CWL Las Vegas will be the most important event of the competitive Black Ops 4 season

The first major LAN event for each new title in the Call of Duty franchise is always extremely important. A good placing can set you up for success throughout the rest of the season, while a low finish could put you in a hole that’s too deep to climb out of.

But this year, the inaugural event for Black Ops 4 will be more important than ever before.

Related: The initial schedule for the 2019 Call of Duty World League season has been revealed

During yesterday’s Call of Duty World League season reveal, the CWL announced some important information about competitive Black Ops 4. We already knew that the first event will be CWL Las Vegas in December—but we also learned just how crucial this tournament will be in terms of qualifying for the CWL Pro League.

CWL Las Vegas will be just like any ordinary open Call of Duty event, with an open bracket, pool play, and a double-elimination championship bracket. But there will also be major implications for the rest of the season based on how a team performs in Sin City.

If a team wants to qualify for the 2019 CWL Pro League, they’ll need to earn at least a top 32 finish at CWL Las Vegas. That’s right—if you don’t place inside the top 32, you won’t get a chance to qualify for the pro league.

In the past, teams have had multiple events to accrue pro points and try to earn a spot in the CWL Pro League. But that won’t be the case this year, and teams’ placing at this one event will determine whether they’ll have a chance to go pro.

Related: Competitive Call of Duty switches to 5-vs-5 format for the 2019 CWL season

The top four teams from Vegas will automatically earn a spot in the CWL Pro League. The remaining teams in the top 32 (fifth to 32nd) will have to battle through a grueling qualifier in January to fight for the last 12 spots in the CWL Pro League. 

And that’s it. That’s the entire process that will determine which 16 teams make the CWL Pro League in Black Ops 4. 

That’s also why CWL Las Vegas will be the most important event in Black Ops 4—because it has the power to single-handedly make or break a team’s entire season. If a quality team comes into Vegas prepared and well-practiced, they should be able to take care of business and place top 32. But if a squad is underprepared or takes an opponent lightly, they could falter and risk missing out on the pro league altogether.

Essentially, this system puts a lot of emphasis on the initial version of the game. In theory, fans should be able to tell which teams played the most Black Ops 4 at the start of October and put in the most work prior to Dec. 7. Hopefully, this process will ensure that the best and most well-prepared teams will qualify for the CWL Pro League.

Everything will be on the line for Call of Duty players at CWL Las Vegas, which begins on Dec. 7.