of Duty League franchise slot.
100 Thieves found its success inCall of Duty, but left the scene in August last year. In a heartfelt video posted to his Twitter, team ownerNadeshotexplained the decision, stating he felt the company was “just not equipped and not prepared to make that jump.” Nadeshot confirming their acquisition of the LA franchise slot for the 2021 season implies the organization is more comfortable making that jump back intoCall of Dutythis year.
RELATED:All Call of Duty: Warzone Bunker Codes and Locations for Black Ops Cold War Teases
TheCall of DutyLeague franchise slot in LA originally belonged to OpTiC Gaming LA via Immortals Gaming Club. The OpTiC brand was then sold back to the original founderHector “H3CZ” Rodriguez. However, it is against the rules for teams to own more than one franchise in theCall of DutyLeague - with H3CZ already being the owner ofCall of DutyLeague team Chicago Huntsmen, rumors surfaced that the LA slot would be sold to 100 Thieves. Now 100 Thieves has confirmed the rumor.
With teams inValorant,Fortnite, andLeague of Legends, the return of 100 Thieves to the Call of Duty League comes looking forward to thelaunch ofCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The confirmed LA Thieves roster for theCall of DutyLeague 2021 is Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat, Kenny “Kuavo” Williams, Thomas “TJHaLy” Haly, and Zack “Drazah” Jordan (substitute).
Nadeshot is an active voice within the FPS shooter space, for example in his criticisms of theCall of Duty Warzonematchmaking system. He is the figurehead of 100 Thieves and found a lot of his own success inCall of Duty, so when talking about not being able to see his organization inCall of DutyLeague 2020, there was an obvious disappointment, both from himself and fans. It’s hard to identify what has changed since then, especially since the terms of the agreement for the slot have not been disclosed, but many will be glad to see their return.
An interesting note is that only last month100 Thieves released itsCS:GOroster, citing the pandemic as the main motivator for stepping out ofCS:GO, alongside the scene’s shift to Europe-based tournaments. WithCall of DutyLeague2021 being heavily focused in North America and being able to shift funds fromCS:GOto focus onCall of Duty, it will be interesting to see how 100 Thieves moves in the coming year.
