Call of Duty League (CDL) players and coaches have expressed their frustrations surrounding a change to the coaching rules ahead of the Esports World Cup (EWC).
As part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, teams can now have their coaches on stage to provide additional communications during matches.
On July 17th, 2025, the EWC revealed that coaches can talk to their teams throughout the duration of Hardpoint and Control matches. For Search and Destroy, coaches can talk in between rounds. The change is the first time in over a decade that coaches have had the ability to talk while a match is taking place.
The community has also found the last-minute decision to allow coaches on stage so soon before the tournament jarring.
Following the announcement, several coaches, players and former world champions shared their thoughts on the change. 2022 world champion Sam ‘Octane’ Larew said: “I’m praying coaches on stage is an EWC only thing and the CDL doesn’t adapt this moving forward.
“The only real skill gap remaining in CoD is the player’s ability to make split-second decisions and understand the game. Anything to reduce that further is awful for our esport.”
On the other hand, 2013 world champion Christopher ‘Parasite’ Duarte believes the change has the ability to make the best teams in the world even better: “Raises the ceiling for all teams, and coaching becomes more valuable. If you call something less skilled, then everyone should be better or equal, which drives more entertaining games.”
Will The CDL Change Coaching Rules?
With the CDL season concluded following its most-watched event, it has yet to share details regarding any changes to its existing coaching rules, which allow communication between maps during a series.
Considering the Esports World Cup is a partner of the league, this year’s event could be a potential test to see how the presence of coaches on-stage can impact the action.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Esports World Cup tournament takes place from July 24th to 27th, with 16 teams competing for a share of a $1.8m (~£1.3m) prize pool.
