Minnesota Rokkr: 2023 Call of Duty League "ROAD TO CHAMPS"

Take a behind the scenes look at the Rokkr preparing for the 2023 CDL Champs.

The 2023 Call of Duty League Champs week has arrived! Before the mania kicks off, we spoke with the Minnesota Rokkr to check in and get some intel on the team. We got to know the players and coaches outside of the game and how they're preparing for the biggest week of the year.

Let's take a look at how the Rokkr's season went and what their "Road to Champs" looked like.

Major 1 — A Rollercoaster Opening

The season started off promising for the Rokkr. They were beating top-tier teams like OpTic Texas (yes, the SAE game) and Toronto Ultra in Qualifiers, landing the No.1 seed heading into Group Play. They beat up Decimate Gaming (Challengers Team) before being swept by the New York Subliners. 

They concluded Group Play by taking down the Los Angeles Guerrillas and qualified for a spot in the Major 1 Winners Bracket.

Things began to unravel for the Rokkr once they hit Bracket Play. They were quickly sent to the Losers Bracket after losing to the Toronto Ultra, and their time in the Major was soon over after that. The Vegas Legion end up taking the game 5 round 11 SnD win, sending the Rokkr home empty-handed.

An early-season regain was in order.

Major 2 — Like a Box of Chocolates

After a shortened Major 1 for the Rokkr, they came out in the next Stage firing on all cylinders. They again were beating the League's top teams and qualified for the Winners Bracket as the No.5 seed.

It was all sunshine and rainbows through the Winners Bracket as the Rokkr got past the Subliners, who were coming off a Major 1 victory, then swept OpTic and secured a Top 3 finish. 

Here is where the start of the wildly inconsistent season began.

The 5-3 SnD curse in game 5 of the Winners Finals against the Atlanta FaZe struck the team, as they drop a sure win and were sent to the Losers Bracket. They would then be swept by the Los Angeles Thieves and sent home short of making a Grand Finals appearance.

Major 3 — The Curse is Real

The 5-3 curse haunted the Rokkr throughout the next Major. Nothing was going their way, as they had one of the worst Major performances in CDL history. They were unable to find a match win during the Qualifiers and won just four rounds in those five matches. 

Things were looking very grim as the team headed to Texas for the Major. It was either going to be a massive regain or a devastating end to the Major.

But it didn't get any better. The Rokkr were swept out of the tournament by LAT in the Losers Bracket, leaving the team with a lot of questions surrounding their performance.

Major 4 — A New Challenger

After a dreadful showing at Major 3, a change was imminent. The Rokkr moved Attach to the bench and called up Challengers star, Fame. It was a bit of a surprising move considering the pedigree of Attach. 

At first glance, it appeared to be a positive change. Even though Fame mainly ran an SMG in Challengers, the switch to the AR was smoother than expected. The Rokkr squeaked their way into the Winners Bracket as the No.7 seed out of Qualifiers.

It was a very up-and-down Major for the Rokkr. They were quickly sent down to the Losers Bracket by LAT, where they made an inspiring run. They swept the London Royal Ravens and were greeted by the Seattle Surge in the next round.

Here is where they showed that they're capable of pulling off the impossible. They were down 2-0 in the series against the Surge, and it was looking like the end for the Rokkr at Major 4. Surge got up to a 2-0 lead in El Asilo Control, and it's not looking like the Rokkr is coming back. It was like a flip of a switch—they completely turned it around for the reverse sweep and then dominated the Surge the rest of the way to move on in the Major.

They ended up losing the next round to the Subliners, but there was much to build on after that performance.

Major 5 — Gonna Live Forever

While it wasn't the results they were hoping for in Major 4, there was still plenty to be excited about for the Rokkr heading into the final Major of the year. But there was something else that wasn't perfect about the construction of the team.

Fame was in a role he wasn't in all season prior to joining the team, and there was room for improvement for the team as a whole. They decided to bring Attach back to the starting roster, but who they sent to the bench was a bit of a surprise.

There were rumors that it was going to be Bance, and at one point, he was told it was him. It turned out to be Afro being sent to the bench, which moved Fame back to the SMG role he was used to. With the slaying ability of Afro now out of the starting roster, it was a question of who will pick up those slayer duties.

The roster move turned out to be a promising one for the team, as they ended up making it to the Winners Finals, where they lost to FaZe and were sent to the Losers Bracket to face the Subliners. They were eventually swept and sent home with a top 3 placement, but in that time, they secured their "Road to Champs."

Champs — It All Comes Down to This

It was an intense battle to get here. During the final Major, four teams (Rokkr, Surge, Breach, and Legion) were fighting for three spots at Champs. The Rokkr had to make a deep run at Major 5 if they wanted to keep the Legion from taking their spot.

After the up-and-down year they had, many thought it would be the Rokkr that would be the team to lose their spot at Champs. But a dominant Major 5 kept them locked in and put them above the rest of the teams fighting for seeding at Champs.

To do that with new faces on the team and little time to practice and gain chemistry is inspiring. With much more time to practice with each other and put in work for Champs, don't be surprised to see the Rokkr put the rest of the League on notice.

How to Watch Call of Duty Champs 2023

Catch the Rokkr in action at Champs by checking out our full guide to the event including schedule, brackets, and more!