The Call of Duty League is one of the biggest franchised leagues in the industry. With 12 teams competing for the title, fans watch eagerly each year to see who will come out on top. Many large Esports organisations have a team competing in this franchised league. For example, 100Thieves compete under “LA Thieves”, OpTic Gaming is “Texas Optic” and FaZe Clan‘s team is called “Atlanta Faze”. Today we are here to talk about London Royal Ravens.
The only team that competes outside the US is the London Royal Ravens. However, that is about to change. A recent tweet from X.com user Jacob Hale shows a trademark that may show a move to the US for the Royal Ravens team.
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Carolina Royal Ravens
The image below shows the possible trademark deal to move the London team over to the USA with a base in Carolina. The trademark was filed on August 28, 2023, meaning we may see some official news release very soon.
We can also see from the image that the trademark is now “LIVE” meaning the name is official. With the release of Modern Warfare 3 right around the corner, now would be a great time for the team to re-establish themselves in the Call of Duty League.
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It’s likely that fans from the UK will continue to support the Royal Ravens team. This is due to their brand identity being attached to the city of London. The move across the pond could give them more support from the American audience allowing for further growth and better facilities for the team.
Roster and Team Changes
As of now, it is unclear whether there will be any roster or team changes within the Royal Ravens organisation. We can only hope that the players do not lose out on this deal and can continue playing under the Royal Ravens banner.
Unfortunately, the team performed poorly this year and only made it to round 2 twice in Major tournaments. Perhaps this move will be a fresh start for the current roster, or worse, a complete overhaul with new players joining the team to pick up this year’s lackluster performance.
Only time will tell, but we’ll keep you posted for more updates in the next few weeks.
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New London Team?
Many fans of the CDL in London and the UK will be disappointed with this news. This move may indicate a USA-only franchised league, similar to the NBA or NFL. However, there may be an opportunity for a new organisation to join the league with a brand new London team.
The community is suggesting a few organisations that could be a good pick for a London-based team. Guild Esports was the first Esports team to be publicly traded in the UK. Although they don’t have an official Call of Duty team right now, this could be a great time to expand on their current rosters.
Another option comes from Quadrant, backed by F1 driver Lando Norris. Although this is a small organisation right now, they are growing rapidly and a move into the CDL would be a huge move for the organisation.
A more likely proposal could come from Fnatic, another UK-based Esports team that is more well-known globally in the industry.
