Standoff added to CDL competitive map rotation for Stage 4

The Call of Duty League has officially added Standoff to the Stage 4 map pool, with the classic Black Ops 2 map replacing Black Ops Cold War’s Checkmate in the Search and Destroy rotation.

Introduced in 2012’s Black Ops II, Standoff is yet another iconic Treyarch map reintroduced to Black Ops Cold War. It joins Raid and Express as the third BO2 map to enter the CDL’s map rotation.

Standoff was added to Black Ops Cold War in the Season 3 Reloaded patch and, less than a week later, the CDL has announced that the map will join its map pool. As a renowned CoD map and fixture in the competitive circuit, the timing isn’t wildly surprising — with many pro teams likely already comfortable with the map’s structure.

A relatively medium-sized map, Standoff has a number of wide lanes as well as some interesting multi-leveled buildings that provide for a variety of playstyles. A popular S&D map, CDL players were probably happy to implement it almost immediately.

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Standoff replaces Checkmate, a small map whose narrow, central airplane was considered a frenzied, often-frustrating structure for players to deal with. Given Checkmate’s divisiveness, its replacement with Standoff is presumably welcomed with open arms by pros — especially veterans.

This announcement comes just a few days prior to the start of CDL 2021’s Stage 4, as the OpTic Chicago Home Series kicks off on May 27.