Who Would Win A Call of Duty SandD Match: Professional PC Or CDL Players?

A debate that has been ravaging the online gaming community for years revolves around the advantages of a keyboard and mouse over a controller. Those on the PC side of things like to claim that aim-assist on controllers give console users an unfair edge in multiplayer shooter titles. On the flip side, PlayStation and Xbox owners complain about how much customisation is available to keyboard and mouse users. On top of that, aiming with a mouse is much more precise than aiming with a joystick, no matter how much aim-assist is enabled. 

With this debate in mind, we thought it would be an interesting discussion to see which side would have the upper hand in a Call of Duty Search and Destroy match.

Picking the players 

Before looking at the showmatch, we first need to establish what players would be participating in this proposed event. Obviously, one team needs to be all keyboard and mouse users, and the other needs to be professional Call of Duty League players. For the PC team, we selected players that have a background in Call of Duty. Whether it’s playing Call of Duty: Warzone or competitive Search and Destroy matches, some previous experience was required when forming this list. 

Here are the proposed PC players: 

• Turner “Tfue” Tenney 
• Dennis “Cloakzy” Lepore
• Tim “TimTheTatman” John Betar
• Mason "Symfuhny" Lanier
• Jordan “HusKers” Thomas

Each person on this team has either grinded Warzone extensively or played some form of Call of Duty multiplayer in the past. With Symfuhny, Tfue, Cloakzy, and HusKers, there’s no question as to their prowess on a keyboard and mouse. However, TimTheTatman brings a deeper knowledge of Call of Duty, as he used to exclusively play the older titles in his early Twitch days. He’s also not half-bad with a keyboard and mouse himself. 

Moving on to the professional CDL team, we selected some of the most dominant players in recent memory and in Call of Duty esports as a whole. The list features two assault rifles, two submachine guns, and one flex. 

• Seth “Scump” Abner
• Chris “Simp” Lehr
• Sam “Octane” Larew
• Matthew “FormaL” Piper
• Ian “Crimsix” Porter

On this team, we have players with dozens of tournament wins, being Scump and Crimsix, and arguably the two best assault rifle players to grace the esport in FormaL and Octane. Lastly, there’s Simp, who’s regarded as one of the top players in the CDL despite only being 19 years old. 

• Read More - The Best Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Players

The showmatch

Now that the teams are settled, it’s time to answer who would win a best of three series featuring Search and Destroy on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. If we’re going off our first instincts, you might think that the CDL team has the upper hand. After all, these players grind the game day in and day out and have knowledge that very few people in the world possess. Their controller skills are also among the best that any region has to offer. 

However, while the Call of Duty pros have the knowledge, the PC players have the ability to kill their opponents with ease. After all, it is somewhat easier to aim and shoot with a keyboard and mouse. So, in a one on one gunfight, we might have to give the edge to a PC player over a controller user. If the CDL pros were smart though, they would avoid getting into medium-long range gunfights with any one of their PC opponents. 

With that in mind, the CDL team would most likely win at least a few rounds based on knowledge alone. They know the timings of every map, plant spots, lines of sight, and the list goes on. Sure, a PC player like Symfuhny could lock onto a target at long range but if the CDL players are wise, they would plant the bomb quickly to ensure a minimal amount of engagements occur.

In all likelihood, the CDL team’s knowledge and understanding of each map would give them an advantage that makes it difficult for the PC team to win. Someone like Simp could weave through a map undetected and catch one or two PC players off-guard for an easy kill. While that’s happening, Scump could plant the bomb with FormaL watching over him from a spot the PC players don’t even know about. 

It’s likely that HusKers or Tfue or even Cloakzy would win a good amount of their one on one gunfights. Pairing this with Symfuhny’s unstoppable ability and TimTheTatman’s knowledge of Call of Duty could net the squad a few round wins. However, it’s hard to imagine them outsmarting the likes of the greatest Call of Duty pros for two separate matches. So, in the end, we would give the CDL team the win due to their knowledge, but the PC players could definitely win a map based on their insane skill alone. 

Images via FaZe Clan and Activision