The London Royal Ravens, the Call of Duty League (CDL) franchise team representing the UK, have changed their name to the Carolina Royal Ravens.
In doing so, they will no longer represent the UK. Instead, they will focus on Charlotte in North Carolina.
While it’s true that in recent years the London Royal Ravens players have been based in the US, they still had several based in the UK, such as former MD and chief gaming officer, Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, plus streamers like Jukeyz.
“We will always be grateful for the four years we spent flying the flag for the UK and the support you gave us. From the United Kingdom to the Queen City, we are all Royal Ravens.”
Carolina Royal Ravens
The Carolina Royal Ravens page on social media platform X said: “CoD is coming to the Carolinas. We’re thrilled to announce we’re taking our royal wings to the Queen City, Charlotte, NC.
“The next chapter of the Royal Ravens will be fueled by the energy, culture, and resilience of the Carolinas.
“We want to thank all of our London fans. From hosting the very first CDL Major (in London) for you in 2020 to this very moment, your passion for our team and the games we’ve played are unrivaled.
“We will always be grateful for the four years we spent flying the flag for the UK and the support you gave us. From the United Kingdom to the Queen City, we are all Royal Ravens.”
The team also changed their Royal Ravens logo from red to blue (with a crown in the centre of the raven), while their social media profile picture is now a crown.
The Carolina Royal Ravens of course compete in the Call of Duty League, which will now only consist of North American franchise teams going forwards.
Some on social media questioned the team keeping the ‘Royal Ravens’ moniker, given the original team name, London Royal Ravens, stems from the legend of the Tower of London ravens.
Ultimately, the Carolina Royal Ravens’ parent company Infinite Reality has decided to retain that element of the branding. Infinite Reality acquired former Ravens owner ReKTGlobal last year.
Carolina Royal Ravens announcement follows staff departures
Today’s name and location change news comes two months after UK esports OG Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell was let go from his position as London Royal Ravens managing director and chief gaming officer at Ravens’ parent company Infinite Reality.
As well as ODEE (who later joined gaming PC retailer Scan Computers), Royal Ravens’ streamers Jukeyz and Angelika were also let go immediately.
Last week, Jukeyz told Esports News UK from his World Series of Warzone bootcamp: “It was so weird [when they let us go]. They kind of kept everything to themselves instead of letting everyone know in advance, so it was quite a shock when it happened – the day before the World Series.
“Just being part of them was a dream, so I was definitely gutted, I was hurt, I’d been with them for a while. But when I saw everyone else getting released as well, I thought, well, they must be going through something – I’ve just got to lift my head up and crack on because it was out of my control.”
The Carolina Royal Ravens do not currently have an active player roster, at least not one that’s known to the public.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
