The esports team Rise Nation rebranded are showing interest in rejoining the Call of Duty League as they welcome in a new wave for the nation. The previously high-ranked CoD team hosted a $50,000 Warzone charity event to celebrate their return and rebrand to raise money for the Equal Justice Initiative.
Big names at the event included retired Call of Duty veterans Tyler “TeePee” Polchow and Damon “Karma” Barlow, Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard, Dallas Mavericks forward Justin Jackson, influences Aydan “Aydan” Conrad and Lucas “Blaze” Mosing and rapper Tee Grizzley. The charity event premiered last Friday and most of the streams from the tournament can be found here. In addition to the event, the team has shown acute interest in returning to the familiar grounds of the CoD League in time to become the first expansion team.
Rise Nation became one of the highest ranked Call of Duty teams between 2014 and 2018, joining other household names like FaZe and OpTic Gaming. On the day of the charity event, the organization announced via Twitter that a “new era had begun” and they welcomed fans to Rise Nation’s exciting future. Followers of the team praised the new logo and welcomed the members back with open arms. Rise also commented that they would be announcing more news soon whilst competing in the Gears5 Pro League.
Rise co-founder Kahreem Horsley mentioned that the team could be coming back to the CDL as early as next season. Horsley continued by clarifying the team’s intention to further the league as much as possible and make much more of an impact with the new identity. Co-founder Rodger Saffold also mentioned to ESPN Eports that the team was ready to return to the CoD scene with a “plan and structure” in place.
The team formed in 2014 during the Call of Duty: Ghosts season. It took a few years for success to find them, but they triumphed in 2018 with Call of Duty: WWII featuring roster heavyweights SlasheR, Loony, TJHaLy and Gunless. Eventually winning five championships between the Black Ops 3 and World War II competitive seasons, Rise Nation ended up taking a year and a half hiatus after their coach Pacman left the team.
There appears to be an exciting future up ahead for Rise Nation and its loyal community after returning to the scene with a confident pitch and exciting charity event. Fans are already keen to buy the new merch featuring the team’s rebranding in preparation for some exhilarating tournaments to come.
Source: ESPN
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