Call of Duty Royale tournament: Teams, live bracket, rules for 'Warzone' event

Dan Bernstein

Call of Duty Royale tournament: Teams, live bracket, rules for 'Warzone' event image

Athletes from every major U.S. sport will participate in the upcoming Call of Duty Royale tournament, streaming on Twitch every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from April 21 through May 7.

NFL running back Marshawn Lynch and NBA forward Paul George are among the well-known contestants.

Action will come via the "Call of Duty: Warzone" battlefield.

MORE: Activision statement reveals info on next COD release

Here are the details of the competition:

When is the Call of Duty Royale tournament?

The Call of Duty Royale tournament runs from April 21 through May 7, airing every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. There will be eight episodes in total.

How to watch Call of Duty Royale tournament?

Every match will be streamed live for free on Bud Light’s Twitch channel, included below.

Watch live video from BudLight on www.twitch.tv

Call of Duty Royale tournament entry list

(Note: Royale teams will not be determined by the sports players come from)

  • MLB: Pete Alonso, Justin Dunn, Bo Bichette, Brett Phillips, J.D. Martinez, Gavin Lux
  • NBA: Paul George, Eric Paschall, Damion Lee, Royce O'Neal, Jalen Brunson
  • NFL: Marcus Peters, Marshawn Lynch, DK Metcalf, Kyle van Noy, Landon Collins, Austin Ekeler
  • NHL: Taylor Hall, Ryan Strome
  • WNBA: Ariel Powers
  • USWNT: Allie Long

Call of Duty Royale tournament rules

The tournament will be broken into two parts: Qualifying against the general public and semifinals and finals against one another.

Each squad consists of four players. In qualifying, these teams get exactly two hours in "Call of Duty: Warzone" to rack up as many points as possible.

In the semifinals and finals, a new set of teams with the best players compete simultaneously (but in different lobbies) over two hours.

Points are earned as follows:

  • 1 kill = 1 point
  • 1 win = 25 points

Call of Duty Royale tournament bracket schedule, results

Qualifying round

The launch featured Paul George (NBA), Ariel Powers (WNBA), Bo Bichette (MLB) and Brett Phillips (MLB) in a four-person squad against the random masses online. They managed 41 points and showed nice chemistry, with Phillips serving as the vocal leader of the team.

Kyle van Noy (NFL), Landon Collins (NFL), Taylor Hall (NHL) and Ryan Strome (NHL) then joined forces and absolutely dominated, racking up 87 points despite not getting a win. Van Noy alone delivered 40 kills, nearly equalling Team 1's full tally by himself.

Austin Ekeler (NFL), Damion Lee (NBA), Justin Dunn (MLB) and Pete Alonso (MLB) came closer than any other team to a match victory in the qualifying round, finishing in second place amid their two-hour gaming session. Alonso was upset about his greediness in rushing his opponent at the end, leading to his elimination.

Eric Paschall (NBA), Jalen Brunson  (NBA), Josh Hart (NBA) and Royce O'Neale (NBA) rallied to get to 68 points and a spot in the semifinals.

Blake Snell (MLB), DK Metcalf (NFL), Gavin Lux (MLB) and J.D. Martinez (MLB) posted the second-best score of the qualifying round at 79 points.

Allie Long (USWNT), Marcus Peters (NFL), Marshawn Lynch (NFL) and Will Smith (MLB) crashed out with just 55 points. Lynch finished with a team-worst nine kills.

Semifinals

The semifinals went one hour rather than two. The squads also switched up and competed simultaneously for increased drama.

The big winners were Eric Paschall, Josh Hart, J.D. Martinez and Jalen Brunson, who together combined for 72 points in just an hour. That was more than three teams tallied in their two-hour qualifying rounds.

Kyle van Noy, meanwhile, failed to carry his team as he did in his first appearance, finishing with 16 kills while his squadmates struggled. Van Noy posted 40 points on his own in qualifying.

Finals

The squad of Lux, Snell, O'Neal and Metcalf win the finals. Lux posted the best individual score of the entire tournament.

Call of Duty Royale tournament bracket standings, point totals

Qualifying round

Team 1 (George/Powers/Bichette/Phillips) : 41 points.

Team 2 (Van Noy/Collins/Hall/Strome): 87 points.

Team 3 (Ekeler/Lee/Dunn/Alonso): 73 points.

Team 4 (Paschall/Brunson/Hart/O'Neale): 68 points.

Team 5 (Snell/Metcalf/Lux/Martinez): 79 points.

Team 6 (Long/Peters/Lynch/Smith): 55 points.

Semifinals

Organizers inexplicably mixed up the teams for the semifinals stage. The reasoning might have had to do with player availability; George, for example, was absent despite performing reasonably well in the qualifying round.

In any case, here's what the new rosters look like:

Team Mango: 72 points

  • Eric Paschall: 23 points
  • Josh Hart: 20 points
  • J.D. Martinez: 19 points
  • Jalen Brunson: 10 points

Team Lemon-Lime: 47 points

  • Gavin Lux: 18 points
  • Blake Snell: 16 points
  • Royce O'Neal: 7 points
  • DK Metcalf: 6 points

Team Black Cherry: 46 points (Eliminated)

  • Kyle van Noy: 16 points
  • Ryan Strome: 15 points
  • Taylor Hall: 12 points
  • Landon Collins: 3 points

Team Strawberry: 43 points (Eliminated)

  • Justin Dunn: 14 points
  • Pete Alonso: 10 points
  • Austin Ekeler: 10 points
  • Damion Lee: 9 points

Finals

The squad of Lux, Snell, O'Neal and Metcalf win the finals. Lux posted the best individual score of the entire tournament.

What does Call of Duty Battle Royale mean?

Battle Royale is a popular every person for themselves (or every squad for itself) game mode in which the goal is to be the last one standing. Players gather weapons and supplies from around the "Call of Duty: Warzone" map and work to pick off other players on the way to victory.

Which console will players use?

Players will have a choice of competing on an Xbox or Playstation 4.

Where will the charity prize money go?

All players will win a donation to a charity of their choice. The first place finisher in the Bud Light Seltzer Charity Royale tournament will receive $50,000, the second place finisher will receive $25,000 and additional participants will get $15,000 apiece to donate to charity. Charities that will receive funding include the American Red Cross and United Way.

Dan Bernstein