Call of Duty World League
Do you have the best Call of Duty team in your country? Then be ready to prove it in the Call of Duty World League National Circuit.
Right now, you and your team can sign up for the CWL National Circuit on mlg.com, and have a chance at competing to qualify for future 2018 CWL events.
The CWL National Circuit will take place across eight National Circuits: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, France and Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, Italy, and, Australia and New Zealand. On top of those eight circuits, two more CWL National Circuit programs are planned. We’ve already announced the program for Brazil and we can also confirm today that we have added a pilot program for Mexico.
You can sign up for each National Circuit right now by visiting the links above, and links for Brazil and Mexico will be available beginning on February 25. National Circuit signups for the 8 full Circuits will end on January 22, 2018 at 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern, and the top eight teams ranked by CWL Pro Points who sign up for a National Circuit will qualify for Stage One of their National Circuit.
Here is what you need to know about the eight full National Circuits, as well as the National Circuit pilot programs planned for Brazil and Mexico:
CWL National Circuit Signups and Eligibility
In order to compete in a National Circuit, prospective National Circuit teams must sign up for their desired National Circuit before January 22, and have at least two players on their team that reside in their desired National Circuit.
As an example, here are a few eligible team combination examples for the Spain and Portugal National Circuit:
- Four players from Spain (or Portugal)
- Two players from Spain, two players from Portugal
- One player from Spain, one player from Portugal, two players from the United Kingdom
- Two players from Spain, one player from Andorra, one player from Monaco (all European tournaments will also include several non-National Circuit countries listed in the European National Circuit handbook)
And here are a few ineligible team combination examples for the same National Circuit:
- One player from Spain, three players from the United Kingdom (too few National Circuit players from Spain or Portugal)
- Two players from Spain, two players from Canada (Canada is outside the EU CWL, which the Spain and Portugal circuit feeds into)
- Three players from Portugal, one player from the United States (the United States is outside the EU CWL)
CWL National Circuit Regular Season Schedule and Format
The eight Stage One National Circuits will play their round-robin tournament matches over three Fridays from January 26 to February 9. All subsequent National Circuit stages are scheduled to begin on the dates as seen in the official 2018 CWL calendar:
All National Circuit matches will follow the official CWL format and ruleset, and matches will be played on dedicated servers where CWL rules will be strictly enforced.
Furthermore, any team that plans to participate in both the CWL Birmingham Open and the second CWL National Circuit stage regular season does not have to worry about a CWL scheduling conflict, as there will be a National Circuit competition break on March 30.
CWL National Circuit Playoffs and Relegation
At the end of the National Circuit round-robin stage, all teams will earn a final placement based on their overall win/loss record. Ties will be broken by order of head-to-head match win percentage, head-to-head game win percentage, and finally, overall game win percentage.
The top four teams will play in a single elimination playoff, with the first-round matches being the first place team against the fourth place team, and the second place team against the third place team.
The fifth and sixth placed teams will be invited back to the next stage of their circuit’s National Circuit, and will not participate in the Stage’s post-stage events
The seventh and eighth placed teams will be placed in a relegation tournament, where they will face the top two non-Pro League and non-National Circuit teams that sign up for the relegation tournament in a single-elimination bracket. The top two teams will be determined by the total CWL Pro Points of all teams who sign up for their National Circuit Relegation tournament as of February 12, 2018 at 3am Pacific / 6 am Eastern.
Stage One Playoffs and Relegation tournaments will take place on February 16. All future National Circuit Stage playoffs and relegation tournaments are planned for the following dates:
Stage Two Playoff and Relegation tournaments are planned for April 13. Stage Three Playoff and Relegation tournaments are planned for June 1. And finally, the Stage Four Playoff tournament is planned for July 13.
Note: National Circuit dates and format are subject to change, and this article will be updated to reflect any changes.
CWL National Circuit Prizes
Every player who competes in a CWL National Circuit will earn CWL Pro Points based on their placement at the end of a National Circuit stage, with each member of the first place team earning 3,000 CWL Pro Points.
While CWL Pro Points are great for helping players earn better seeding at CWL events and tournaments, they are not the only prizes that will be given out in the eight CWL National Circuits.
The first place team in each National Circuit stage will earn $1,000, as well as full coverage for a future CWL event. This coverage includes a team pass, which gives a team entry into the event’s open bracket, as well a round-trip travel and hotel accommodations for the event.
The first 2018 CWL National Circuit stage winner will be sent to the CWL Atlanta Open, the second stage winner will be sent to the CWL Seattle Open, and the third stage winner be sent to the CWL Anaheim Open. Finally, the fourth stage winner be sent to the CWL Championship Last Chance Qualifiers.
Brazil and Mexico Pilot Programs
Latin America and South America have both brought incredible competitors and fans to the Call of Duty World League, and in 2018 competitors from Brazil and Mexico will have a chance to travel on a direct path to the 2018 CWL Championship.
While all competitors from Brazil and Mexico have been able to compete at CWL Open events so far, Brazil and Mexico will have their own country-wide CWL online events in 2018. Both Brazil and Mexico will have a single CWL National Circuit stage, which will take place alongside the second stage of all other CWL National Circuits from March 16 through April 13.
The first place team from both the Brazil and Mexico CWL National Circuit will win 3,000 CWL Pro Points per player, $1,000, and an invite to the CWL Last Chance Qualifiers. Furthermore, all residents of Mexico may compete on a United States or Canada National Circuit team that meets all other National Circuit eligibility requirements.
If you have any other questions, such as exact eligibility requirements and further prizing details, you can find the full National Circuit rules for all National Circuits under the North American, European, and Asia-Pacific CWL.
Once again, you can sign up for the eight full CWL National Circuits in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, France and Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, Italy, and Australia and New Zealand from now until January 22 at 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern.
We hope to see you compete and enjoy the 2018 CWL National Circuit when it makes its debut on January 26, 2018!
For more intel about Call of Duty World League, be sure to visit CallofDuty.com/esports and follow @CallofDuty and @CODWorldLeague on Twitter.