Huke makes LA Thieves an instant CDL championship contender

In possibly the biggest transfer in Call of Duty history, LA Thieves have picked up Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland from Dallas Empire and benched Thomas ‘TJHaly’ Haly.

While fans have their own opinions on benching TJHaly, the fact remains that Huke is really a one-of-a-kind talent, as 100 Thieves CEO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag detailed when talking about the roster move.

With LA Thieves recently on an uptick, spearheaded by Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Williams’ switch to an AR role, it definitely seemed absurd to some fans that they’d want to make a change at all, but it looks like it could work out very well.

His talent is undeniable, and his stats from this season — especially Stage 1 — speak for themselves.

During Reverse Sweep Round 11, Andrew ‘Enigma’ Campion looks at what exactly Huke is bringing to this LA Thieves roster, with him possibly excelling where TJHaly didn’t quite make the cut.

• Read More: Call of Duty League 2021 Power Rankings | Reverse Sweep

Throughout Stage 1, Huke was often considered the best in the game, alongside the likes of Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr and Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris. He recorded a 1.14 and 1.12 KD in Hardpoint and Control, respectively, while his Search was at a quality 1.05.

Across the entire season, his Hardpoint has maintained its impressive stats (1.11 KD overall), while his S&D and Control have fallen off — 0.99 and 0.98 respectively.

Hardpoint, though, is where LA Thieves’ team KD struggles the most, at 0.97 throughout the season. This bump could be monumental for them, especially with Huke being a more creative, roaming player than TJ, with far more explosive potential.

While Huke saw a bit of a downward trajectory throughout Stage 2 and the start of Stage 3, his S1 performances show exactly what is possible for the young star.

• Read more: LA Thieves are CDL’s biggest threat

He’s a world champion for a reason, and his record speaks for itself. Now, for Huke, the biggest battle will be finding that form again and making LA Thieves a genuine CDL Championship contender.