Uniting casual viewers and pro players: How BobbyPlays champions Call of Duty: Mobile esports

The Call of Duty: Mobile (CoD Mobile) World Championship is happening between Dec. 15 and Dec. 17. As the top CoD Mobile esports players duke it out for the lion's share of the $1 million USD prize pool, YouTuber BobbyPlays is also creating content through a podcast — The Spawn. He sat down with esports.gg to talk about this, the CoD Mobile World Championship 2023 event, mobile esports scene, and more.

BobbyPlays got into CoD Mobile in 2019 before the game's global launch. Previously, he played a lot of Rules of Survival. However, this audience switched over to different games. When March 2020 came about, he started working with SylviaRenee through Omen Elite. Due to organizational challenges, BobbyPlays, SylviaRenee, and Judgement united to form the inaugural Mobile Mayhem tournament series in 2021.

Since its global launch, CoD Mobile has appealed to a broad demographic. The CoD Mobile World Championship 2023 event, in particular, is operated by EFG's Snapdragon Pro Series and powered by Samsung Galaxy. The technology involved in this tournament emphasizes how CoD Mobile esports can champion accessibility to involve a broad demographic reach.

During his interview with esports.gg, BobbyPlays shared his thoughts about the evolution of the CoD Mobile scene in terms of technology as well. He talked at length about how the pandemic led to online qualifiers in 2020. In 2021, COVID restrictions then prevented a major LAN tournament. As for 2022, the first in-person CoD World Championship encountered connectivity issues because it shared internet with the Call of Duty League (CDL) Major.

"It's cool to see ESL come in this year and give more of like a long-form tournament format to have like longer qualifiers where these teams are actually able to prove themselves over a longer period of time and prove that they deserve the spots even if they're not the teams that are dominate all the way through the group stages," BobbyPlays added. He then noted that there are some Visa issues this year, but hopes they would be fixed in the Snapdragon Mobile Masters 2024 tournament.

When asked about his expectations for Team Mayhem in the 2023 CoD Mobile World Championship, BobbyPlays noted the evolution of the team. He said they were initially seen as a group of misfits, especially in comparison to other North American teams. However, the addition of Adam "JesusSaves" Khreis motivated and elevated them.

"He's the type of guy that's going to call the team to be better, to work harder, and he's going to do it in a way that lifts the team up rather than tearing them down," he said, referring to JesusSaves. "I think there's a lot of like negativity that goes around in esports. And so it's been really cool to see the way that he's evolved to be able to lead the teams that he's on in a positive way. And I think that really showed out in Stage 4. You could tell the mental difference between them and the Tribe Gaming roster that just kind of seemed like they were in shambles."

In terms of Stage 5, which is also known as CoD Mobile World Championship event, BobbyPlays said he's confident in Team Mayhem's ability to exceed expectations. He then reiterated their performance in Stage 4.

In addition to Team Mayhem and Tribe Gaming, the other CoD Mobile esports teams at the event include Luminosity, Kingsclan, Team Vitality, GodLike, Kagendra, Powerhouse, VOLT, Stand Point Gaming, Wolves, Qing Jiu Club, Exclusive, TLE Esports, Loops, and iNCO Gaming.

As someone who grew up playing and watching a lot of sports, BobbyPlays noted how it was a natural transition for him to go from traditional sports to esports. He then added that he loves competition and how mobile esports, in particular, is quite accessible to players who have that competitive drive.

"Esports, in general, is something I just really love because I think it gives a lot of opportunities," he said. He then emphasized mobile esports' inclusivity for folks who may not have access to higher-level competition in traditional sports or have access to a PC or console.

"Mobile esports provides an avenue for anybody in the world to play something like Call of Duty: Mobile, [which is a] very naturally competitive game," BobbyPlays continued. "So it has been cool to see the way that that's kind of naturally branched itself into my involvement with Team Mayhem and, like you said, with The Spawn."

To BobbyPlays, The Spawn is a way to bridge the gap between casual viewers and pro players. Available on his YouTube channel, the podcast features insights on player dynamics.

"So having the opportunity to do The Spawn in person is something that's going to be really, really cool because it's once again an opportunity to bridge the gap between the casual side of things and what's happening with the pro players," he said. "And especially being at the venue with the pro players — to be able to bring those guys in like right after the action whenever they're coming off a win and coming off a loss, whatever it is, and to be able to get their perspective on the matches that just happened."

As for his thoughts on the future of CoD Mobile esports, BobbyPlays said he believes that it has the potential for long-term success. This is because of CoD Mobile's iconic map pool alongside the possibility of improvements in terms of map rotations.

"I think CoD Mobile has the potential to carry on for many years to come," he said. "Whether or not that's the plan is a different story because we have Warzone mobile that's on the horizon. There's a lot of resources that are being put into that."

"But realistically, I think CoD Mobile has the potential to be the best CoD esport in existence right now — especially if you look at the map pool," he continued. "It has all the most iconic maps. I think if there's maybe some changes that happen to the map pool — the way that those are rotated — you're gonna have a ridiculously good map pool that every single competitive CoD watcher is going to be jealous of and is going to want to watch."

He then emphasized the importance of a good tournament format, like Snapdragon Mobile Masters 2024, that would determine the best team without excuses. He added that adjustments to CoD Mobile's rank system could showcase high-level gameplay and champion the game's esports scene.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more CoD Mobile news, interviews, and updates.