H3cz & Scump Sue Activision Over CDL Monopoly

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H3cz & Scump are suing Activision Blizzard over their CDL Monopoly. They claim that ATVI has an illegal Monopoly over the entire CDL and abuses that power in a variety of ways. They claim that the Cod pro league has exorbitant fees and an extreme amount of control over any player's ability to earn. Allegedly, he CDL controls wages, sponsors, platforms, and what you do in the off season. H3cz even claims that he was forced to sell his business in order to be allowed to participate in the league. This video is my best attempt at a breakdown of the document brought before the court.
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Epic Games Support-a-Creator: "drift0r_thereal"

[@lordjaraxxus5418]

Instructions unclear: looking for the drift king from College.

[@GlRTHBR00KS]

Driftor’s sleep paralysis demon made him record this

[@Drift0r]

Was it that obvious that I was feeling sick and not on my A-game here?

[@diligaf1000]

No buddy keep up the content 👌

[@platanom3n]

Lmao

[@Nucleofission]

​@@Drift0r I think he's just joking about you laying down with your eyes open like in sleep paralysis. Solid content as always Drift!

[@OneAndOnlyKJx]

I had no idea. You sounded good to me! ​@Drift0r

[@Fistminer]

Winslow sends his regards.

[@Dr.Frogerston]

the true drift king

[@grantpoole7902]

It's quite clever having the statement 'call of duty is the equivalent of football' If Activision admit it is, then the complaint is strengthened. If Activision say it's not, then it proves that their takeover of the league and high fees were for nothing.

[@tomwillz6985]

Exactly. If they were to deny they’re not the ‘equivalent of football’, it would be embarrassing for Activision’s image and it would suggest their League proposal/pitch was a scam.

[@bobdarrick2628]

CDL is CoD. CoD is owned by ATVI. ATVI owning the CDL is of no issue.

[@nolancarlson5505]

I think COD esports is to esports what american football is to other sports.

[@bobdarrick2628]

@@nolancarlson5505 'esports' are not sports whatsoever. they are competitive but there is no exercise or health element to them. they aren't even real skills that you can particularly claim in the real world.

[@hunterking6471]

Thank you for this video I had no idea what this was all about

[@Drift0r]

Glad I could help :)

[@bencurry6520]

Didn’t realize how much I’ve missed just listening to you talk about random things. Got me through senior year of high school when I was recovering from a bad break up just having videos on all night.

[@Drift0r]

;)

[@Celeritate7]

Thanks for talking about this! You are my only source of info about the CoD world. I had no idea this was happening because I don't follow the scene anymore, but as a former CoD player I still find this very interesting.

[@Drift0r]

No problem!

[@xCKx_MightyRay]

Don’t stop making content and hope you recover as soon as possible from the condition that you have

[@Drift0r]

thank you

[@bobdarrick2628]

@@Drift0rValorant sucks

[@ProphetTLK]

Driftor here to save the day and explain everything “in depth” 😂

[@Swole_Gecko]

"in bed"

[@TheOptiima]

This is a crazy situation. Praying that these teams get some justice for this

[@drunkhusband6257]

They can go screw themselves, tell them to get real jobs

[@ennolanguss]

I think cdl being compared to nfl seems right...both are pretty irrelevant outside of NA

[@Drift0r]

Lolololololol

[@Game4Lord]

This year's Super Bowl says otherwise. People in Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil were watching it.

[@LolTroll217]

@@Game4Lord 3 countries

[@Game4Lord]

@@LolTroll217 Australia and New Zealand are continents, genius. Pickup a geography textbook.

[@Fulzee]

you gotta be trolling lmfao @@Game4Lord

[@TwoLeggedTriceratops]

Thank you for covering this topic from all angles.

[@Drift0r]

My pleasure!

[@nissanzenkiboy]

I love the 6:45 side view 😂 but respect man for still putting up a video. All the best man!

