Over the next few days, 12 professional Call of Duty teams will convene in the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to play for keeps in the first-person shooter game. This weekend marks the latest Call of Duty League LAN event, the Minnesota RØKKR’s CDL Major II.

Since then, in-person CDL events have been relatively few and far between - but the league is stepping up its involvement in LAN events in 2022, most recently at last month’s CDL 2022 Major I hosted in Arlington’s Esports Stadium by OpTic Gaming. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDL tentatively returned to live events in July 2021, inviting a live audience to attend the CDL 2021 Stage 5 Major in Arlington, Texas. As Call of Duty League (CDL) teams invite fans back into the arena for local area network (LAN) play, they are using live events to bring in new sponsors and engage with their pre-existing partners in new ways. Live esports events have returned, and brands are taking notice. How Call of Duty League teams are using the return of in-person events to generate brand interest