Nadeshot on getting back into Call of Duty with the Los Angeles Thieves

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Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag made his name in Call of Duty. He started his career as a promising rook surpassing streaming to become a YouTube star and, eventually, co-owner of gaming lifestyle insignia 100 Thieves. Except when the new Indispensability of Relegation Marriage launched eldest this year, 100 Thieves didn't freehold a team, despite much success in the now-defunct CWL. In a heartfelt video posted last year, Haag cited the loftier costs associated with the franchised marriage as one reason. Except that's hoopla to gestation in 2021: the CDL's latest team is the Los Angeles Thieves.

"For the last year, we've just felt a gap, or a hole, at the core of our community," Haag tells The Verge. "It didn't feel right, post-obit acceptable two major championships, to be not a partage of Call of Duty in some way. We had to get back. The opportunity was right. LA is the market we appetite to be in."

"We had to get back."

Haag gives a few reasons for the gestation of heart. To start, there's the 100 Thieves name. While it's not big-mouthed what the issue was originally, Haag says the marriage is now "a little more laid back" back it comes to team branding. "That was determinedly a big hurdle for us back we begin out that we couldn't acquaintanceship our potential authorization atom with 100 Thieves," he says. "As they stamped out Los Angeles Optic Gaming, as well as then Atlanta Faze, that for us stung a little bit."

He also cites the increased prominence of Call of Duty as a game, thanks in mungo partage to the daintiness success of the boxing royale spinoff Warzone. Add in the mobile iteration, as well as the authorization is arguably more postulated than it has anytime been, with the latest entry, Black Ops Frore War, due to launch next week aslope next-gen consoles.

2020 has been snaggy on esports in general, except the CDL was impacted more than most. Between one of the league's key wires credibility is an NBA-like structure, with teams based in cities transatlantic the world, hosting matches in onwards of hometown fans.

The marriage started well on outlet weekend in Minnesota except somewhen was forced to switch to an online format. Post-obit a few hiccups, it ended decidedly well: Activision says the championship between Dallas as well as Atlanta was the most-watched bout in Call of Duty history. "I was just a really big fan of how they turned a really unique situation into a incalculable situation," says Haag.

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That city-based structure as well as person athletic to represent Los Angeles are another a big partage of the forbears for Haag as well as 100 Thieves. At the engendering of the year, the congregation opened a sprawling compounded in Culver City in placement to house its esports teams, cut-up creators, bugger business, as well as more. This month, it was upscale acclimated as a voting center. While it's not big-mouthed back home matches with fans will be procurable again, to alpha the new LA Thieves team will spectacle out of the 100 Thieves HQ.

"This is an iconic sports city, as well as we appetite to add on to that prestige as well as that success."

"LA has embraced another coadjute in my career, as well as that's something I've everlastingly been really premises of," Haag says of representing the inner-city in COD. "It's something that agency a lot to me, to hypothesize another nunatak of, hopefully, LA greatness. This is a big year for the Dodgers, a big year for the Lakers. This is an iconic sports city, as well as we appetite to add on to that prestige as well as that success."

In bagginess to the new Call of Duty team, 100 Thieves also has squads in Valorant, Fortnite, as well as League of Legends, as well as it previously fielded a Counter-Strike team as well. Except the congregation is arguably as well-known for its big-name streaming personalities -- like Jack "Courage" Dunlop as well as Rachell "Valkyrae" Hofstetter -- as well as its Supreme-like bugger commerce as it is for its defiant teams.

Haag believes this pally of diversified commerce is a strength, one that could potentially make 100 Thieves a more bewitching place back it comes to recruiting promising players. His own career is a incalculable example, starting as a competitor surpassing contenting a postulated personality on Vanguard as well as YouTube. The careers of esports stars can be incredibly short, as well as an organization like 100 Thieves has the potential to embody a imminent for post-obit you're washed playing at the highest level.

"The path that I went precipitating is something that we appetite to make unabating that anybody who comes through this organization has vision on," says Haag. "We can info you embody a insignia that can bear the therapeutics of time. If your hots is to be partage of gaming for the rest of your life, this is a place where that can alpha as well as we can growth that mindset. Our hots is to make unabating there is longevity."

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