Chicago Huntsmen


The Chicago Huntsmen is an American professional Call of Duty League esports team based in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Huntsmen is owned by NRG Esports.

History

NRG announced that it had bought the Chicago slot in the Call of Duty League on September 13, 2019, two days later Hector "H3CZ" Rodriguez joined from OpTic Gaming as the CEO and co-owner of the team. On October 24, 2019, the 5 man starting roster was announced, including the star of the former OpTic roster, Seth "Scump" Abner.
In 2020, the Huntsmen announced sponsorship deals with Crep Protect, that will see the launch of a line of co-branded products between the team & sponsor as well as promotional content, and Zippo. The team began their CDL 2020 season on April 4th with matches against 8 other teams including Dallas Empire, OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, London Royal Ravens, Seattle Surge, Atlanta FaZe, New York Subliners, and the Los Angeles Guerrillas.

Current roster

Notable Accomplishments

Search and Destroy "Full Sail" Against Minnesota RØKKR

During their first match against the Minnesota RØKKR on the first day of the Dallas Empire Home Series tournament, the Chicago Huntsmen performed a "Full Sail," which occurs when a team that is down 0-5 in a search and destroy game goes on to win the next six consecutive rounds and thus win the game. The phrase "Full Sail" is an ode to Full Sail University, the venue of the Major League Gaming Fall Invitational 2013, at which the first 0-5 search and destroy comeback occurred during competitive play. The Huntsmen would go on to win the match 3-0.

Controversy

Breaking of Gentleman's Agreement During London Home Series Grand Final

During a February 16, 2020, Twitch stream titled "Back to the Kingdom," Ian "Crimsix" Porter, of Dallas Empire, accused the Huntsmen of using three stun grenades during their Grand Finals match at the London Royal Ravens Home Series. Porter claimed the use of three stun grenades went against a gentleman's agreement between the teams to use two stun grenades, two flash grenades, and one smoke grenade. The Huntsmen said the use of three stuns was an "honest mistake." Porter did not claim the use of three stuns materially affected the outcome of the game, and said he was unsure if the results would have been different had the gentlemen's agreement not been broken.