CDL breaks audience records at Major III

After a spectacular Major III, where we saw many surprises and other disappointments, the CDL saw Toronto Ultra lift the champion trophy by defeating OpTic Texas in the Grand Final with a 4-2. In addition to the exciting six matches we enjoyed in the Finals, all Twitch viewership numbers since the Majors began in 2020 were surpassed. There is no doubt that this shows that the community is more engaged than ever in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The match between Toronto Ultra and OpTic Texas that was streamed through the official CDL accounts on Twitch amassed as many as 332,277 viewers at one point in the stream. This is undoubtedly great news for the COD community, as the love for the game is apparently better than ever.

CDL Major III Breaks Viewership Records

According to Esports Charts’ popular statistics site, the CDL Major III 2023 had approximately 5,567,156 viewers during the tournament. This Major has become the most-watched Call of Duty League event since 2020.

As we noted in the Tweet above, the 2020 CDL Grand Final between Dallas Empire, today’s OpTic Texas, and Atlanta FaZe is the best tournament in terms of viewership, only behind the final between Toronto Ultra and OpTic in the 2023 Major III.

However, the same Esports Charts Twitter account claims that 65% of viewership comes from the OpTic Scump, FaZe ZooMaa, and Alexandra Botez Watch Parties.

Change in the CDL may have affected the popularity of the game

After the end of the 2020 CDL, Activision decided to adopt the franchise system, just like it exists in almost all esports leagues today. Despite all the ups and downs the competitive scene has gone through in recent years with the franchise system, in 2023, this seems to have taken a 180° turn.

There is no doubt that the Major III organized by OpTic Texas was a great success. In addition, the local team came close to becoming champions, something that would have put the icing on the cake for this tournament.

Toronto Ultra champion of Major III

Finally, after several days of intense and exciting matches, Toronto Ultra won the Major III championship. Undoubtedly, Ultra was a deserved champion, as the team remained undefeated throughout the tournament. However, OpTic Texas played their hearts out in every match to win the crown at home.

Although OpTic lost in the tournament’s first game to Boston Breach, the team did not give up and did not lose another game until the grand finale. The local team beat all their opponents in the Elimination Bracket, but Toronto Ultra was too much for them in the final match.

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