by On Tuesday, Minnesota ROKKR announced that Kevin “Fame” Bonanno would replace Dillon “Attach” Price on their COD lineup following the team’s disappointing run during the 2023 Call of Duty League‘s Major Three cycle.
Minnesota R?KKR Academy star player initially signed to Minnesota ROKKR as a substitute last July. The team’s new lineup consists of Fame, Marcus “Afro” Reid, Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan, and Ben “Bance” Bance.
Minnesota ROKKR ended their run in CDL Major 2 in third place; however, they had a significantly tougher time in Major 3. The team went 0-6 in the Qualifiers and Finals of the event, failing to win a single map against LA Thieves in the first round.
While most of the team’s fans recognized that some changes needed to be made, Attach’s substitution surprised most. For the past three years, the Minnesota ROKKR have built a team around the impressive player who became their face after the Black Ops Cold War.
Attach ended 2022 with the third-best KD in the league at 1.20 and secured a CDL All-Star second-team acknowledgment. The player showed he was not just impressive on paper when in 2015, at just 18, he became the youngest gamer to win a CoD World Championship.
Attach has consistently given impressive performances over the years and maintained the joint-highest K/D on his squad during Major 3. He still held the lead on kills per 10 minutes despite changing his playstyle to be slower.
Attach’s replacement, Fame enters the CDL lineup with the cumbersome task of trying to fill in the big shoes the famous player left and attempting to help Minnesota ROKKR get back on track. He will take over the flex role on the team while Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan takes up Attach’s previous position as the main AR.
Fame joined the Minnesota ROKKR academy roster early this year and has recorded his share of success. The player notably placed first in the Challengers Elite Stage 1 playoffs and second in both Boston Open and Texas Open.
In the announcement video, Minnesota R?KKR coaches Brian “Saintt” Baroska and Daniel “Loony” Loza explained their reason for benching Attach in favor of Fame. Saintt referred to the Academy player as an “incredible” gamer with a great mind for the game, prompting the decision.
The coach also said Fame would be a perfect addition to help the team do dirty work like block spawns and pick uphill time.
“There were times where everyone was trying to do too much on the map and I think with Kev, we are going to have a lot more freedom for players like Cam and Marcus to run around and do what they want,” Saintt said.
The Minnesota R?KKR currently holds the eighth spot in the CDL Point standing and is 20 points ahead of Vegas Legion, who is placed ninth. Only the top eight teams will be able to earn places in the CoD Champs when the year concludes, so every single match from now will be a decisive game to Minnesota R?KKR.
Loony stated that the team would decide if further changes were necessary to secure their qualification after their performance in the Home Series and CDL Stage 4.
Fame will debut with the main team on April 1 in their first qualifier game for Major Four.
