Pro-CoD player Kels made history this weekend by qualifying for the EU Challengers Elite Season 1 tournament. She is the first female player to have ever made it into the Challengers Elite.
The 2023 Season of the CDL has already produced some great drama. After only one stage, OpTic, LAG and London have all decided to "blow it up", with many teams re-opening some of the discussions started during the 2022 Rostermania period.
During all this uncertainty one thing has become abundantly clear: teams who ignore the Challenger's scene will pay the price in the long run, as the league becomes more competitive, and more demanding of young, cracked-out talent (OpTic have had to learn this the hard way). Just look at the comparatively easy job LAG have had replacing members of their roster thanks to all the hard-work they put in scouting and supporting the LAG Academy team.
And speaking of all that young talent in Challengers, there's one up-and-coming player who made history recently. Kels, from Team WaR, has become the first female player to qualify for a Challenger's Elite tournament. Maybe we'll see her in the league soon as well?
Kels Qualifies For EU Challengers Elite Season 1
Female pro-CoD player "Kels" has qualified for the EU Challengers Elite Season 1 Tournament with her teammates Genesis, BBConor, and Disarray. They're not quite at the very top of the EU Challengers scene like Harry or Gizmo, but they have upset potential.
If you aren't too familiar with the structure of Challengers, the league below the CDL: Elite Tournaments are the prestigious events outside of champs, and offer the most pro-points. There are four Elite tournaments throughout the year, and each one is played over three separate weeks. Kels and Team WaR have qualified for the first of these Elite Tournaments in 2023.
To watch Kels and the team play you can tune into WeAreClutchGG during the Elite Tournament, although Parasite and ZooMaa are also co-streaming a lot of Challengers these days, so you could watch it via their streams as well. Here are the exact start times of the first EU Challengers Elite Tournament:
| Start Date & Time (PT) | Start Date & Time (ET) | Start Date & Time (GMT) | Start Date & Time (CET) | |
Week 1 | January 11-12, 11 AM - 2 PM | January 11-12, 2-5 PM | January 11-12, 7-10 PM | January 11-12, 8-11 PM |
| Week 2 | January 18-19, 11 AM - 2 PM | January 18-19, 2-5 PM | January 18-19, 7-10 PM | January 18-19, 8-11 PM |
| Week 3 | January 25-26, 11 AM - 2 PM | January 25-26, 2-5 PM | January 25-26, 7-10 PM | January 25-26, 8-11 PM |
And before anyone starts being weird about a female pro-player, watch this:
hitch said i HAD to post this so pic.twitter.com/ZqfVDJnlK1
— WaR kels (@kelsaroony) October 12, 2022
As you can see, she's f*cking cracked.
We'll certainly be tuning into to see how Team WaR do this week, make sure you don't miss the action!
As much as we love seeing new female players, here's one change we aren't so excited about in CoD: