Call of Duty Championships and the ever-changing world of eSports

CompLexity won this year's Call of Duty Championship with a dominant display worthy of the $400,000 grand prize.

CompLexity is a gaming organisation that represents multiple eSports teams, providing sponsorship, management, merchandise and, more importantly, an opportunity to compete at the biggest events for the biggest prizes.

Still, while the world of big cash and corporate sponsorship is a million miles away from the majority of Call of Duty clans, entry into eSports is within every gamer's grasp.


It's a message that Activision, Major League Gaming and the pro players on the circuit are keen to communicate. After all, the bigger the sport becomes, the better it is for everybody involved.
Take Callum Swan of Epsilon eSports, for example. 'Swanny', as he's known on the circuit, made his eSports debut in the basement of an HMV store. He now finds himself competing for big cash prizes at international events and is loving every minute of it.

"I started playing competitively six years ago, and since then we've experienced exponential growth," Swan explained.

"The size [and] scale of this year's Call of Duty Championship compared to my first event in the basement of an HMV with a handful of people has increased hugely. I think we'll still see growth over the next few years."

'Swanny' believes that competitors can do their bit to increase the popularity of eSports by acting with more professionalism.

"A lot of it is down to how the players conduct themselves, how they market themselves on social media," 'Swanny' continued.

"A lot of players have begun to realise the importance of [professionalism] and are heavily established on the likes of YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, interacting with fans.

"You see it in a lot of sports, being able to interact with fans, so it's just mainly, as players, portraying the scene in a positive light. Not just themselves as individuals, but eSports as a whole."

Activision senior community manager Tina Palacios also believes that sportsmanship and camaraderie can help the sport attract new fans and players.

"The pro players, just to see them shake hands after matches, I feel like the camaraderie is there more than ever this year. Stuff like that goes a long way, and I think it shows the fans at home that while these players are playing and competing, they're still friends and we want to have fun."

It's a far cry from last year's rage-fuelled Euro Championships (below), which painted the sport in a bad light.