The 7 best CoD players not in the Call of Duty League

Joe Craven

With the CDL’s opening campaign well underway and the standings taking shape, we take a look at the world’s best CoD players who are not currently on a CDL team for Modern Warfare. 

The Call of Duty League’s opening season has not been without its controversy. Many pros are arguing that the move online means tournament wins are meaningless, as well as the ongoing debate around the inclusion of Domination as a competitive mode.

With just 12 franchises in the CDL, roster places are incredibly limited. Each franchise has between 6 and 10 players, but some seriously talented pros have missed out. Here, we take a look at the best Call of Duty players who are, at the time of writing, not on any roster for a Call of Duty franchise. This includes non-playing positions.

Nagafen

Nagafen is a veteran CoD pro.

Given the strength of his Black Ops 4 season, it remains something of a mystery why Jared ‘Nagafen’ Harrell is not on a CDL outfit. His Gen.G roster, on paper an average group of CoD players, finished second at both CWL Playoffs 2019, and CWL Anaheim 2019.

While a number of those players have gone on to CDL teams – most notably Envoy at Chicago Huntsmen – Nagafen has not managed to force his way into a roster. He currently represents Triumph, an organization competing in the Call of Duty Challengers season.

Dqvee

Dqvee is known for his charisma and likeable personality.

David ‘Dqvee’ Davies is the first – and only – British player to feature on our list. He is still on Team WaR, the organization he has represented (on and off) since June 2019. This very roster won the $6,000 CDC Paris tournament back in March 2020.

Perhaps best known for his time on Epsilon Esports back in Infinite Warfare, he spearheaded the all British roster that won the 2017 tournaments CWL Birmingham and CWL Sheffield.

John

John during his time with Luminosity.

Johnathan ‘John’ Perez is probably the most talented player on this list. A world champion with Team Envy in Black Ops III, he has accumulated over $500,000 in prize money alone. His most recent tournament wins include Black Ops 4’s CWL Fort Worth, and Infinite Warfare’s CWL Birmingham.

Rumors have swirled about his omission from the CDL, so his return to professional CoD may not be straight forward. Regardless, he is one player on this list almost certain to make his way on to a successful roster when the time comes.

FeLo

FeLo has played for a host of the world’s biggest esports orgs.

While Tyler ‘FeLo’ Johnson has struggled for major tournaments wins in the past few years, he has represented some of the world’s largest esports organizations, including Evil Geniuses, Splyce and eUnited.

Best known as a rushing SMG specialist, FeLo has struggled for a consistent roster place since spending a year with Rise Nation in Black Ops III. He is currently a player for Triumph, alongside the aforementioned Nagafen.

Parasite

Parasite is another CoD veteran.

Chris ‘Parasite’ Duarte is one of the older CoD players on this list, having been around when competitive CoD was finding its footing in esports. He was a world champion way back in 2013, when his Fariko Impact side won the very first CoD Champs.

Since then, he has struggled massively to find consistency, representing 31 teams in just 7 years. In the Modern Warfare season he most recently represented WestR, a makeshift org with a host of NA players, but was dropped from the roster amid accusations of messaging a teammate’s girlfriend.

Fighta

Fighta is the only Australian on our list.

Lincoln ‘Fighta’ Ferguson is the only Australian on our list. A member of Mindfreak for over five consecutive years, he currently represents Renegades. His Mindfreak roster competed in the Open tournaments during Black Ops 4, winning both CWL London and CWL Anaheim.

We’ve seen a few of his compatriots and ex-Mindfreak teammates find their way onto CDL rosters – Denz and Shockz currently play for Paris Legion – but Fighta has not had as much luck.

Xotic

Xotic is the last CoD pro on our list.

We’re rounding off our list with John ‘Xotic’ Bruno. The 21-year-old is probably best known for the year he spent with Evil Geniuses, spanning the whole Black Ops 4 season. He formed part of the EG roster that placed 7-8th at the 2019 World Championships. Prior to that, he represented Lightning Pandas, Cloud9 and GosuCrew.

Despite starting the Modern Warfare season on the aforementioned Triumph roster, he departed in March 2020. He currently plays for Encrypted Gaming, who also compete in the CDC.


That rounds off our list of the 7 best Call of Duty players not currently in the CDL. While all information is accurate at the time of publication, there is every likelihood that some players featured will find their way onto a CDL roster in the future. You can keep up to date with every CDL roster change right here on Dexerto.