London Royal Ravens Relocate To Charlotte, Rebrand To Carolina Royal Ravens

By Tit Krajnik

06 Sep 2023

Tit Krajnik 06 Sep 2023

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Royal Ravens move from London to North America ahead of the 2024 CoD season
The team has rebranded from London Royal Ravens to Carolina Royal Ravens
Despite the North American move, the team kept the name referencing the ravens, which symbolise the "protectors of the Crown"

Royal Ravens (Getty Images)

Call of Duty League franchise Royal Ravens have officially moved from London to North America ahead of the Call of Duty League 2024 season. With the move, Europe is now without a franchised team competing in the CoD esports league.

As revealed on Tuesday, September 5, the Royal Ravens have officially moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and in the process, rebranded from London Royal Ravens to Carolina Royal Ravens. Despite moving to Charlotte, the Royal Ravens followed the trend of sports teams and took on the name "Carolina" rather than Charlotte.

Interestingly, the Royal Ravens did not change the team's name even though it's a reference to the ravens that live in the Tower of London and represent protectors of the Crown. By moving from London to Charlotte, the Royal Ravens left Europe without a team competing in the Call of Duty League – which previously had two EU squads, including Paris Legion, which later became the Las Vegas Legion.

While technically not a new team entering the Call of Duty League for the 2024 season, Carolina Royal Ravens is a new name competing in the CoD esports tournament, joining Miami Heretics - a new squad, formerly Florida Mutineers.

The Royal Ravens' move to North America follows the team's shaky run in the 2023 CDL season, in which the London-based squad finished in 12th place. Throughout the 2023 season, the Royal Ravens haven't found much success, with their most notable accomplishment being a top-eight finish in CDSL Major 5.

The team found more success in 2022 when they finished the regular season in fourth place and ended the CDL Championship 2022 in seventh-eighth. However, despite showing some flashes of greatness, the Royal Ravens have never won a CDL tournament. Their best placement to date is a runner-up finish in the CDL 2022 Week 8 – Seattle.

Besides moving locations, the Royal Ravens also parted ways with its entire roster, including Byron "Nastie" Plumridge, Obaid "Asim" Asim, Ulisses "Ulisses" Rios, and Matthew "Skrapz" Marshall. The team has yet to announce any new signings.

The Call of Duty League 2024 does not have a set kick-off date yet; however, it's said to start in the months following the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which will come out on November 10, 2023.

The previous CDL season started in December, one month after the release of the last CoD title; however, in the past years, the CDL season didn't start until February, meaning that the CDL 2024 will likely start somewhere between December and February.