Subliners Drama Spikes Amid Call of Duty Rostermania

As the news dropped that Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter would be leaving the Subliners squad for the 2023 season, a wildfire argument kicked off. For those that followed the 2022 Call of Duty League season, there was obviously something of a mismatch between the starting line-up in the Subliners team. There was almost no ground gained by the team until the very final stages, aside from winning an early sub-event in the league, the COD Pro-Am Classic.

Now, as revealed on Zoomaa’s ‘The Flank’, internal issues among the NYSL players ran deeper than fans could have ever predicted. As the likes of PaulEhx, Crimsix, and HyDra took to the microphone on the show, they divulged details of long-running personal concerns that had impacted the team for weeks, if not months. At the core of these issues sat situations such as alleged racism, and the suggestion that the Subliners’ management was prepping for new players to enter the team before Major IV had even been played.

And just think – rostermania has only just begun.

Crimsix Against The World

Image Credit: New York Subliners

Crimsix has officially been dropped by the New York Subliners – that much is for certain. However, former teammate PaulEhx suggested that this decision was put into motion before Major IV was played in July. In recent years, Crimsix has been ‘forced out’ of OpTic, left out in the cold by the closure of Dallas Empire, and now, he’s been dropped rather unceremoniously by the New York Subliners.

While Crim accepted that he was to blame for a fair portion of the personal issues present within the Subliners, the decision seemed to come as a blow to the COD veteran:

If I don’t find a new home for 2023, just know that I am aware that I am the only one to blame as these trends and my character could be things teams want to steer clear from. But I refuse to be anyone but myself, for good, the bad, and the ugly.

In the past year, it was revealed that Crim insulted two of his teammates. Firstly, he stated that Neptune was ‘the worst sub in the league’, and then in a discussion with HyDra regarding his heritage, Crimsix allegedly asked (mockingly), ‘who cares about Algeria?’ On the back of this revelation and in line with the debate that followed, Crim announced that HyDra is ‘dead to him’ and cast claims of extreme toxicity.

Of course, HyDra responded by stating that he was ‘reminded of how much he hates’ his Subliners teammates, which didn’t help the situation.

The Future Of NYSL

In recent years, the New York Subliners haven’t played badly in the Call of Duty League, but there has always been room for improvement. This year was an all-time low for the organisation, however, and it has ended on a seriously sour note. On Twitter, one user took a shot at the management team running the organisation:

As with any team in the League right now, the situation is fluid and subject to change. By the time the next season starts, rosters will have been shaken up on a universal level, as organisations prepare to compete on an entirely new platform. It’s a gifted pool, and some of the greatest Call of Duty players in the world will emerge in the next few months, ready to take their shot at the world championship.

For now, Crimsix will need to sit out in the cold and potentially negotiate a new contract with an all-new organisation. As for the rest of the Subliners, there’s a hole that needs to be patched, but the question is, who will fill it?