Dallas Empire drop Clayster from CDL roster after 4v4 announcement

One day after the Call of Duty League revealed it would revert to 4v4 play, a bombshell of announcement dropped. The Dallas Empire, current world champions, have revealed that James “Clayster” Eubanks is the lone man out on the roster. A current back-to-back world champ, Clayster was one of the focal points for the Empire’s Championship run. His leadership and experience paired nicely with the young guns on the Empire roster. However, the organization felt it was served if Ian “Crimsix” Porter led the team instead of Clay.

Clayster no longer with the Dallas Empire

In an absolutely gut-wrenching decision, Dallas simply had no other choice. The roster currently features three of the best young players in the CDL along with Crimsix, the Champs MVP and undisputed greatest Call of Duty player ever. Objectively, Clayster was the only logical option to go.

However, that doesn’t make it right. A year ago, Activision chose to make the CDL 5v5. After realizing this was a bad decision, the league immediately reverted to 4v4 without expanding the league, thereby forcing Dallas Empire to cut a player after winning the World Championships. This decision also leaves at least a dozen players on the ropes.

The first domino to fall in this tragic turn of events is Clayster. He announced his current Restricted Free Agent status on Twitter earlier today.

Restricted F/A for CDL 2021 Season

Read: https://t.co/OTkf7S7FiG

— NYSL Clayster (@Clayster) September 1, 2020

Obviously, this isn’t the Dallas Empire’s or Clayster’s fault. The decision to move back to 4v4 is what’s best for the long-run, but it’s a decision that should’ve been made a year ago. Now, after a year of 5v5, teams are forced to drop loyal players.

Clayster is a now Restricted Free Agent, which means if a team wants to sign him, they’ll have to pay the Empire a buyout fee. From a business standpoint, this is understandable but does put Clay in a tougher spot than if he was allowed to walk freely.

I totally understand a numbers/biz standpoint, but it feels really cold to me to win a World Championship for a team and have them force my team option so they can sell me for a buyout instead of letting me walk for free. I know Stro doesn't want that, but man investors stink :/

— NYSL Clayster (@Clayster) September 1, 2020

Free Agency for the 2021 CDL season begins on September 14 and it’s likely Clayster will have a few suitors. Until then, we wait to see who else is dropped from rosters.