[@Drift0r]

Thank you

[@nissanzenkiboy]

@@Drift0r you welcome man

[@fastbreakreport]

It's not so much about what you can say in court, but what you can prove in court. Even if Scump and H3cz win this lawsuit it could be YEARS before they ever see a dollar of that $600M+ also after taxes that money is half of what they would actually get so figure $350M is what they would walkaway with. But if they can prove all of this, then yes it would be VERY bad for activision.

[@CromCruachTheElderK]

very chill to listen to. thanks, now I know what I need to know about this.

[@Game4Lord]

And people wonder why Activision needed to be completely cleaned of its leadership. Nobody needs to have this much money.

[@smileyr]

Well that’s a dumb take. You don’t think Microsoft is the same way? Why do you think they harp on Xbox game pass so much ? It’s not like changing leadership is going to change that. That literally your job as the ceo; increase the value of that brand or company. Increase revenue equals increase in value. All cleaning house does is just put another ceo that does the same thing. Not to sound cliche but that’s just how business works. You either play the business game or don’t.

[@Game4Lord]

@@smileyr Good businesses don't form monopolies that take advantage of people. You may want to consider not being a contrarian.

[@randomsmile9064]

@@Game4Lord what's a good successful business that isn't a monopoly that takes advantage of people?

[@Frosty_V0]

@@randomsmile9064Razer

[@mattmatt2197]

I think part of their argument is that they didn't have a choice but to sign those contracts because Activision had a monopoly. They bought the only other competitive COD league, MLG thus removing all competition.

[@youngphil8766]

Nice and informative video mate. Could have stood up for us even once? Im ofc kidding and hope whatever you are going through heals and you get better. Much love from Finland

[@Drift0r]

Next time!

[@JoshsTesla]

Very good content Driftor and I'm happy to see you're still making content man, longtime fan of yours. Sadly, regardless of what happens with this lawsuit, things will change with the CDL. If they win, which I hope they do because we all know Activision is all about that cash money, then I imagine a lot of the other teams might back out of the CDL. If they lose, I wouldn't be surprised if they also back out in solidarity. In either case, I don't think the CDL will be around for much longer after this season. I know for sure Activision has a proven track record of being scummy and have a feeling at least some of these allegations are true. Keep doing the Lord's work brother

[@Drift0r]

I wonder what would come after the CDL?

[@firedell1031]

I can only hope other team owners and players start backing Hecz and Scump on this.

[@Odd1x]

Whoever convinced these orgs to buy into the CoD and Overwatch leagues for millions with Activision doing the bare minimum on their end pulled the ultimate scam. I remember H3cz would talk about "this new cod league" being like the NFL/NBA before its inception. An integral part to those sports leagues succeeding is the solid foundation at the grass roots level. CoD's grass roots level however felt non existent. I think Call of Duty still has the potential to be one of the bigger Esports with how popular the game is. It's just been terribly run by suits disconnected from the scene.

[@IceBradleyHeal]

So A Deprivation Of Rights Lawsuit

[@jbzhummerh2gamer]

Sweet Jesus! This is a mess.

[@shoebert31]

This is ridiculous. I agree that Acti is a horseshit company, but saying your brand lost out on 100 million is absurd. The goal of this lawsuit is 100% to settle.

[@SBdunks3]

You being in bed making this video is refreshing, I never saw anybody make a vid like this 😂

[@iknowfacts]

Pretty wild lawsuit. It would not surprise me if the claims are proven to be true. However this thing gets resolved, I just hope the competitive cod community ends up in a better place for it.

[@posaune45]

Bruh I need to know the thought process behind showing the second camera angle lmao

[@fintx_7542]

Stopping to comment so could be addressed later on, but you can absolutely make the argument CoD is the American football of esports. Here’s why: CSGO and LoL (and some others) have massive international audiences the same way soccer(fútbol), rugby and cricket do. But when it comes to American esports, CoD is our football has a significant market share of the “casual esports entertainment market”. If you’re a “serious” esports fan you’re watching csgo, halo, lol, cod, everything right? But for the casual couch gamer, cod is far more accessible. As such, cod’s pro league is equally more relatable to the American market. That’s the argument I’d make anyways.

