Call of Duty pro banned from CDL following alleged use of camo unlock tools

The Call of Duty League (CDL) banned Seattle Surge's pro Jordan "Abuzah" François, according to Abuzah himself on Wednesday, April 10. The league banned Abuzah due to allegedly using unlock tolls to get exclusive camos—CoD's proper term for weapon skins.

Even though the CDL hasn't publicly addressed Abuzah's ban so far, the pro told his fans on X that his CDL account is banned. He went on to mention it has something to do with camos.

"[I was banned] for some camos probably," Abuzah said in one of his replies on X yesterday. "I just wanted to have some camoI do (sic) nothing wrong I didn't download something," he also said.

In one of his last replies to fans Abuzah also implied that 90% of the league had done the same as he did. Although, he explicitly told one fan that he didn't buy an unlock tool program. So, it's currently unclear what scheme Abuzah used to get his hands on the skins.

Not too long after Abuzah informed fans of his ban through X, the three-time world champion James "Clayster" Eubanks wrote in a reply that he knew somebody who got banned for camos and ended up paying a fine to CDL.

The unlock tool is a method to obtain exclusive CoD camo before they even launch in-game. Players can accomplish this by either buying the unlock tool or paying somebody else to do it.

The usage of unlock tools has become substantially popular in CoD since Warzone launched as the list of camos and other cosmetics is ever-growing. The usage of camo unlock tools is prohibited. It seems that CDL pro Abuzah was automatically banned after a ban wave that caught over 58,000 accounts.

Abuzah is a Belgium CoD pro who has played for Seattle Surge since October 2023, when the CDL organization revamped its CoD roster. The 23-year-old most notably helped Seattle Surge to grab a 5th-6th place at the CDL Stage 1 Major in January. The organization will most likely have to sign someone else following Abuzah's CDL ban for getting illegal camo.

Esports.gg has reached out to both Seattle Surge and the CDL to ask further questions about Abuzah's ban. We will update this article with their statements should they reply or make a public announcement.

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