On March 10, 2021, Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni announced that CDL franchise Toronto Ultra would be benching him heading into Stage 2. But what happens next for the AR? Here are all the options.
Methodz has been a mainstay in Call of Duty for years now. Initially coming up in Black Ops 2, he had an exceptional resurgence during the World War II season, and since then has been a well-regarded assault rifle player that can fit with just about any team.
Clearly, though, there were issues in the Ultra camp. With their 3-5 record to start the season, they’ve already made a change.
To the surprise of many fans and fellow pros, the player on the chopping block was Methodz, who announced that he had been benched on March 10. This, despite leading Ultra in KD across all modes.
Before it comes from anyone else, I’ve been benched by Ultra. Not really sure what to say or do, this is my best game since WW2 and obviously wasn’t expecting this. Appreciate the support in advance
— OpTic Methodz (@Methodz) March 10, 2021
Zinni added in a follow-up tweet that he would be playing in the Challengers circuit with Decemate, Drazah and TMTwerk. He remains contracted to Toronto for the time being which prevents him playing for another CDL team.
Regardless of the circumstances, Methodz would clearly prefer to play in the CDL with the very best. Here are some potential options he has going forward:
Stick it out in Challengers
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Methodz will be playing in Challengers, and at this very moment in time there’s no telling how long that will be for.
He would no doubt be one of the best main ARs in the amateur tournaments, and with his history of success, can help elevate a number of teams. With that said, it seems unlikely that Methodz will be stuck outside of the Call of Duty League for long.
Despite what I think, this is the situation I'm in and have decided to play Challengers w/ Decemate, Drazah, and TMTwerk. I'm confident I'll be back where I belong in due time & I appreciate all of your guys' support more than you know.
— OpTic Methodz (@Methodz) March 11, 2021
Traded to another CDL team
The likelihood is that Methodz gets traded to another CDL team, and he’s deserving of that too. There are a number of teams that could use assistance here, so let’s take a look at the options.
London Royal Ravens
London is the obvious choice. They’ve had some poor luck this season, with Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris unable to get to the US and Alex ‘Alexx’ Carpenter missing the Stage 1 Major for personal reasons. That said, they’ve completely failed to make the best of a bad situation, and the players’ performances are lackluster at best.
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With Sean ‘Seany’ O’Connor as London’s main AR, Methodz would be a direct improvement. While Seany has become a fan-favorite in the UK, with plenty of clutch moments, he’s simply not the AR Methodz is.
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This move would allow London to move Seany into a more-suited flex role and replace Chris ‘Parasite’ Duarte, who was brought in as a temporary stand-in due to Zer0’s absence.
With Zer0 due to return at some point down the line, the Ravens could then find themselves with more talented players than starting slots. Not a bad problem to have after such a poor start to the season.
Seattle Surge
Seattle is perhaps the only team that doesn’t need to upgrade their main AR, but it’s not impossible. During the Reverse Sweep CDL Preview Show, Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt argued that Seattle should consider a blockbuster trade for Octane, and this could play perfectly into their hands.
Methodz has history playing with both Loony and Gunless, and they’ve seen success together, so it’s clearly a mixture that can work. This would also work for Seattle if it frees up cap space and allows them to grab another Toronto asset — and Octane is definitely worth going for.
This could end up a move that works for both parties, though depending on the traded players, may help Toronto significantly more than Seattle.
Minnesota RØKKR
Lamar ‘Accuracy’ Abedi has been a tremendous main AR in recent years, but for some reason it’s just not working out right now. ROKKR are the worst Hardpoint team in the league and need to change something to start racking up wins.
That’s not to say Accuracy is the problem, because he’s far from it. But, if the RØKKR did want to make a change and strike before it’s too late, Methodz’s availability could be something they consider.
This is an unlikely one, but we wouldn’t say it’s impossible.
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Does he have any other options?
Realistically, there’s not a lot Methodz can do as of right now. While benched and under contract, he can’t exactly force a trade to another franchise, but he won’t want to risk his stock plummeting as a result of not playing.
It’s very possible things don’t work out for Toronto Ultra and they add him back to the starting lineup. He is a strong player, and a proven winner, so his replacement will need to bring some serious prowess to the squad.
He’s certainly a CDL-level player, but now he’ll be keeping an eye on other teams to see if his benching can get the ball rolling for possible trades.
