CDL Major 4 showed me Call of Duty esports must focus on Europe to survive

The fourth Major of the Call of Duty League (CDL) season brought an end to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s regular season, a season that has proven to be one of the most competitive since Activision’s first-person shooter switched to a franchised model.

For the first time in nine years, Call of Duty’s top tier of competition returned to France with Gentle Mates on hosting duties. The second European event of 2026 successfully built on the foundations laid by Birmingham, thanks to a hugely passionate crowd, WWE commentator, and scenes that wouldn’t look out of place at a traditional sporting spectacle.

The French esports scene is no stranger to its organizations being flanked by hugely loyal legions of supporters. Team Vitality has the Golden Hornets, who always appear at major Counter-Strike tournaments, while Gentle Mates has the Gentle Suits, another vocal group that shows their support for the organization with creative chants, customized tifos, and huge public displays before a match. 

Before Paris Gentle Mates took to the stage inside a sold-out La Defense Arena, fans visited the steps of the Grande Arche de la Defense armed with drums and huge flags to cheer on the team. For once, a Call of Duty event wasn’t engulfed with the monotony of a “Let’s go OpTic” chant. At last, a real injection of passion from fans who wanted nothing more than to watch their team perform at the highest level. 

The atmosphere from the Grande Arch carried into the arena for championship Sunday, where Paris remained in contention for the title until the lower bracket final, where OpTic Texas sent the team packing with a respectable top-three finish. Throughout the best-of-five series, the crowd never stopped bouncing, celebrating every elimination, objective score, and bomb plant.

An electric crowd captured the attention of the entire Call of Duty scene, with many calling on the CDL to increase its presence in Europe by hosting more events and potentially expanding the league to 16 teams. While expansion doesn’t look to be on the cards anytime soon, the Gentle Suits have demonstrated that Call of Duty must keep Europe at the forefront of its plans for the future.

Major 4 demonstrated that there’s huge potential for Call of Duty esports to grow into one of the world’s biggest professional gaming leagues. Over 370,000 viewers tuned into Paris taking on OpTic Texas in a battle between the scene’s two biggest fan bases. Paris couldn’t knock down the Green Wall, which eventually emerged victorious following a thrilling best-of-seven clash with the Los Angeles Thieves.

In addition to the arrival of Gentle Mates, the competitive nature of Black Ops 7 has injected a new lease of life into Call of Duty. Three of the four Major Grand Finals required all seven games to decide a winner, with FaZe Vegas, OpTic Texas, and the LA Thieves all lifting the trophy. 

Thanks to several teams being in contention for outright victory throughout the season and fine margins being the difference between victory and defeat, the CDL’s sixth season has been one to remember and looks set to reach greater heights at the season-ending Championship Weekend in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas time zone could impact the number of European fans tuning in to see the eight best regular-season teams competing for Call of Duty’s biggest prize. Combined with a late night and another lackluster crowd, it’s not unreasonable to think that Champs won’t outperform the new bar set by Major 4. 

So, what’s the next step to ensure Call of Duty esports continues the momentum generated from its Parisian adventure? Take Champs outside of North America and into Europe for 2027. Whether it’s the UK, France, or Spain, any of these locations is guaranteed to capitalize on an extremely knowledgeable fan base that’s not afraid to display its passion for whichever team they choose to support. 

For Call of Duty’s biggest esports event, London’s Wembley Arena makes an excellent claim as a venue. The venue has hosted Counter-Strike tournaments alongside concerts for the biggest music artists on the planet. Plenty of room for a main stage, brand activations, and somewhere for Challengers players to end their season on a high. 

While all 12 CDL franchises are based in North America, despite two of them featuring Paris and Riyadh branding,  it’s about time the league looks outside of North America. The continent may be the location of the CDL’s biggest organizations and the world’s top players, but it’s now time for executives to acknowledge the European market and send its tentpole tournament across the pond.

If Call of Duty esports is to survive the next decade, Europe must be a priority.