The Warzone Resurgence Series (WRS) is a new Call of Duty esports circuit that kicked off in 2026, replacing the World Series of Warzone, focusing the competitive scene on more concentrated Resurgence matches.
At CoD: WRS Birmingham, which was a part of the CDL Major II, Dot Esports spoke with Ethan “Fifakill” Pink to talk about WRS and how it affects Warzone‘s competitive scene. Fifakill won the World Series of Warzone 2025 and has joined AG Global at the start of the year to compete in Warzone.
The main difference between the World Series of Warzone and the Warzone Resurgence Series is the mode. While Fifakill prefers classic battle royale as a competitive mode, he admits that Resurgence makes more sense for competitive Warzone because it offers a purer lobby with “much more talent.”
“If you have 50 teams in a lobby in Battle Royale, the caliber of the teams at the bottom end is going to drop off significantly. Whereas Resurgence, you know, we have easily 16 really good teams. So the level that they’re playing at is much higher. So I think for us, it works better.”
As with any new circuit, there are some areas to refine. The main thing Fifakill highlighted he wishes to see for WRS next year is allowing teams that place high and/or win in 2026 to automatically qualify for next year’s series, creating more incentive for well-performing squads.
There’s also a case of meta changes in Warzone. With Season 3 of Black Ops 7, wall jumping and grappling hooks are both coming to battle royale and Resurgence, introducing a lot more movement options. If introduced to the competitive scene, both would push the skill ceiling of the WRS lobbies even higher.
Grappling hooks in particular could be a game-changer. “I think the level that some pros will hit… don’t get me wrong, it would raise the skill ceiling. It’s a whole new movement, it would be really amazing, but it might be too much, almost,” Fifakill said.
On the other hand, wall jumping is a lighter and much more fitting addition to Warzone. “I think the maps are designed perfectly for it. It worked perfectly in multiplayer. They’ve tested it in like LTMs. It works great. I see that as an absolute win.”
With the annual CoD releases and circuit changes, there’s always a lot going on in the franchise. Looking at this year’s rumored Modern Warfare installment and beyond, Fifakill emphasized that what he wishes to see in the competitive scene is more collaboration between the studios and the players.
“I think we’re seeing more than ever that the studios are working closely with the players involved, and that kind of allows us to work closer to what an ideal competitive format would look like. I think just more of that.”
This is, of course, on top of studios innovating the game, which increases player interest and feeds into the talent pool. Regarding features, Fifakill likes the direction the game is going with grapples and wall jumping, as it allows pro players to stand out even more.
Following his win at the World Series of Warzone 2025, Fifakill has his eyes set on the Esports World Cup trophy at the end of the season. CoD: WRS Birmingham is now wrapped up, but before EWC, the series awaits another stop in Atlanta in May, featuring another $100,000 prize pool and five qualifying spots at EWC.
