Call of Duty League Championship 2025 team preview: Los Angeles Thieves

The 2024/25 Call of Duty League (CDL) season is nearing its crescendo as the fifth edition of Championship Weekend moves into view. The season-ending event for the Call of Duty esports circuit will see eight franchises compete for a chance to be crowned champion on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

2025’s CDL Championship is the first time the tournament takes place outside of the United States. Ahead of the event, Esports Insider takes a closer look at the Los Angeles Thieves, a franchise that has invested heavily to compete at the top.

Here are the four players representing the LA Thieves at Championship Weekend: 

Ahead of the Black Ops 6 season, Los Angeles Thieves overhauled its roster, intending to compete for event victories regularly. Joining Ghosty, who has represented the franchise since September 2023, was the trio of Envoy, HyDra, and Scrap. Black Ops 6 is Envoy’s second stint as a member of the LA Thieves, having won the CDL Championship in 2022.

HyDra is no stranger to success, having won the 2023 CDL Championship and the season MVP award under New York Subliners. Dubbed ‘The French Phenom,’ HyDra is the only European to lift the CDL’s biggest trophy. 

Scrap exploded onto the Call of Duty esports scene during a two-year tenure representing Toronto Ultra. Since joining the Los Angeles Thieves, his aggressive style of play has become hugely popular among fans.

Following its 2022 Champs success, LA Thieves struggled to find any kind of consistency during the Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 era. 

Sensing change was required, franchise owner and Call of Duty esports legend Matt ‘Nadeshot’ Haag bolstered the roster for Black Ops 6, which made an impact immediately. 

The opening Major of the year saw the CDL head to Madrid, Spain, for its only trip outside of North America this season. LA Thieves managed to secure a place in the Grand Final, setting up a clash against Atlanta FaZe in a highly anticipated contest between two of the best teams in the league. 

LA Thieves and FaZe delivered one of the most competitive matches seen in the past five years, taking the best-of-seven series down to the eleventh and final round of Search and Destroy in game seven. While Atlanta emerged victorious, the performance was a sign of the team showcasing the capabilities required to compete at the top of the Call of Duty esports scene. 

Major 2 saw Los Angeles Thieves record its lowest placement of the Black Ops 6 season, with a top-four finish after a strong run through the elimination bracket before falling at the hands of Toronto Ultra.

Despite missing out on another Grand Final, another 45 CDL Points to its name proved useful to lock in a top-eight position on the league table.

Major 3 saw the Thieves return to the top of the podium, conceding two maps on its way to lifting a first trophy of the season. Vancouver Surge gave the franchise a run for its money in a thrilling five-game series in the winner’s final.

The two franchises would face off again in the Grand Final. With Vancouver running out of steam, Los Angeles Thieves dominated from the outset, securing a 4-0 sweep and Scrap picking up the MVP trophy.

The first trophy of the season acted as the spark needed for the LA Thieves to end the regular season and head into Championship Weekend on the front foot.

The Grand Final of Major 4 saw LA Thieves and Atlanta FaZe face off once again. This time around, it was Los Angeles walking away victorious, scoring a 4-2 win and locking in the top spot on the regular season table with 540 points.

The second half of the season for LA Thieves has been nothing short of perfection. Two Major victories, topped off with finishing the regular season at the top of the league table, put the franchise in an excellent position to earn its second CDL Championship.

As the top seed, the franchise commences its Champs campaign with a match against Boston Breach, a team that has shown glimpses of potential but has struggled to find any consistency during the regular season.

With a favourable first-round match, LA Thieves is one of several franchises in the conversation to lift the trophy when the tournament ends.

The Los Angeles Thieves is a Call of Duty League franchise owned by North American esports organisation 100 Thieves. The franchise is one of two based in the Californian city of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Thieves was founded in November 2020. The franchise entered the Call of Duty League in November 2020 after 100 Thieves purchased the franchise slot previously owned by OpTic Gaming Los Angeles. 

The Los Angeles Thieves won the CDL Championship in 2022 on Call of Duty: Vanguard. The franchise defeated Atlanta FaZe in the Grand Final, winning $1.2m in prize money.