[@georgeabreu6392]

What I take: They were forcefully made into wage laborers whereas previously they had organizational autonomy. A large part of what they describe is precisely what it means to be subject to wage labor and might imply something about that system generally.

[@urbangrower4975]

Yes because we needed a body can to make sure we didn’t miss anything!

[@lqzy.mp4]

bros in his bed MAKING THAT BREAD

[@brandonherrera6004]

Since the lawsuit is filed after the Activision and MS merger. Does it affect it differently? Now that their under one entity

[@ProsperYT]

Drift0r did a better job than The Flank. No shots at The Flank.

[@rey_azteca_009]

Thanks for the in depth.

[@Drift0r]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JonLaRue]

Every single instance = under duress. Who is the CEO Activision Blizzard now? The person that lead Esports prior...

[@aviladsm]

Why is he lying down? With 2 camera angles? What did I miss..

[@saze304]

always loved these talking vids, i could honestly listen to you ramble all day about anything. BO2 in depth will forever be goated

[@Bayuuk]

I think at 10:37 it’s important to understand post his retirement, Scump was still legally Optic’s Substitute player. He shifted from a starting position to the bench.

[@Drift0r]

Now that, I didn't know!

[@Bayuuk]

Yeah, so I additionally think that he may still have been subjected to those rules due to that. I think there is a lot of factors to be considered with both sides. @@Drift0r

[@littlelauchie]

Thanks for reading this through, it’s great to understand and I hope they win

[@Rajonas007]

Love bed cam very chill and original ❤

[@MickyD979]

Drift0r more than likely not going to see this but more videos like this would be amazing. Wanting to do them is one thing and your health might be limiting you as well but keep up this work I love it.

[@TheScorpio1999]

Good to see more heat being applied on this company. In terms of signing a contract; yeah, 99% of the time I would agree with you, but as I'm sure OpTic's team will argue in court, they have staff that still needs to get paid. Team coaches, and so on; who knows how many people are needed to keep the machine running, right? As far as the previous settlement you mentioned - if a precedent has already been set where Acti settled, that's bad news for them in this case and they likely won't make it very far in this case once the judge sees that in the writing.

[@AlexanTheMan]

Well they're certainly imitating all the terrible aspects from the NFL.

[@Kouki_Monster]

Drift, I've been watching for years for your In Depth series, but these breakdowns and analyses where you make the content digestible for the common Neanderthal is truly where you excel. Thanks for the explanation, and keep healing up 🤙🏽

[@JermyHD]

Great in depth vid Drift!

[@smileyr]

I think activison should just do what the nfl and nba does. Make the cdl a subsidiary of cod therefore is not directly affiliated with activison. That way the league is separate from cod and teams are independent from league. Even with the nfl, the teams are all independent they are not owned by the nfl. The nfl is its own thing and the teams are its own thing and then there is a union like nflpa. So just copy that model have the cdl league, the teams and some sort of union that bridges the gap between the league and the teams but they are all separate.

[@iskabin]

Driftor never fails to amaze me on how well versed he is in every important thing he brings up in his channel. The honesty in separating his opinions from the facts, and his lucidity on what is subjective is commendable. A true gentleman indeed.

[@Drift0r]

Thank you for the compliments

[@joemasta99]

I think league of legends is soccer, more global. COD esports is an American esport and comparing it to the prominently American League the NFL is reasonable. I don’t agree with the comparison but calling it the nfl of esports. Football is #1 here but not around the world, league of legends holds that crown.

[@snowfall1221]

Appreciate the content even given your current state, good vid

[@sergeantxdan]

689 million yea hecz sounds greedy.

