Call of Duty League (CDL) franchise Toronto KOI has signed Nicholas ‘Kips‘ Lyons to its starting roster following a winless start to the Major 2 qualifiers.
As a result of his arrival, José Manuel ‘ReeaL‘ Fernández has been moved to the bench and loaned to OMiT Brooklyn to compete in Challengers.
Toronto KOI revealed that the addition of Kips is for the remainder of Major 2 as the team tests a new-look roster to see if it’s capable of competing among the giants topping the league table. Once Major 2 concludes, the franchise plans to reevaluate the line-up to determine whether further changes are required.
For the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 season, Kips joined the Huntsmen roster backed by North American esports organisation OpTic Gaming. Following a top-16 finish during the second online cup, results continued to improve.
The team, spearheaded by former Halo world champion Jonathan ‘Renegade‘ Willette, finished fourth at the CDC Dallas Open, cementing its place as one of North America’s top Challengers rosters.
Kips joining Toronto KOI aims to inject a breath of fresh air into a team currently on a two-match loss streak after failing to win a map during the opening week of the Major 2 qualifiers. The team last scored a win on January 11th, with a 3-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Thieves in week three of the Major 1 qualifiers.
Toronto KOI Isn’t The Only Team To Make Roster Changes
Toronto KOI isn’t the only franchise to make changes to its roster during the Major 2 cycle. Before the opening week of matches, Cloud9 New York unveiled its new line-up after parting ways with the team that crashed out of Major 1 with a last-place finish.
Kips will make his CDL debut in the second week of online qualifiers, taking place from February 20th to 22nd. Toronto KOI will take on the Los Angeles Thieves and G2 Minnesota as it looks to secure its first points and lock in a place among the top ten teams.
