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Call of Duty League switches up its map pool for Stage 2

Apocalypse and Express will debut in the CDL this weekend

A player planting at a bomb site on Black Ops Cold War map express. Two players engage in a gun fight in the background
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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Call of Duty League 

Ahead of Stage 2 of the 2021 season, the Call of Duty League has revealed a shakeup with some new maps entering the competitive map pool. A classic Call of Duty map and a brand new addition to Season Two of Black Ops Cold War will make their CDL debuts at the Toronto Ultra Home Series this weekend.

Long-time CoD fans will be excited to learn that Express is entering the map pool for Search and Destroy only. Express will be replacing Garrison in the S&D map pool, which will now only be used in respawn modes Hardpoint and Control. With both Express and Raid now in the 2021 CDL map pool, it appears that Black Ops Cold War developers Treyarch and the CDL are not afraid of looking to the past to create the best competitive experience possible.

The second map to be added is Apocalypse, an all-new map from Treyarch that dropped in Season Two. Apocalypse will enter the Hardpoint map pool in place of Crossroads, which has been widely criticised by pro players for being too small and chaotic for a respawn game mode.

Even without the map pool shuffle, Stage 2 promises to be an exciting affair. With roster movements at London Royal Ravens and Toronto Ultra, and a new controversial gentlemen’s agreement banning the XM4 assault rifle, there’s plenty of new variables to shake up the league.

Stage 1 saw Atlanta FaZe emerge victorious after defeating Dallas Empire in the final of this season’s first major. While it is undoubtedly the team to beat in Stage 2, it will be interesting to see how it navigates the new maps and GAs.

Jamie has been with The Loadout since the very beginning, joining in 2019 as the site's first staff writer and working his way up to deputy editor. Wielding a degree in broadcast journalism and a deep knowledge of FIFA and EA FC, Call of Duty, and FPS games in general, he's the go-to guy for tips on how to solve SBCs in FC 24, observations on the current Warzone meta, and much more. He is also currently getting back on the Destiny 2 bandwagon ahead of The Final Shape release date and, while he's not proud of it, is still finding himself hooked on the lunacy of Palworld.