The CDL is back after a long holiday break. Matches resume on Friday, with many exciting games before we head to Boston for Major 1.
With the return of the qualifiers, we have updated our rankings for the Rookie of the Year race! The seven rookies have been ranked based off their performances from the first two weeks of matches. These rankings are bound to change as players get more experience & comfortable with the game, but this piece serves to give good insight on how the season has gone so far!
Storylines to watch
Two top rookies will face off this weekend when the LA Guerrillas take on the Boston Breach. After a slow start, the Guerrillas had an electric 3-0 victory against the LA Thieves. Estreal played terrific, finishing 27-16 (1.69 KD) in the Control with a lobby high 4483 damage. He’ll face fellow rookie Snoopy, who currently has a 1.26 KD in Search & Destroy with 0.88 kills per round and a 63.6% opening duel win percentage. This rookie showdown will be one of the best matches this weekend.
The Rookie Ladder
1) Isaiah "Gwinn" Gwinn - Carolina Royal Ravens
Team Record: 1-3 Series Record, 3-11 Map Record, 10 CDL Points
Next Match: Sunday, January 14th vs LA Minnesota Rokkr at 4:30 pm EST
Leading the Rookie Ladder is Gwinn of the Royal Ravens. After securing a substitute spot with the Seattle Surge last season, Gwinn has made a big splash during Modern Warfare 3. He is currently the only Carolina player over a 0.88 overall KD, holding a 1.09 overall KD & 1.12 adjusted KD. He shines in Control, leading the team with a 1.38 KD in the mode, with the next highest being Clayster with a 0.81. Gwinn also leads the team in kills (21.3) and damage (3895.9) per 10 minutes. His best individual performances were against Las Vegas, going 26-12 (2.17 KD) with 4212 in the Control & 20-15 (1.33) with 3399 damage in the Hardpoint.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.09
Slayer Rating: 81.0
aKD: 1.12
TES: 59.5%
Hardpoint
KD: 0.92
Kills per 10 minutes: 20.8
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 39.7
Damage per 10 minutes: 3799.6
SND
KD: 1.11
Kills per round: 0.83
ADR: 172.0
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 30.0%
Control
KD: 1.38
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.3
Caps per ATK Round: 1.4
Damage per 10 minutes: 3895.9
2) Eric "Snoopy" Pérez - Boston Breach
Team Record: 1-3 Series Record, 6-9 Map Record, 10 CDL Points
Next Match: Saturday, January 13th vs LA Guerrillas at 4:30 pm EST
After joining the Breach for Champs last season, Snoopy gave fans a glimpse of his potential. He started MW3 with the same high level of play in SND and has been improving greatly in respawns. For the year, Snoopy has a 1.26 KD in SND with 0.88 kills per round, 162.9 ADR, and winning 63.6% of his opening duels. His impact has been exceptional in SnD. However, Snoopy has improved the most in Control, as he leads the team in kills per 10 mins (19.6), KD (1.05), ticks captured per attacking round (1.6), and damage per 10 mins (3787.3). Snoopy will be a favorite for Rookie of the Year during the entire course of the season.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.06
Slayer Rating: 83.2
aKD: 1.11
TES: 58.7%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.01
Kills per 10 minutes: 22.1
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 54.7
Damage per 10 minutes: 3973.2
SND
KD: 1.26
Kills per round: 0.88
ADR: 162.9
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 63.6%
Control
KD: 1.05
Kills per 10 minutes: 19.6
Caps per ATK Round: 1.6
Damage per 10 minutes: 3787.3
3) Jordan "abuzah" François - Seattle Surge
Team Record: 2-2 Series Record, 8-8 Map Record, 20 CDL Points
Next Match: Friday, January 12th vs Toronto Ultra at 4:30 pm EST
The best Challenger player of the Modern Warfare 2 season, abuzah wowed fans with the AR during the entire season. Seattle jumped on the opportunity to sign the young star, and abuzah has had a smooth transition to the SMG role. The Belgian has played well in Hardpoint, but his strength is Search & Destroy. In the game mode, abuzah has team-highs in KD (1.30), kills per round (0.81), and a non-traded kill percentage (76.7%). His best individual performance came against Boston, where he went 11-7 (1.57 KD) with 1861 damage to help Seattle win. With Seattle looking like a dark horse team, expect abuzah to continue climbing the ladder.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 0.99
Slayer Rating: 74.1
aKD: 1.03
TES: 56.8%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.03
Kills per 10 minutes: 20.5
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 77.5
Damage per 10 minutes: 3794.4
SND
KD: 1.30
Kills per round: 0.81
ADR: 149.4
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 53.8%
Control
KD: 0.84
Kills per 10 minutes: 15.3
Caps per ATK Round: 1.4
Damage per 10 minutes: 2898.1
4) Justice "Estreal" McMillan - LA Guerrillas
Team Record: 1-2 Series Record, 6-6 Map Record, 10 CDL Points
Next Match: Friday, January 12th vs Atlanta FaZe at 3:00 pm EST
The LA Guerrillas started the season slow, but picked things up before the holiday break. The team fell against the Toronto Ultra and New York Subliners in week one but shocked the LA Thieves by winning the Battle of LA in 3-0 fashion. Estreal was instrumental in the victory, finishing the series with a 1.05 overall KD. The key player in the Control, he went 27-16 (1.69 KD) with a lobby-high 4483 damage and a 10.00 KD on the attacking side. On the season, Control has been his most consistent mode. Estreal currently has a 1.16 KD while averaging 22.0 kills and 4076.9 damage per 10 minutes. He also holds the 4th highest tick captures per attacking side in the CDL, capturing 3.0 ticks per round. If he can improve in SND, he’ll continue climbing the rankings for the remainder of the season!
