CDL Rostermania 2023-2024 | News, Rumors & Every Confirmed Roster

The 2023 season of the CDL is over. Farewell MW2, you gave us the worst map-mode combo in history (Fortress Control), but you did give us some amazing highlights (AbeZy's 1v4 on Hotel). Now we move on toModern Warfare 3, but before then of course we have rostermania.

Rostermania is what we call the transfer season. Teams are selling and buying players, and hence, rosters are changing. In this article we'll keep you up-to-date on rostermania news; what are the new contract rules, which players have become free agents, and what are the rosters going into 2024. We'll keep this page regularly updated, so you can check back in whenever you need to see how your team is shaping up. You'll be able to find a detailed overview of each team beneath, arranged by order of the 2023 regular season standings.

Note: During the off-season we highly recommend some of the following content creators, without whom this article would not have been possible:

• Ben J Nissim - Connected to the "The Backend" of the CDL (coaches, GMs, owners)
• Rab - BBC News for the comp CoD scene
• Crone (of @intelCDL fame) The OG leaker
• Ronnie (of @CDLScrimintel fame) Terrible takes, but has sources in OpTic

How Does Rostermania Work?

The basic premise of rostermania has been the same since the CDL began. When players are signed to an organization they're typically on what we call a "1+1". This means that they are part of the team for a year, and then exactly one week after champs the teams have the choice to extend the contract by another year and keep the player for the following season, or drop them. In this case, we say their contract is under "Team Option". If a team doesn't extend a player's contract by the CDL deadline then exactly 7 days after the deadline those players can begin signing new contracts as "Free Agents".

Here are the key dates to remember this year:

• Teams have to decide which player contracts to extend by June 25 at 11:59pm PT
• Free Agents can sign new contracts from July 2 at 12:00am PT

Based on the 1+1 structure of most contracts (besides a few rare three-year deals) we can work out which players will be free to move to new organizations and which players will have their fate decided by their current organization. Teams can also choose to pick up Challengers players (the league below the CDL), and there's a lot of talent down there, so a few teams will take this option. In those cases the players are almost always free agents.

Coaches, analysts and general managers also move around in rostermania, but their contracts work in a more traditional sense, like other forms of employment.

Rostermania 2023-2024: Free Agents

There are two types of free agents you should be aware of:

• Unrestrictred Free Agents: Players who are "on the market" and available for teams to arrange contracts with.
• Restricted Free Agents: Players who are still under one team's contract and control, although they've lost their position on the starting roster. Effectively these are the benched players.

Right, here are all the Free Agents we know about:

For a more specific team-by-team breakdown, keep reading.

Rostermania 2023-2024: Team Overviews

Atlanta FaZe Rostermania | Final Standings: 1st

Latest News

• July 6: Drazah has made his decision, he will join FaZe as their 4th:

pic.twitter.com/DdpUUff7A1

— Zack (@Drazah) July 5, 2023

• July 1: Both OpTic & FaZe are competing for Drazah.
• June 30: Ben J Nissim shuts down Insight rumor - Drazah is the real target.
• June 28: Atlanta FaZe reportedly tageting Insight to replace Slasher.
• June 26: Slasher dropped, but the core three are sticking (obviously).

2023 Season Overview

FaZe were as consistent as ever and had the best average placement on LAN as well as winning the regular season standings. They continue to struggle on Sundays, but it would seem ludicrous to make massive changes given how great the core 3 players are.

• What Went Well: Search. Even for this team they're SND was phenomenal for the whole year except the finals of Major 5.
• What Went Wrong: Simp had an off-year, the clutch-factor on Sundays wasn't there, and Control in particular needed work at the end.
• Will They Make Changes: Very unlikely.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

OpTic Texas Rostermania | Final Standings: 2nd

Latest News

• July 13: ZooMaa basically confirms Kenny will be the OpTic Flex.
• July 10: Not Sib - Kenny will be OpTic's 4th instead.
• July 7: Sib to most likely be OpTic's 4th.
• July 6: Ronnie suggests Pred has signed:

AU pic.twitter.com/iXOv1AGhlc

— CDL Scrim Intel (@CdlScrimintel) July 5, 2023

• June 26: Huke and Ghosty have been officially dropped.
• June 23: Drazah and Envoy have been "in talks" with OpTic.

2023 Season Overview

OpTic got rid of Rambo and iLLeY after Major 2 and leaned into an incredibly "fast and loose" playstyle. It did somewhat work but it required a huge amount from Ghosty to make sure the right fundmental plays were being made at the the right time. It's hard to know exactly what happened yet (besides just blaming it all on Huke) but they got absolutely bodied at the end of the year and went home T6 at champs.