[@94Liturgy]

The team, if he still owns, he can move on from eSports n focus elsewhere. If the team is no longer his, then he might be forced to hand it over n step down

[@Rockodave1]

Hope your feeling better buddy 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@gunslinga7077]

Yo driftor your one of the goats of cod bro been watching your vids for a long time

[@Drift0r]

Ty

[@User-hb6sv7vp1w]

​@@Drift0rAre you crippled?

[@DamonYoungYT]

Super helpful summary. Thanks for this.

[@DylanBeast777]

You need to get the apple vision pro since you're already disabled.

[@ChilledNurse]

Safe to say Call of Duty League is done after this season. Good.

[@ProphetTLK]

SBMM is still gonna be in casual & the games will still be unfinished. so this case means nothing to anyone who doesn’t care for CDL 😂

[@Newbbenny]

Drift0r should get green bedsheets to green screen himself in the videos, I can't stop staring at the pillow lol, get better man

[@UndifinedOne]

What condition do you have?

[@dual.clutch]

Wouldn't preventing players from streaming on the side make the league closer to the NBA than the NFL? 😅

[@JonLaRue]

If you have been watching Hecz Podcasts since BO4 you knew this was all coming if you were reading through the lines, and listening to Scump complain about not being able to stream, as he made money from Streaming vs CDL.

[@RiptideGaming_GXT]

Just damn...

[@droidaimone]

I agree about League. I dont play it, but I watch Worlds every year like non sport ppl who watch the Superbowl. Glad to see you're doing better, man!

[@prototypep4]

No. League is the equivalent of the premier league. It is watched the world over. The NFL is just for the US

[@hamza-chaudhry]

19:39 F1 Esports has also been in a shambles

[@mlgxxx808]

Is call of duty black ops 2 receiving a security update

[@michaelmiller3247]

I mean there is a huge difference in professional football 🏈 and football ⚽️. CoD might just be 🏈 if considering League and Valorant are ⚽️. People dont understand the world's stage of sports is much larger than the US's.

[@Ri_Guy]

CWL! Please!

[@Digitalgaming]

Drift..... back problems? what's going on?

[@armednready8878]

If not for Activision Optic CDL wouldn’t exist. Some of these complaints are valid but I think this ultimately kills the CDL for good

[@Gamer1990100]

Activision needs to be taken down a few notches anyways

[@rob1bassbone]

he wasn't forced to do anything. He made a choice to sell

[@prototypep4]

Ehhhh yes and no. Basically this goes a lot deeper than just don't sign don't play. They could effectively cut optic off from cod altogether if they wished especially if hecz rallied the greenwall to just basically trash the league. And oh man is that ever a possibility. Cod is their bread and butter they essentially had the choice of sell optic to infinite to stay competing or try to make it work in other games which was not a long term projection they'd want to take the risk on. Especially with scump still being a prime competitor.

[@matthewmeyer49]

Saying League is more popular than CoD is the same as the people who say Soccer is more popular than football… like yea technically it is, but no one I know cares 🤣

[@182punkbunny]

Now I don’t know if this is smart or stupid to wait until Microsoft bought activision… is that why they try to get such high amount? Otherwise if it was just activision would of been a lot lower number to shoot

[@kimkong86]

Such a clear monopoly and Activison will lose or settle, 100%. The law here is very clear,

[@killacam197.]

Football is an American (mostly) sport. I would argue that COD is most popular in america making the football comparison valid. I would say LOL and Valorant are most popular outside of the US. I have also seen optic’s streams and seen 30-40K concurrent viewers, i would wager that US viewers were the largest % of the viewers.

[@mvbmva]

That is quite interesting

[@jeff_jrr]

I hope optic wins this!

[@aghostwiener]

I agree it was foolishness to sign a legal document without revision but think about the company that was built on the esport, not participating wouldve lost them more money in the long run and in the middle of 2020 esport hype it wasnt a viable option, lose all the fans, support, direct hit to youtube views...

