Wednesday afternoon proved to be one of the biggest rollercoasters in recent memory for Call of Duty esports after Cuyler “Huke” Garland and the LA Thieves created some mixed messages online.
An hour after former starter Cuyler “Huke” Garland released a YouTube video explaining why the LA Thieves benched him in the first place, the Thieves announced his reinstatement to the starting roster. Another former starter, Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat, is also returning to the lineup. The most surprising part of Huke’s video is that he implied he would be playing elsewhere in the future.
Huke and SlasheR rejoin LA Thieves
LA Thieves owner Matt “Nadeshot” Haag confirmed the team wants the best possible squad for LAN. The two members Huke and SlasheR replaced, Zack “Drazah” Jordan and Carlos “Venom” Hernandez, do not have experience playing on LAN in the CDL.
I know we have shifted this roster around quite a bit this year with a variety of talented Call of Duty players but with LAN events back on the horizon, we decided to field a lineup with star studded veteran talent with proven results. Looking forward to the rest of the season. https://t.co/aEOHpwqdwT
— 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) June 9, 2021
While this makes sense on paper, it still doesn’t explain the situation with Huke. In his video, the 2020 Champion player explained he was partially benched from LAT because the team bought into rumors he was “on psychedelics.” This came just a few weeks after the team acquired him from Dallas for a reportedly large buyout.
Huke also implied he would be playing somewhere besides LA, stating, “wherever I play next” at the tail end of his video. Meanwhile, SlasheR was recently caught writing “I’ll be free soon,” in a Twitch chat, referring to his contract situation with LA.
Despite all of this, it seems that something has been worked out by the parties involved. Huke and SlasheR are back on the starting roster for the LA Thieves Home Series and the Stage 4 Major. The Major will be hosted by the Dallas Empire and it is the first LAN event in the CDL since March of last year.