• What Went Well: Ghosty was a great pick-up, and the slaying talent from Dashy and Shotzzy remains top-tier.
• What Went Wrong: The lack of discipline makes for fun CoD to watch but it doesn't win tournaments - Shotzzy and Huke were too mindless for a slower CoD like MW2.
• Will They Make Changes: Absolutely, they will drop Huke for Pred, and they may even consider dropping Dashy for Octane.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

New York Subliners Rostermania | Final Standings: 3rd

Latest News

• July 8: Priestahh has been dropped. The team will be "Pack-A-Punching" with Sib instead.
  
• July 4: Priestahh is apparently being "hoe'd" (taking a pay cut) to stay on NYSL.
• June 28: NYSL have officially dropped their sub Wardy.
• June 26: KiSMET resigns to NYSL for next season.

2023 Season Overview

NYSL were great at the start of the year then fell off a little (with a top 12 placing at one major), but finished by winning Champs. Plus, HyDra was the regular season MVP.

• What Went Well: Pace, pace, pace. Not just from the SMGs but the ARs too. And because the whole team were able to match him in this regard, HyDra was "enabled" to do his thing.
• What Went Wrong: This is a team that relies on their superstar, and the other three struggle to win matches unless he's frying (although he almost always is, so not a huge problem).
• Will They Make Changes: Not after winning champs.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Toronto Ultra Rostermania | Final Standings: 4th

Latest News

• July 6: Scrap is NOT leaving, despite rumors.
• July 3: Envoy to replace Hicksy:

NEWS: Envoy has made his decision and wants to join @TorontoUltra, according to @JakeHaleee pic.twitter.com/Z5UvjC4uFl

— CDL Intel (@intelCDL) July 3, 2023

• June 26: Hicksy has been dropped.
• June 24: Toronto Ultra are apparently trying to sell CleanX and Insight.

2023 Season Overview

Toronto were strong all year, although they definitely improved when they dropped Standy for Hicksy. Obviously it's going to be a huge disappointment to have lost champs, but they might have played well enough to stick together.

• What Went Well: This is a very disciplined team that were consistent outside of Major 4 qualifiers (but who cares about online results in MW2?). They never let themselves have a bad map or mode, and remained strong across the board. Also, Scrappy is clearly a T5 talent in the league, and they've got him locked down.
• What Went Wrong: Hicksy does so much dirty work for this team, but at a certain they need to ask how much this is worth, because he was a walking .7 in most series. Having Scrappy take on so much of the slaying work is probably unsustainable.
• Will They Make Changes: They will almost certainly keep CleanX if they can, and Scrappy is 100% staying, but we could see Hicksy and possibly Insight being dropped.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Los Angeles Thieves | Final Standings: 5th

Latest News

• July 10: We now know that none of the old roster will remain.
• July 3: Multiple insiders suggest that 2024 will be a "rebuild" year for LAT...
• June 27: Octane retires.
• June 23: Drazah and Envoy have been "in talks" with OpTic.

2023 Season Overview

LAT did win a major but it felt flukey. The problem seemed to be that they never learned how to play the game like they did last year, and without serious slaying power they couldn't brute force themselves to many victories.

• What Went Well: They won a major.
• What Went Wrong: They couldn't keep up with the rest of the pack towards the end of the year, and Kenny in particular struggled.
• Will They Make Changes: All of their players are free agents. They might be able to persuade Octane to stay, and possibly Drazah, but Kenny will be dropped and Envoy will probably be poached.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Minnesota ROKKR Rostermania | Final Standings: 6th

Latest News

• June 26: Rokkr do a complete "Squad Wipe", dropping everyone including the coaches.

2023 Season Overview

Minnesota were great at the start of the year, then they had the worst split in the history of the CDL, but then they had a 3rd place finish at Major 5 and a 6th place finish at Champs. It's a shame they couldn't find a way to get Afro and Fame working together on the subs, but the team were clearly committed to keeping Bance.

• What Went Well: Fame proved himself to be a great piece moving forward and Cammy showed up towards the end of the year. They also had a surprisingly decent LAN average with two 3rds.
• What Went Wrong: The coaches made some awful decisions this year, and their whole roster fiasco really set them back. Fame should never have been on an AR. Also, they were clearly one of the teams with the least firepower in the league.
• Will They Make Changes: 100%. This is a very interesting team because they have access to Afro, Reaal, Fame and Bance - four SMGs, from which only two can be chosen. On the AR front, we think Cammy stays and possibly Attach.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Boston Breach Rostermania | Final Standings: 7th

Latest News

• July 3: Boston reportedly "very active", targeting multiple A-tier talents.
• June 26: Owakening has been dropped, apparently to be replaced by Clayster.

