Join New York Subliners Coach John Boble before he sets off for war in the Call of Duty League’s inaugural season.

This 13 part series covers everything from competitive modes to team culture, coaching, esports risks, bridging the gap between casual and competitive fans, amateur vs. pro teams, and representing New York. All aboard!

Breaking the Ice with Boble

Tim Palmieri

Let's start with a few simple rapid-fire questions. If you went to the Gun Smith in-game what weapon, camo, and attachments would you come back with?

John Boble

(Laughs) Without a doubt the gun I would come back with would be an MP5. The camo I'd come back with would probably be old school, original COD 4 blue camo.

Attachments if I could pick, more traditional from past games. I do Quick Draw, a long barrel, and a stock. It's hard to say specifically for Modern Warfare because there are a whole bunch of attachments that are brand new.

To be honest, we're still trying to learn some of the names of the new ones and exactly what they do.

Tim

(Laughs) I’m not sure if you’re referring to the Blue Tiger, but that is a very nice camo.

Boble

Yes

Tim

If you're on a kill streak, what are you calling in?

Boble

One later down the line has to be the Chopper Gunner. That's a very nostalgic one for me. Whenever you get in the turret of that thing, nobody on the map stands a chance. Probably early on I'm running a UAV, so I can see where the enemies are on the map.

Sometimes I like to play around with what else is out there, but typically in this game I've been running stuff like the Cluster Strike and the Cruise Missile. Sometimes I'll mess around with some of the AI control streaks in the seven-slot but UAV for sure and Chopper Gunner always.

Tim

If you're upset at an opposing player in pubs, what loadout did they use to ruin your day?

Boble

(Laughs) He's using that shotgun. What is it the 725? One hundred percent the shotgun strapped with double claymores. There's nothing that makes me rage more than dying to someone with that loadout.

Tim

(Laughs) Yeah, that shotguns basically a sniper.

Boble

(Laughs)

Part 1: The Line Between Amateurs and Pros

Tim

Let’s move on to the tournament. If you had to write a tagline for the tournament, what would it be?

Boble

Subliners’ celebration of COD launch. In the past, there's always been these big online tournaments to celebrate the launch of the game.  We didn't see any other teams doing something like that, so we felt it was a unique way to show our brand to the community. Franchising is exciting. A new game is exciting.

Tim

There's definitely a lot of exciting moments worth celebrating in competitive Call of Duty. Can you tell me about a moment in the tournament that exemplifies that excitement?

Boble

When an amateur team was going up against some of the fan-favorite names in Call of Duty. They were called the Junkyard Dawgz and they won a Hardpoint match 4v5. One of their players lagged out of the game. They didn't have a lead, but it was still early on. The amateurs with four guys on their team won down a person, which is not something you see a lot. That was definitely a memorable moment for me.

Tim

Amateur teams had great results in the tournament. With so many ways for amateurs to practice and improve against pros, do you think they pose the biggest threat yet?

Boble

Early on, that is actually always the case. What you'll see is whoever puts in the most time off the game launch soon becomes the best. With every new game comes new opportunities for amateur players alike because if they're putting the time in, they'll get noticed and that raises their stock as a player.

Whenever you see upsets happen in sports and esports, it's typically because one team is underestimating another. What you're seeing now is a lot of these pro players are maybe underestimating the underdogs. That's why you're seeing so many upsets at the beginning of the game.

Tim

You're saying the amateurs and pros start at a level playing field in the beginning of the game, but what is the main distinction between an amateur and pro team?

Boble

While there are new mechanics that come to each and every Call of Duty, there are still some mechanics that we learn across all of the old games that help you become the player that you are. Understanding how to use some of these mechanics to your advantage and counter some of the mechanics that players are utilizing is big.

Early on in competitive Call of Duty's lifespan, we didn't have this age restriction of 18+. So it was really easy for players of all ages to get worthwhile stage experience. When the 18+ rule came in, I think it was at the start of Black Ops 3 when the Call of Duty World League was first created, there was a big gap because it was harder for all of those players that are up and coming to get that same kind of experience.

Tim

Where do you draw the line between pro and amateur?

Boble

Placing top eight at a tournament. Traditionally, the top eight has been the line where you start earning money from your placings. Anything below that I consider amateur.

Tim

Has that line blurred with each new iteration of the game?

Boble

I wouldn't say it's blurred with the iteration of the game. I'd say it's blurred with the iteration of the League itself. Now with a franchise model, it's hard to create that gap because if you're not on a franchise team, well then you're an amateur. In a way it's more broad.

In past games, we've had all these open tournaments so regardless of if you're in the League or not, you could still fight your way through the open bracket and qualify to compete against the pro teams.

I'd say in the past, it was probably easier. Nowadays, if you weren't fortunate enough to get on a franchising team, there's no real way to match up against these guys in LAN tournaments.

Meet Boble and the Subliners