Update (October 27th 2022): Skrapz has also rejoined the London Royal Ravens for the 2023 Call of Duty League season, separate to his potential Challengers team below.
Original article (October 19th 2022): UK Call of Duty (CoD) player Matthew ‘Skrapz’ Marshall is set to return to competitive CoD after a hiatus of more than a year.
The former FaZe Clan and Fnatic player will join up with American starlets ‘Hamza’ Shaikh, former LA Thieves player Carlos ‘Venom’ Hernandez and veteran Nicholas ‘Classic’ DiCostanzo in North American Challengers, according to reports.
This news was first broken by IntelCDL on Twitter, with the post referencing several rosters via the North American Call of Duty Challengers spreadsheet, which CoD personality Doug ‘Censor’ Martin showcased on his Twitch stream this week.
Skrapz is an icon of Call of Duty esports, having competed since Black Ops 3, representing teams such as FaZe Clan, Epsilon and Unilad. He was also a part of the Red Reserve team that had a 79% series win rate in the CWL’s 2018 Pro League Stage Two, having the best win/loss record in the tournament at 11/3.
The Brit is fondly remembered for his involvement with the London Royal Ravens in the Call of Duty League (CDL) debut season in 2019. A specifically memorable play came against his future employers the Paris Legion, where he started 12-0 to kick off a St. Petrograd Domination in map three of their semi-final match at the Raven’s own home series, as seen in this CoD League video of Skrapz.
Skrapz last competed in the CDL back in the Black Ops Cold War season in 2021, where he represented the now defunct Paris Legion (now known as Las Vegas Legion). Despite his numerous prior career achievements, Skrapz failed to succeed that season. Legion finished last in the overall standings, holding an 8-22 win/loss record on the year.
He later announced his shock departure from competitive Call of Duty Warzone at the end of that season on a Twitch stream alongside his twin brother, and former teammate on the London Royal Ravens, Bradley ‘Wuskin’ Marshall.
However, rumblings of a competitive comeback for the UK icon started to appear midway through the 2022 Vanguard season. This came to a head when Skrapz posted a series of tweets teasing his return over the past week. This all but confirmed the Englishman’s homecoming to the competitive scene.
Skrapz wasn’t the only UK player to be featured in the roster leaks. Toronto Ultra’s substitute player Charlie ‘Hicksy’ Hicks was spotted in a team including ex-CDL (non-UK) professionals David ‘Davpadie’ Malowski, Kenyen ‘Capsidal’ Sutton and Tom ‘GRVTY’ Malin.
The New York Subliners new substitute Elliot ‘WarDy’ Ward was also seen on the spreadsheet, teaming up with former Paris Legion duo John ‘Johnny’ Cookson and Ulysses ‘AquA’ Silva as well as previous Stallions player Pat ‘Cryptic’.
Furthermore, former London Royal Ravens player and Scotsman Sean ‘Seany’ O’Connor was featured, teaming up alongside fellow Brit and current Boston Breach substitute Ben ‘Beans’ McMellon, former FaZe Clan player Doug ‘Censor’ Martin and newcomer ‘Kremp’ on the new Boston Breach Academy roster.
With the uncertainty constantly surrounding Challengers and competitive Call of Duty scene in general, as rostermania continues, these rosters may be subject to change in a matter of weeks, if not days. But nonetheless, it’s nice to see the return of a true UK great to the competitive Call of Duty environment.
