Recent reports suggest that World Champion Christopher ‘Parasite’ Duarte is set to join the Call of Duty League’s London Royal Ravens, as the CDL team struggles to overcome 2021 visa issues.
Sources have told Dot Esports’ Corey Davis that veteran CoD pro colloquially known as “Haggy” could soon be making his highly anticipated debut in the CDL. A professional competitor since 2011, Parasite couldn’t crack a CDL roster in 2020’s Modern Warfare seaon and was relegated to competing for various Challengers teams during the season.
Now, as the Royal Ravens deal with visa issues surrounding Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris and the recently signed Marcus ‘Afro’ Reid, the team has elected to bring on a player already located in North America to avoid ping issues.
Should the deal become official, this would put Parasite directly into a starting lineup for the foreseeable future depending on visa developments.
According to reports, Royal Ravens have elected to sign Parasite after previous negotiations with WestR’s Paul ‘PaulEhx’ Avila fell through. With the team unable to sign the Challengers standout or get the aforementioned Zer0 and Afro into the United States, they’re apparently turning to the formerly scouted Parasite.
A 2013 world champion, Parasite nearly cracked London’s 2020 roster until the team opted to sign Rhys ‘Rated’ Price instead — who was subsequently benched and now plays Warzone for 100 Thieves.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
A year later, visas allow Parasite his chance to assume a starting role in the league. Contract details remain nebulous, but Davis reports that the team has begun scrimming immediately with the new signee.
This means that the team has about two weeks to practice, allowing a chance to improve upon a difficult 2-3 loss to the Paris Legion during the CDL Kickoff Classic. London’s first official match will be on February 14, when the team faces the Seattle Surge during the Atlanta FaZe Home Series.
It’s unclear why PaulEhx declined the Royal Ravens offer, but some have speculated it’s because they were only putting forward a short-term contract. If so, then Parasite’s deal may be similarly temporary. Nonetheless, if the deal is finalized, London’s opening lineup should be set.
London Royal Ravens 2021 CDL Lineup (reported)
- Sean ‘Seany’ O’Connor (Starter)
- Alex ‘Alexx’ Carpenter (Starter)
- Thomas ‘Dylan’ Henderson (Starter)
- Christopher ‘Parasite’ Duarte (Starter)
- Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris (Substitute)
- Marcus ‘Afro’ Reid (Substitute)
You can catch up on all of this offseason’s player signings and team changes with our CDL 2021 RosterMania hub.
