Sources: Two CoD organizations tried to sell CWL Pro League spots
When the Call of Duty Pro League season has been heavily criticized by the competitive community for granting the esports organizations too much power over the players who earned the spot in the first place.
For example, a team of five players who qualified for the Pro League without any monetary contribution (other than the mandatory salary) from their signed organization could be dropped when the window opened, allowing the organization to decide if they wanted to replace the entire team or simply sell the spot.
It was clear before the transfer window opened that there would be a ruthless nature to the 2019 year, with a number of teams dropping players who earned the spot for more high profile substitutes.
As the window looks set to slam shut on March 8 with a bunch of new look lineups (some surprising, some expected), it seems that the 16 organizations who kicked off the CWL Pro League season back in February will remain, with none appearing to have sold. But, did anyone try and get rid of their spot?
Excelerate Gaming have attempted to sell their spot after releasing their entire starting lineup.Sources close to Dexerto have confirmed that they were offered spots in the Pro League by both UYU and Excelerate Gaming, the latter released their entire Pro League starting roster on March 6 amid allegations of blackmailing players and refusing to pay salary. UYU meanwhile only officially have four players on their squad at the time of publication, after dropping Cesar ‘Skyz’ Bueno.
The initial offering was for around $150,000 for each spot, with bids eventually lowered to around $50,000 before negotiations broke down.
It’s unconfirmed why both teams were unable to sell, and their future in the league remains uncertain, especially for Excelerate who currently have one player on thier roster. Some have speculated that with a city based franchise model confirmed for the 2020 CWL Pro League season, buyers have been put off investing in the current season.
The CWL Pro League is currently on a mid-season break ahead of CWL Fort Worth, which kicks off on Friday, March 15. Teams will be back in Pro League action on Monday, March 25, with both UYU and Excelerate scheduled to be in action.