FormaL says pro CoD players being offended by trash talk are just “soft”
Call of Duty LeagueOpTic Chicago’s Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper has responded to claims the competitive CoD community is “getting soft”, suggesting that the majority of players are now able to shrug trash talk off.
The change to the CDL, from the old CWL, represented the biggest shift in competitive Call of Duty’s infrastructure since it first began. However, despite the founding of 12 new franchises, there was perhaps not as much turnover in players as was originally planned.
The core veterans – Clayster, Crimsix, Scump, Slasher and more – all made the jump into the franchised league, even if some, like Karma and ZooMaa, have since hung up their controllers.
Some fans have been disappointed by the change to the CDL, suggesting that the new teams mean old rivalries and feuds have been forgotten. FormaL, though, suggests it is down to the presence of veteran players, who have long since got used to playing with and against one another.
Call of Duty LeagueOn a recent episode of the OpTic Podcast, FormaL responded to the topic of trash talk (or the lack of it) in the CDL, with the question also asking whether the League and its pros have “gone soft”.
“Speaking of pros,” FormaL replied, “I feel like we’ve known each other for so f**king long now, no one should get that butt-hurt. Like the video we put out a couple weeks ago… we’ve all been in this sh*t for so long that if you’re getting that hurt, you’re just soft. We’ve all shot sh*t at each other, it’s been so long. Everyone’s talked sh*t to each other at one point or another, and meant it.”
Timestamp: 38:50
“We know we’re gonna play against each other [again],” he said. “Like even if we lose Champs last year, we know we’re gonna play you at Champs next year too. It’s a cycle, we’re just gonna keep playing each other over and over again. So if you’re just getting tight over random comments you’re just soft as a person.”
When referencing the video they made a few weeks back, FormaL is referring to their ranking of CoD pros. The video garnered backlash from certain pros, even being branded as “disrespectful” by retired player RamboRay.
FormaL is essentially saying that the bad blood and trash-talking is still present, pros have just become far better at shrugging it off and leaving it in the heat of the moment. Those that aren’t able to do so are “soft”.
However, FormaL doesn’t consider it to be all that meaningful, suggesting that player relationships outside of matches have reduced the venom behind much of the trash talk. His nonchalance towards it probably goes some way to explain his confusion when ex-pros reacted negatively to comments he made in the tier list video.
The second CDL season kicks off properly with the Atlanta FaZe home series, from February 11-14.