It looks like Texas may be getting another CoD team for next year’s Call of Duty World League (CWL), as the city of Houston is rumored to be getting the spot purchased be Lee Zieben. Will a CWL Houston team actually come to fruition? Let’s find out.
Rumor Mill
The rumors are courtesy of research by The Next Level, which claims the league will soon announce the 10th franchise spot, which was technically the 8th spot purchased, though without a city at the time, will be given Houston as their home.
The move would come less than a month after Zieben, a real estate investor, bought the Houston Outlaws from Immortals Gaming for $40 million.
Giving credence to the rumors as well, Zieben’s Twitter, which hadn’t made a post since 2014, sent out a flurry of posts tagging wealthy investors such as Jeff Bezos, The Rock, and Elon Musk stating,
“I am purchasing two esports teams for the Overwatch and call of duty league. I am looking for strategic investors, would you be interested? Teams will qualify as an opportunity zone investment. We will have a player whose name will be “ Prime.”
Hecz to Houston?
Outside of the research on the team getting the Houston spot, The Next Level also shared their belief that Hecz, the famed former owner of OpTic Gaming, will be joining the Houston squad.
Their reasoning for such a bold claim includes the proximity to his current house in Texas, and rumors of Hecz’s past interest in the Houston Outlaws Overwatch League (OWL) team.
The move would also work out well for his production team, headquartered in the state with him, meaning they wouldn’t have to move elsewhere to continue their work.
Nothing has been confirmed at this time, though The Next Level’s claims do warrant further investigation.
Hecz has been showing quite an interest in being part of a CWL team in Texas, and with three teams in the area (Envy, Complexity, and the Zieben squad), he does have a plethora of options to choose from.
The Next Level has reached out to The Zieben Group, Zieben’s property and real estate development firm, for a statement on the matter, but has yet to hear back from the group on any confirmation or denial.
As always, we’ll continue to keep you updated as the story develops and we learn more about a potential CWL Houston roster.
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Isaac Chandler - Author
Isaac Chandler is a League of Legends and Cloud9 expert living in Las Vegas. Spending his childhood on games like Goblin Commander, Kingdom Hearts, and Digimon World, Isaac first picked up League of Legends back in Season 1 and has been playing ever since then. A graduate from the University of Washington with a Bachelors in History, Isaac has been involved in multiple roles in the esports industry over the years, from collegiate international tournaments to working with the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas. Outside of gaming and esports, Isaac spends most of his time watching documentaries, trying new cooking recipes, and proudly boasting of Cascadian pride. His spirit animal is a corgi.
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