CoD casters Merk & Maven to miss CDL Kickoff Classic amid 2022 contract issues

Call of Duty casting duo Merk and Maven are set to miss the CDL Kickoff Classic for the second straight year as contract negotiations continue. 

The CDL preseason is scheduled to begin on January 21 with the CDL Kickoff Classic. This event will feature all 12 teams in a single-elimination bracket on LAN.

However, two of the league’s most beloved casters, Joe ‘Merk’ DeLuca and Clint ‘Maven’ Evans will not be part of the broadcast team for the tournament as contract issues lurk.

CDL casters Merk & Maven won’t be at Kickoff Classic

"Unless something magical changes," @JoeDeLuca and @Maven won't be casting the CDL Kickoff Classic? 😬 pic.twitter.com/N6lboHJpgD

— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) January 17, 2022

In a Twitch stream on January 17, Merk broke the sad news the CDL fans everywhere that the duo will not be at the preseason event “unless something magical changes.”

This marks the second straight season that Merk and Maven will not be casting the CDL Kickoff Classic. The casting duo has been trying to work with the CDL on renewing their contract for the Vanguard season but it seems those talks have stalled out.

Back on January 6, fellow streamer Tyler ‘TeeP’ Polchow asked if Merk was set for this upcoming CDL season.

He said that they were not signed for this season but that they were still under contract due to the date that it was signed.

It seems that now, their contracts have expired and nothing has been done since then to ensure that the two will be part of the CDL 2022 year.

However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t work something out before the regular season starts on February 4. This could make sense considering they missed out on last year’s preseason matches but were signed for the regular season.

We will update you on their status when more information becomes available. For now, you can stay updated on all CDL news by visiting our page.

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