[@MrDoverfield]

Another amazing Comfy Boi video

[@Drift0r]

:P

[@MrDoverfield]

@@Drift0rGlad you’re doing better

[@RambinoYT]

LET'S GO OPTIC! Massive W for the Community! FACK GREEDYVISION

[@TheGreenfield7]

COD might be the football of esports. Depending on what football your talking about. American football yes, soccer football no. I would say LOL is like soccer football. Americans tend to forget that American football isn't as big outside of America.

[@pvp979gaming]

even in America league is like 10x more popular then cod

[@legendhavok1723]

Lots of these allegations are things that are present in virtually every single league model out there whether its a sport or e-sport. The difference? No union in e-sports, and there's no single "owner" of a sports league because the game being played is not an IP like a video game is. Forcing people to sign documents under duress though will never play well in court. A couple of examples come to mind that are kind of parallel but not perfect. in the UFC.. after Brock Lesnar won a match, he was being interviewed in the middle of the ring and said he would be going back to his room to drink a Coors beer, and he mentioned Coors again and said "Because Budweiser won't pay me nothing". Budweiser of course was a sponsor of the UFC so Brock was fined. It's not exactly the same as Seth being fined for promoting Raid Shadow Legends on his own stream, when Scump plays a different game, BUT, would a player of any sport take money to promote a rival league (think NFL player appearing in a commercial promoting the XFL when it was a thing), even if it was the offseason? I don't think so.

[@TheOutsider-vc1hy]

'Call of Duty is the equivalent of football' is the dumbest statement these two put in there. It's a dishonest (and wrong) comparison. Call of Duty is an IP. The NFL is an IP. No one owns 'video games' because its a generalized term. No one owns 'football' because it is also a generalized term. Noun/Proper Noun is important because Proper Noun's indicate ownership or possession of some kind. You can't take Call of Duty and make money off of it without consent of the company that owns it. Period. What Ginger Ned Flanders and Discount Esse don't realize is that the NFL, which is more accurate to describe CDL, does not let anyone run tournaments or games with their teams' likeness or uniform without their permission. It boggles the mind that these two think the Department of Justice cracking down on what is, essentially, Activision's idea of a 'Luxury Tax' is somehow in the same vain as being monopolistic.

[@hamza-chaudhry]

9:01 14:08 13:00

[@TheFrankIcon]

CoD and the NFL are both big in only Western countries. LoL is more like Soccer. The whole world watches this and a hell of alot more money in it.

[@Drift0r]

I needed it to fill the from because the top down camera is the wrong aspect ratio for split frame like that

[@Frosty_V0]

19:49 Or prime Fortnite

[@RudeComment19]

Awesome!!!

[@gamerthumbslife]

Good stuff❤ty

[@murr9704]

Stop using COD!!!

[@KingM1805]

u are not the drift king!

[@bobbywhite1152]

Streamers stooping lower and lower

[@richardlong2094]

Views are doing well driftor, must be the deadest views/subs ration on here

[@pacmikey1763]

Illa noise

[@LyricBossYT]

why tf are you laying down every video is this a joke or something

[@crimnvL]

not even valorant is

[@RaveN_EDM]

LOL or valorant is like soccer or football while COD is like AMERICAN football. COD is probably more popular in the US than LOL but LOL is more popular globally. Same with American football and soccer.

[@procprime]

Algorithm feeding comment uwu

[@Drift0r]

Nomnomnom

[@Semperf11]

Is bro laying in the bed?

[@Semperf11]

8:40 yup

[@Semperf11]

So elegant

[@Kevin-Schmevin]

Next time please don't include the side view of you laying there. Not sure why I'm having to tell you that...

[@Drift0r]

I needed it to fill the frame

[@Kevin-Schmevin]

@@Drift0r that doesn't explain why you set up that camera in the first place. Seems fishy...