7 players to watch during CDL Florida

As Florida Mutineers host their first Call of Duty League event, we look at the seven hottest players heading into the mid-way point of the season.

CDL Florida will mark the exact midpoint of the season, where we welcome the Mutineers, RØKKR, Legion and Ultra back into the fold for the third online event of the inaugural season.

With the reigning champs from CDL Chicago out of action, Florida will be looking to make it back-to-back event wins and defend their home series. With that said, who’ll be looking to make an impact this weekend and who should you keep a keen eye on?

Maurice ‘Fero’ Henriquez (Florida Mutineers)

Undoubtedly Florida’s star man during CDL Dallas, Fero proved to be an absolute menace on the server for enemy teams. Alongside racking up the most kills in any CDL event this season, Fero proved to be Huntsmen’s kryptonite — showing that he could school the very best in the game.

• Read more: Gunless slams Huntsmen teammates after Chicago benches CDL star

After stepping into the shoes of Preston ‘Prestinni’ Sanderson’s, the 21-year-old has delivered. But with all eyes looking towards Henriquez, will the youngster be able to hold his own under pressure and deliver yet another outstanding online performance?

Donovan ‘Temp’ Laroda (New York Subliners)

Despite having a rocky start to the season, the Subliners finally look to have found their groove with the addition of Makenzie ‘Mack’ Kelley to their starting roster. But the credit is largely due to both Dillon ‘Attach’ Price and Temp putting in the work when it matters the most.

• Read more: OpTic Gaming announce roster changes for Florida Home Series

During their five-map thriller against Chicago Huntsmen, Laroda was a nuisance throughout the series — leading his team to a monumental victory over one of the league’s favorites. Despite not making it out of groups, Temp and co. built a solid foundation to work from leading up to CDL Florida — but will they be able to make it past Ultra, RØKKR and Mutineers?

Alex ‘Alexx’ Carpenter (Minnesota RØKKR)

While much of the spotlight has been on both Adam ‘Assault’ Garcia and Adam ‘GodRx’ Brown for the most part of RØKKR’s successes, Alexx has been a driving force in their season so far.

• Read more: The 7 best CoD players not in the Call of Duty League

As Minnesota’s main SMG, Alexx has been putting on a slaying clinic around the objective, making it easier for the likes of Assault and GodRx to rack up time in the hill.

As the second-highest fragging SMG in the league to-date – second only to Empire’s Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro – keep an eye on how Alexx gets up close and personal with his opposite number, making it near impossible to get near the Hardpoint.

Martin ‘Chino’ Chino (OpTic Gaming Los Angeles)

OpTic Gaming’s latest recruit, Chino, replaces two-time world champ, Jordan ‘JKap’ Kaplan in the starting lineup for OGLA. After a turbulent start to the season, OpTic have shuffled around their talent in a bid to get back on track. And the squad have turned to Chino to find the missing piece in the puzzle.

• Read more: TJHaLy and Clayster reveal new details about major CDL Playoff changes

Chino will likely be running an SMG alongside former duo, Kenny ‘Kuavo’ Williams, as OpTic also look to settle on either Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell or Austin ‘SlasheR’ Liddicoat as the team’s Main AR. After missing out on half of the season’s action already, will Chino be able to keep up with the pace and be the answer to OpTic’s season woes?

Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr (Atlanta FaZe)

Standing in OpTic’s way in Group B is none other than Atlanta FaZe. After proving to be no match for Empire in the CDL Chicago Grand Final, Simp and co. will be out for blood during CDL Florida.

• Read more: Clayster responds to Dallas Empire “onliner” criticism after CDL Chicago

As far as star quality goes, FaZe has the most star-studded lineup on the paper. But despite having all the talent in the world, they’ve struggled to find a consistent groove.

Simp remains one of the most dominant players in the game. Proving that he’s not just a one-trick pony, Lehr has been FaZe’s best performer in both S&D and respawn game modes. So can the Tiny Terror lead his team back to winning ways during Florida’s home series event?

Matthew ‘Skrapz’ Marshall (London Royal Ravens)

While all the focus has been on the other half of the Marshall twins (Bradley ‘wuskin’ Marshall) for the majority of the season, Skrapz’ performance has flown under the radar for the most part. Statistically speaking, Skrapz is carrying Royal Ravens’ S&D. As the only player to break the 100-kill barrier (115) with a 1.37 K/D, the Brit has made a name for himself as London’s resident S&D expert.

• Read more: Chicago Huntsmen’s Best Modern Warfare Moments

To top things off, Skrapz’ respawn improved significantly during CDL Chicago, as he was the only player to post respectable numbers before their early exit. Skrapz will be looking to lead the charge to get the British squad back to winning ways during Florida’s home series.

Denholm ‘Denz’ Taylor (Paris Legion)

One player who’ll have something to say about that is the Legion’s Denz. Representing the only other European outfit in the CDL, Denz has been the only silver-lining so far this season.

• Read more: Call of Duty League Power Rankings: FaZe and Huntsmen Drop after CDL Chicago

With a positive kill swing of +161 alongside the highest hill time for his squad, Taylor is instrumental in his team’s respawn successes. As Legion’s frontman, Denz will need to hold his own throughout the weekend if Legion wants to make it out of groups and earn their second playoff spot of the season.

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After this event, teams will be on the home straight and will have one eye on the season-closer at the backend of the season. But who will put themselves in good stead?

Keep an eye on these seven players, as they’ll all be looking to get one over on their competition and bag those all important CDL Points. Stay tuned into our CDL coverage to ensure that you don’t miss a minute of what is set to be a jam-packed weekend of Call of Duty action.