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 0.99
Slayer Rating: 76.8
aKD: 0.92
TES: 57.4%
Hardpoint
KD: 0.98
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.9
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 44.8
Damage per 10 minutes: 3937.2
SND
KD: 0.68
Kills per round: 0.50
ADR: 99.9
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 35.7%
Control
KD: 1.16
Kills per 10 minutes: 22.0
Caps per ATK Round: 3.0
Damage per 10 minutes: 4076.9
5) Thomas "Lynz" Gregorio - Minnesota RØKKR
Team Record: 0-3 Series Record, 4-9 Map Record, 0 CDL Points
Next Match: Friday, January 12th vs New York Subliners at 6:00 pm EST
Lynz was undoubtedly the top SMG coming out of European Challengers in 2023, getting paired with multiple veterans on the Minnesota RØKKR. He’s shown plenty of potential in both respawn modes, most notably against Las Vegas when he went 28-24 (1.17 KD) with 5021 damage in the Control. His best individual mode has arguably been Hardpoint. He’s been consistent, sitting at a 0.97 KD while exerting a lot of pressure on the map. He holds a team-high 4102.5 damage per 10 minutes and 21.5 kills per 10 minutes. Lynz has been holding these individual numbers consistently while his team has struggled as a whole, having a 0.90 team KD in Hardpoint and 0.91 team KD in Control. If the RØKKR improves coming out of the holiday break, we should see the best of Lynz very soon.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 0.98
Slayer Rating: 74.3
aKD: 0.95
TES: 57.2%
Hardpoint
KD: 0.97
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.5
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 29.4
Damage per 10 minutes: 4102.5
SND
KD: 0.85
Kills per round: 0.64
ADR: 161.2
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 30.0%
Control
KD: 1.03
Kills per 10 minutes: 17.2
Caps per ATK Round: 1.5
Damage per 10 minutes: 3091.6
6) José "ReeaL" Manuel Fernández - Carolina Royal Ravens
Team Record: 1-3 Series Record, 3-11 Map Record, 10 CDL Points
Next Match: Sunday, January 14th vs Minnesota Rokkr at 4:30 pm EST
After two years of being a top prospect in the Challengers circuit, the Spaniard finally got his shot with the Carolina Royal Ravens. He shines in Hardpoint, where he holds a team-high 1.09 KD. He’s the only member of the Royal Ravens with a positive KD while getting 21.6 kills and 86.7 seconds of hill time per 10 minutes. Unfortunately, this form hasn’t translated into the other game modes. ReeaL has a 0.59 KD in SnD while netting just 0.49 kills per round & winning just 31.8% of his opening duels. In Control, he holds team lows in KD (0.72), Kills per 10 minutes (14.7), and damage per 10 minutes (2699.7). Notably, he has been playing very objectively focused, so if gets more comfortable in the other game modes, his overall form should improve going into this weekend.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 0.86
Slayer Rating: 68.6
aKD: 0.76
TES: 52.8%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.09
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.6
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 86.7
Damage per 10 minutes: 3549.1
SND
KD: 0.59
Kills per round: 0.49
ADR: 108.4
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 31.8%
Control
KD: 0.72
Kills per 10 minutes: 14.7
Caps per ATK Round: 1.4
Damage per 10 minutes: 2699.7
7) Evan "Purj" Perez - Las Vegas Legion
Team Record: 1-3 Series Record, 6-11 Map Record, 10 CDL Points
Next Match: Saturday, January 13th vs OpTic Texas at 7:30 pm EST
The Legion rookie has had a rocky start to the Modern Warfare 3 season, currently holding the League-low 0.79 overall KD. It hasn’t been all doom & gloom for Purj, as his Search & Destroy form has been a bright spot for Las Vegas. He holds a 1.09 KD in the game mode with a team-high 179.4 ADR and 63.2% opening duel win percentage. His struggles come from both respawn modes. Purj has a 0.75 KD in Hardpoint, averaging just 16.0 kills and 3324.1 damage per 10 minutes. In Control, he has a 0.74 KD while averaging 13.8 kills and 3320.5 damage per 10 minutes. While these numbers are concerning, it is too early to make full judgments. Given more time, the remaining Major 1 cycle should be a good gauge of where he can grow.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 0.79
Slayer Rating: 60.5
aKD: 0.85
TES: 54.0%
Hardpoint
KD: 0.75
Kills per 10 minutes: 16.0
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 73.6
Damage per 10 minutes: 3324.1
SND
KD: 1.09
Kills per round: 0.67
ADR: 179.4
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 63.2%
Control
KD: 0.74
Kills per 10 minutes: 13.8
Caps per ATK Round: 2.3
Damage per 10 minutes: 3320.5