2023 Season Overview

Boston were complete onliners in 2023 and were notorious for using "Sound EQ Cheese". They did get consistently strong online results, but they rarely impressed on LAN.

• What Went Well: The slaying power was undeniable, and the org have locked down some future stars like Snoopy and possibly Kremp.
• What Went Wrong: A lot of team changes without much improvement. This team was clearly crying out for leadership, a better team culture, and just a bit more game IQ.
• Will They Make Changes: They can't have Big Wake and Beans together, so one of them will be dropped, and if they can find a more objective-focused SMG to duo with Snoopy they'll probably go for it.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Seattle Surge Rostermania | Final Standings: 8th

Latest News

• July 4: Rambo Ray apparently in talks to take over as new head coach.
• June 30: Full squad wipe (including the coach).

2023 Season Overview

Seattle Surge stuck together after the 2022 Season because they thought they had the right blend of talent and intelligence on the team. However, Accuracy and Mack were just too poor for Sib and Pred to carry them, and the team ended the year without any major victories.

• What Went Well: They continued to be a great Hardpoint team.
• What Went Wrong: They were particularly bad on LAN, and until Champs the only team they beat in 2023 was LAG. They were also quite poor in SnD, and had to be hard carried by Pred to get any round wins on the board.
• Will They Make Changes: They're losing their two superstars, and the captain will likely retire. This team will probably look completely different next year.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Vegas Legion Rostermania | Final Standings: 9th

Latest News

Vegas will pick up a scrap team in December so don't expect any news from this camp soon.

2023 Season Overview

Given that last year they only won two series the whole season, the Legion has to consider this a good year, even if they missed out on champs.

• What Went Well: Their Search game was dominant in the first half of the season.
• What Went Wrong: TJ Haly and Clay have obvious upsides, but they're also some of the weakest slayers in the league. This made the team's win condition very narrow.
• Will They Make Changes: Standy will likely want to move and TJ Haly might finally lose his spot, but Clay and Temp could easily stick.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Florida Mutineers Rostermania | Final Standings: 10th

Latest News

• June 26: Florida drop everyone except for Vikul, which basically confirms the rumor that they're becoming the Miami Heretics and will field a full Spanish roster.

2023 Season Overview

Florida were terrible at the start of the year and only really turned it up with Vikul and Capsidal on the SMGs, but it was too little too late.

• What Went Well: Beating OpTic.
• What Went Wrong: Trying to make Havok and Vikul work.
• Will They Make Changes: Yes this team is going to be entirely different next year, only Vikul has a chance of staying on.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Los Angeles Guerrillas Rostermania | Final Standings: 11th

Latest News

• June 26: LAG have dropped everyone except Spart and Arcitys, presumably because those two were on three year deals and were too expensive to drop.

2023 Season Overview

LAG were depressingly awful at the start of this year. They wiped their first squad and brought in their academy team... but after a brief honeymoon they were back to being terrible.

• What Went Well: At least they tried to make a change, and JoeDeceives does seem good enough to be in the league next year.
• What Went Wrong: This team failed before the season began thanks to upper management. Their initial squad was obviously never going to work, and we have no idea why they were giving Spart and Arcitys 3-year deals.
• Will They Make Changes: They will probably build around Arcitys, who has been playing a lot of off-season CoD with iLLeY, and JoeDeceives, their hopeful young prospect. For the fourth SMG they will need serious slaying if they're going with iLLeY and Arcitys however.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

London Royal Ravens Rostermania | Final Standings: 12th

Latest News

London are yet to make an official announcement, but they're whole team put out "UFA" Tweets on June 26, so it's safe to assume they're squad-wiping.

2023 Season Overview

Where to start. Sadly, LRR were absolutely dog this year. The roster was just out-talented by everyone in the league. Skrapz is clearly too old and unimpactful, Asim was good at the start but then fell off (classic) and Uli is on the cusp between pro and challenger. Nastie was good, and he will be in the League next year, but that's really the only good thing we can say about London.

• What Went Well: Nastie.
• What Went Wrong: Everything else.
• Will They Make Changes: 100%.

Current Roster

Here is the current roster of players and coaching staff:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was your compete overview of rostermania this year. Here's to hoping we get 12 competitive teams this year, although LRR alone make me doubtful...