There’s no doubt about it – Call of Duty is potentially the most impactful first-person shooter in history. Since it debuted more than twenty years ago, Call of Duty has gone from strength to strength, and by today, it’s a top-tier title that draws in tens of millions of players with every new release. It’s a multi-faceted franchise, pivoting from mobile to battle royale to traditional multiplayer, and today, the best COD players are absolute rock stars.
In 2012, the Call of Duty esports scene erupted as the first-ever world championship took place. Now, Call of Duty’s esports ecosystem is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and some of the most valuable organisations in the business compete to lift trophies in the space every year. For the best Call of Duty players, competing in the Call of Duty League ultimately becomes a career, and it could take them from being skilled gamers to millionaire champions overnight.
So, we’ve assembled this guide to help you understand who the best COD player in the world is, right now. Every year, we break down the list of the best COD players to show you who is in tip-top shape, who is worth your attention – and perhaps your esports wagers, and who could carry their team to the next Call of Duty League Championship victory.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Call of Duty players in the world, as of 2023.
WHAT MAKES THE BEST COD PLAYER?
It takes a lot to be considered one of the best COD players in the world. It could be the social media following of the individual in question, or it could be the number of chips that they’ve secured. Typically, it all comes down to the numbers – the data that proves that any given player can be considered one of the best COD pros in the world. If they’re standing strong on the stages of some of the biggest esports tournaments in the world and producing consistently high numbers, then they’re in the running.
For years, Call of Duty’s esports scene has been growing, and there are simply thousands of competitors that want to break into the top-tier League. From the heaviest hitters to the most accurate shooters, this list breaks down the best COD players in 2023 – and further down, you’ll see our comparative breakdown of the players from previous years. At the top of the list sits our top-rated, best Call of Duty player in 2023 – do you agree with our listing?
Let’s take a look at the best COD players out there today.
TOP 10 BEST CALL OF DUTY PLAYERS
1. TYLER ‘ABEZY’ PHARRIS
It seems that with each passing year, aBeZy is getting better at his game. As an instrumental playmaker for Atlanta FaZe, aBeZy has worked so hard to create situations that lead to nothing but massive victories for his team. He’s an integral part of the squad, forming half of the Tiny Terrors, an SMG duo made up of aBeZy himself and Simp, another remarkably skilled competitor. As time goes on, aBeZy is only becoming more capable, and in 2023, he officially became the highest-paid Call of Duty competitor in history.
He’s got two world championship rings to his name, and for the last three years, while flying the Atlanta FaZe banner, aBeZy has consistently found himself sitting at the top of the table. with MVP awards to his name, a massive following on social platforms, and plenty of chips to fill his pockets, aBeZy is an incredible player. In 2023, he continues to dominate the competition, sauntering to a victory at Major II and becoming a frontrunner for the 2023 CDL Championship – again.
If there’s one player worth of the title of the best COD player in the world, it’s aBeZy.
2. MCARTHUR ‘CELLIUM’ JOVEL
Cellium is one of the most gifted young players to ever enter the Call of Duty esports space. He has competed under the Atlanta FaZe flag since the League kicked off in 2019, and with almost $1 million in winnings, he has proven time and again that he’s a contender that isn’t to be messed with. He was just twenty years old when he won his first world championship title, in 2021, and he has refused to slow down since then.
He has been described as a player that others fear going up against – especially in a one vs. one scenario. He’s incredibly tactical, and his skills with almost any weapon in-game are near-unparalleled. In the last couple of years, Cell has made MVP multiple times and has found himself named on All-Star teams in the CDL. He’s edged out by aBeZy by legacy value only, and in 2023, there are high expectations that, while flying the Atlanta FaZe banner, Cellium could secure another world championship.
3. ANTHONY ‘SHOTZZY’ CUEVAS-CASTRO
As a die-hard representative of OpTic Texas, Shotzzy is one of the most recognisable faces in the Call of Duty League. He’s a true prodigy, only twenty-one years of age going into 2023, and already a multi-platform world champion. That’s right – Shotzzy is one of just two esports competitors in history to secure a world championship title in two games – Halo and Call of Duty. Far and wide, Shotzzy is known as the King of Movement, utilising his undeniable FPS talents to get a tactical and agile edge in almost every series.
His talents on the sticks have allowed him to present a series of mind-blowing moments in 2023, almost all of them based on his innate ability to fly around a map like no other player can. He has represented OpTic Texas since coming over through the Dallas Empire merger in 2021, and he has called the organisation home ever since. He’s a massively entertaining personality that is beloved by the Green Wall, and in 2023, it’s widely thought that he’s only just getting started.
4. THOMAS ‘SCRAPPY’ ERNST
As one of the newest players in the Call of Duty League, rookie competitor ‘Scrappy’ has enjoyed a phenomenal debut. Despite being an aggressive and at times foul-mouthed, incendiary personality, Scrap has already worked hard to get a foothold in the League while flying the Toronto Ultra banner. He was instrumental in the team picking apart a white-hot OpTic Texas at Major III, securing the trophy and walking away with a $200,000 – Scrap’s first chip, just months after entering the scene.
Looking at BreakingPoint.gg, Scrappy boasts the third-highest slayer rating, the second-highest adjusted KD (1.15), and sits in the top five players for Hardpoint and Control stats. That data is accurate at the time of publishing, but it’s likely to remain true long into the 2023 season. There’s no doubt that Scrappy – despite his personality flaws – is a gifted competitor, and there’s a bright future in store for him, despite potentially having left a negative first impression on many of the League’s fans.
