‘Underwhelming’ CDL Format Under Fire from Simp and Methodz after Major 1

Hot off the back of arguably the best opening Call of Duty League Major that we’ve ever seen, two legends of the scene have poked holes in the current CDL forma. Calling for some much-needed changes to push the product forward.

Since Season 2 of the CDL, the format has barely been touched. With the ten-team franchised formula being split into a wave of four Majors (give or take one) and the coveted World Championships.

But as Call of Duty esports opens its doors up to more communities and matches viewership records, now would be the perfect time to strike while the irons hot and build on what is on offer.

That’s the ethos from CoD legends Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni and Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr. They’ve asked for some micro and macro changes to the current CDL format.

Methodz calls for Major Finals revamp to reward Winners Bracket

OpTic Texas looked almost unstoppable in Major I. The green wall dropped a perfect opening three fixtures to storm through the bracket and into the Grand Finals. But despite sweeping Gentlemates in the Winner’s Bracket, the French org came in hot with the stage presence and momentum.

Aside from map vetoes, OpTic was scarcely rewarded for qualifying flawlessly, and, in fact, were rather hindered by having a match off and starting off cold. It’s a rule that has been often scrutinized, and now Methodz has called for future events to give more to the top bracket winners.

“A lot of convo about the current format and it has nothing to do with who won. Gentlemates deserved to win because they clutched when it mattered,” he said.

“That doesn’t change the fact that losers bracket is currently a momentum advantage.”

As for a recommendation, his first choice would be a bracket reset, meaning quality and longevity prevails. A second would be a Best of 9 final with a one map handicap for the Winner’s Finals progresser.

Simp, on the other hand, took aim at the whole event

Simp calls for CDL format overhaul with pool-play

Instead of just the final, Simp took to a podcast with Davis ‘Hitch’ Edwards to claim there’s simply just not enough games to play in the CDL era.

“I miss the pool play, a bad team could make the event & have a chance at upsetting you,” he said.

“I miss extra matches having a team catch fire. It’s not possible now, you legit play 1 match a day, instead of 15 you win 4 for loser run.”

Simp claims that even the scheduling of the games over a three day weekend can be a detriment for fans and viewership, with only a handful of games being available that often doesn’t include some of the more ‘favourable’ teams.

“I think a lot of the Fridays were like two matches, which I also think is underwhelming,” he added.

Again, this argument has been brought up before and is an industry-wide issue, but having been baked in an oven where teams could play 20 games a weekend and still have more to give.

So, What’s the Fix?

Well, previous attempts to get the League to change its approach have fallen on deaf ears. But with more Pro-Ams being added to the circuit and a bigger representation in global markets like Europe and the Middle East. there’s more chance than ever for expansion, and ultimately, more games.

There’s a lot of logistical hurdles here, such as the entire franchising system. Although the main bulk of that was collapsed in 2024.

But if enough pros and legends of the game continue to hark on about the system, then there’s more room for change in 2026/27 than ever before.

And, for my five pence, a VALORANT-styled Ascension program would be perfect for the CDL and second-tier system – but that’s for next time