Huke reveals how he formed the Dallas Empire roster to win CDL Champs YT: Eavesdrop PodcastDallas Empire\u2019s Cuyler \u2018Huke\u2019 Garland, Call of Duty World Champion and ex-Halo professional, has explained why he was so desperate to team with iLLeY and Shotzzy ahead of Modern Warfare, despite neither player having a proven track record in professional CoD. The inaugural Call of Duty League Season ended back in August, with Dallas Empire running out comfortable winners against Atlanta FaZe. The Texan outfit had regularly impressed across their opening season, combining veterans Clayster and Crimsix with young stars Huke, iLLeY and Shotzzy. While Huke had a precedent in Call of Duty esports \u2013 reaching the CWL Championship Grand Finals back in Advanced Warfare with Denial Esports \u2013 neither iLLeY or Shotzzy had made a name for themselves at the top level of CoD. Shotzzy joined Dallas Empire from Splyce Black, off the back of winning a Halo World Championship in 2018. iLLeY joined from eUnited Cadets, the academy team of eUnited. The acquisition of both for the CDL\u2019s first season constituted a massive gamble, but it definitely paid off. Joining H3CZ on the Eavesdrop podcast on December 20, Huke explained exactly why he wanted to take the gamble. \u201cThis team is basically a team that I picked based off my past experiences,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my head it [picking up Shotzzy and iLLeY] was a no-brainer, because that\u2019s exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be on a team where everyone wanted to be there everyday.\u201d In short, the attitudes of iLLeY and Shotzzy and the desire for success were key reasons for their signatures. Huke explained that, in the past, he has felt that his efforts have not been matched by teammates. Timestamp: 11:40 \u201cGoing into Modern Warfare\u2026 I really wanted people that wanna be there everyday,\u201d he continued. \u201cI don\u2019t care who they are, just show up and buy into the team. I talked to iLLeY\u2026 it was like a no brainer. This guy has a next level mindset. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it before.\u201d Huke went on to recount a story of iLLeY\u2019s commitment at CDL Los Angeles, which Dallas would win. Six hours before the start time of their final, iLLeY began to shoot bots to warm up. Six hours later he joined up with the team for their match, having not taken a break from Call of Duty. \u201cThe kid wants it, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Huke summarized. On Shotzzy, Huke explained that his talent for Halo was a key factor in picking him up. \u201cI played against him at like my last Halo tournament and he actually beat me,\u201d Huke said. \u201cBut I knew Shotzzy since he was like 14 through one of my teammates\u2026 we played 2v2 Halo with him before he was pro, and I was like \u201cno way this guy is that good\u201d\u2026 After a while it kinda unfolded that this guy was next level.\u201d The acquisition of both young men did indeed raise eyebrows, but Dallas Empire\u2019s first season and the relative youth of of their roster means they are here to stay. Clayster has since departed, but Huke\u2019s unwavering faith in his teammates is just one of the major reasons they look so dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Huke reveals how he formed the Dallas Empire roster to win CDL Champs YT: Eavesdrop PodcastDallas Empire\u2019s Cuyler \u2018Huke\u2019 Garland, Call of Duty World Champion and ex-Halo professional, has explained why he was so desperate to team with iLLeY and Shotzzy ahead of Modern Warfare, despite neither player having a proven track record in professional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}