There’s something to be said about a player that actually backs up trash talk with undeniable talent, but Scrappy certainly needs to cool down his temperament.
5. BRANDON ‘DASHY’ OTELL
Dashy is yet to secure his first world championship title, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Since breaking into the scene in 2019 with OGLA, Dashy has proven himself to be one of the most consistent competitors in the space. He’s widely regarded as being the most accurate, pinpoint shooter in the game, wielding assault rifles with scary efficiency. Like the other players to make this list, Dashy is an honest MVP and All-Star player that’s working hard to create a lasting legacy.
In 2023, Dashy represents OpTic Texas – he’s been with OpTic since 2019, after all – and he’s one of the most popular players in the League. His talents are undeniable, and with the likes of Shotzzy by his side during the 2023 season, there’s a high chance that Dashy could finally net that all-important world championship title. If he keeps racking up high KD counts and winning those insane gunfights, he’ll make it.
6. AMER ‘PRED’ ZULBEARI
Pred is a legendary player in his own right, despite only breaking into the Call of Duty League in 2021. He’s the only player to make it to this level from Australia, a fact that he’s incredibly proud of. During the 2022 season, Pred made a real name for himself while flying the Seattle Surge banner, emerging as a playmaker that could one day rival the likes of aBeZy. He punched his way to a Major win against none other than Atlanta FaZe, securing a massive $200,000 prize and his first real chip.
During the tail end of the 2022 season, Seattle Surge looked ready to win the entire Championship, but ultimately, the team was eliminated – but secured a third-place finish. It must be said that Pred was instrumental in that placement, as his tangible talents with an SMG are white-hot and only getting better with time. He has already proven his worth again in 2023, securing a relatively consistent KD through the most important matches of the season. Like Dashy, Pred is now chasing that first world championship title.
According to BreakingPoint.gg, Pred has the highest slayer rating in the CDL (at the time of publishing), at 88.8.
7. PACO ‘HYDRA’ RUSIEWIEZ
HyDra broke into the Call of Duty League in 2020, finding a spot on the New York Subliners – a team that he would call home for the foreseeable future. Since he emerged onto the scene, HyDra has become known as one of the most capable players overall, and as one of the youngest players in the League, he has a bright future ahead of him. To kick off the 2023 season, HyDra (and the rest of the Subliners) secured Major I, going on a monumental, almost record-breaking lower bracket run.
Within the space of a few days, the Subliners crashed into the lower bracket and decided that they weren’t going to be knocked out of the tournament. In back-to-back fixtures, the Subliners beat Legion, Ultra, FaZe, and Seattle Surge to secure the trophy. Since then, HyDra has remained a stalwart force in the Subliners roster, and at the time of publishing, the team sits in fifth place overall in the CDL standings.
Behind Pred, HyDra is the second-best slayer in the CDL, and he also boasts a higher adjusted KD than even aBeZy, the number one player to make this list. There’s no doubt he’s one of the best COD players in the world right now.
8. CHRIS ‘SIMP’ LEHR
Simp is a remarkable player – and he has been since breaking into the Call of Duty esports scene back in 2017. He’s one of the youngest world champions ever, and alongside aBeZy, he has fought his way to two world championship rings. Not only that, but Simp is one of the few Call of Duty players to break through the $1 million mark in tournament winnings. He’s an absolute prodigy, and in 2023, he continues to perform at a high level.
Admittedly, his pacing has slowed down, compared to recent seasons. If we use BreakingPoint.gg data, we can see that Simp doesn’t place in the top five in any category – overall KD, slayer rating, first blood rate, and so on. But, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t still a massively talented player, and his abilities in the game are undeniable. He was a pivotal component in the success that Atlanta FaZe saw at Major II, and at the tail end of the 2022 season, he and his squad ended up in second place overall – not a bad finish by any means.
Simp now advances through 2023 looking to join a very prestigious and exclusive club by securing his third world championship.
9. ZACK ‘DRAZAH’ JORDAN
Like Scrappy, Drazah burst onto the scene and made a name for himself by being somewhat inflammatory. He hasn’t left the best of impressions on the followers of the Call of Duty League, but he remains one of the sharpest competitors in the business. In 2022, he powered his way to his first world championship title, while flying the banner of the LA Thieves. Since then, he has remained mostly consistent, even if LA Thieves as a collective has struggled to gain too much traction.
His peak was at the tail end of 2022, as before the world championship title dropped into his lap, he – and the rest of the squad- smashed through all-comers to secure the Major IV trophy. He’s a brash and confident competitor with quite a legacy in the League, despite only having been competing for a couple of years. He’s just twenty-one years of age at the time of publishing, so there’s a bright and lengthy future in store for Drazah, we’ll just have to wait and see how 2023 wraps up.
10. CUYLER ‘HUKE’ GARLAND
Huke, like many others to make this list, is a bonafide world champion-grade player, currently flying the flag of OpTic Texas. He’s a hugely capable competitor with eight years in the business, and during that time, he has represented the likes of FaZe Clan, Envy, Splyce, Dallas Empire, the LA Thieves, LAG, and most recently, OpTic Texas. He’s a playmaker for sure, and during the 2022 season, he worked with the Los Angeles Guerrillas to secure one of the biggest underdog wins in history at Major II.
In 2023, Huke is working to prove that he’s not yet ready to be counted out, standing firm as a versatile and capable competitor. He’s a talented player for sure, but there’s a little more work needed before he can break into the top-most spots in the League. However, in 2023, with the likes of Shotzzy and Dashy at his back, there’s almost no doubt that Huke is going to achieve even more great things.