Call of Duty eSports
The 2017 Call of Duty World League Dallas Open is set to kick off the third CWL season, where invited pool play teams and open bracket teams will fight for a shot at the CWL Dallas Open Championship.
On November 29, Clint “Maven” Evans, Jack “CouRage” Dunlop and Joe “MerK” DeLuca revealed all four pools for CWL Dallas Open pool play. All but the top three North American teams and the number one European team in terms of Pro Points were split into three pots, and were blindly selected into each four team groups while also following the CWL rule that requires at least one European team in each pool.
Keep in mind that these eight teams are not the only ones in pools A and B. After the open winner’s bracket finishes in Dallas, one more team will join each pool as the tournament continues. But for now, let’s take a closer look at the teams who will start in Pools A and B at the CWL Dallas Open:
Pool A:
OpTic Gaming
The Team: Seth “Scump” Abner, Matthew “FormaL” Piper, Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Damon “Karma” Barlow
Preview:
The 2017 Call of Duty World League Champions return in full force heading into the CWL Dallas Open, and have already picked up two 2K tournament series titles.
Last March, OpTic Gaming survived two best-of-five series against eUnited to win last season’s CWL Dallas Open, giving them enough Pro Points to lock down the top of the North American standings before the Global Pro League Stage 1 cutoff.
The last time OpTic looked this strong in the opening moments of a CWL campaign was during the CWL’s inaugural season, and this team will look to ride their momentum and extend their Pro Points lead over the rest of North America during the competition in Dallas.
Enigma6 Group
The Team: Jordon “General” General, Embry “Bevils” Bevil, Brandon “Dashy” Otell, Jacob “Decemate” Cato
Preview:
After the curtain fell on Enigma6’s second CWL season, where they finished top-12 at the 2017 CWL Championship, E6 captain-owner General shocked everyone by parting ways with all of his teammates, and brought in three young talents for Season Three.
Although the move was one of the first major shockwaves of pre-season RosterMania, Enigma6 silently worked their way into Dallas pool play with three solid placements in the first 2Ks of the season. Meanwhile, General’s former teammates currently play for teams that will compete in the Dallas open bracket, which could possibly put a showdown in the mix.
Enigma6’s current place on the Pro Points leaderboard may be a sign of their roster overhaul’s early success, but they still have to defend themselves in a hostile Pool A.
UNILAD Esports
The Team: Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall, Bradley “wuskin” Marshall, Tom “Moose” Handley, Sean “Seany” O’Connor
Preview:
The Marshall twins ended last season by finishing within the top-16 at the 2017 CWL Championship, but found themselves without an organization as they entered Season Three.
They quickly joined forces with top free agents Moose and Seany, who were former members of Millenium and Red Reserve respectively, and worked their way through three 2K tournaments to qualify for Dallas pool play.
Now representing the popular British social media and culture website UNILAD, they sit in third place in the European Pro Point standings and have an opportunity to pass their regional rivals if they are able to vanquish three American foes.
Team EnVyUs
The Team: Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat, Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo, Donavan “Temp” Laroda, Cuyler “Huke” Garland
Preview:
Huke is back, and ready to prove that he’s better than ever before.
After finishing second to OpTic Gaming at the 2017 CWL Championship, SlasheR was the only man who returned to the Team EnVyUs roster. That’s because EnVy picked up two young stars in Huke and Temp, and rounded out their lineup by snatching up Classic from Luminosity.
The Boys in Blue were the second to last team in the North American Pro Points standings who qualified for Dallas pool play eligibility, and now have a chance to get their revenge on OpTic’s Green Wall. With two young players returning for their first full season, those who are ready to watch Pool A should expect the unexpected.
Pool B:
Luminosity Gaming
The Team: Samuel “Octane” Larew, Josiah “Slacked” Berry, Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, Johnathan “John” Perez
After placing third in the 2017 CWL Championship, Luminosity decided to bring in Champs runners-up John and JKap to join standouts Octane and Slacked for the third CWL season.
Luminosity reached the grand finals in the first two out of three 2K tournaments of the year, and placed within the top-four in the most recent online tournament. While this consistent success may be a sign of great things to come for this new roster, the CWL Dallas Open pool play will be a different test from a GameBattles 2K tournament, and it is up to the revamped Luminosity to prove themselves in Pool B.
Ground Zero
The Team: Christopher “Parasite” Duarte, Jeremy “StuDyy” Astacio, Maurice “Fero” Henriquez, Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic
Preview:
Leaving their 2017 CWL teams behind, Parasite and StuDyy joined forces with two talented free agents in Fero and Blazt.
The team who calls themselves Ground Zero wasted no time getting into a comfortable Pro Points situation, placing top-eight in the final two 2K events ahead of the Dallas Pro Point cutoff date to secure a pool play position.
The CWL Dallas Open will also be the place for newcomers Fero and Blazt to stake their claim in Season Three, as well as the event where Parasite and StuDyy can continue to add to their already impressive careers.
Team Vitality
The Team: Wailers “Wailers” Locart, Eddy “Malls” Maillard, Clement “RiskiN” Hattée, Arthur “Zayrox” Chabas
Preview:
In the lead-up to the 2017 CWL Championship, Wailers decided to bring on three British Call of Duty players onto Team Vitality, and qualified for the CWL finale event.
However, after he and his team failed to make it out of the pool play stage, he decided to go back to his roots and teamed up with three talented French Call of Duty players. From there, Vitality struggled to break into the top-eight in the first two 2K events of the season, but rallied to a second place finish in the final tournament, and stole one of the last European pool play spots away from teams who were also jockeying for placement.
With Team Vitality being the only French squad to make it to CWL Dallas Pool play, they will hope to do their country proud in Group B against a fellow European team and two American squads.
Epsilon Esports
The Team: David “Dqvee” Davies, Stephen “Vortex” Allen, Billy “Hawqeh” Harris, Nathan “Insanatised” Orton
Preview:
After finishing within the top-12 of the 2017 CWL Championship, Epsilon decided to part ways with Joshua-Lee “Joshh” Sheppard, and replace him with Insanatised.
North American fans may not know who Insanatised is, but hardcore European fans definitely recognize the name as someone who made his mark in 2014 and 2015. There, he won several European exclusive events before the CWL came into existence, teaming with players like Vortex and Hawqeh during his tenure.
With full eligibility for the upcoming season, Insanatised will join Epsilon on their quest to take their solid 2K placements, where they placed in the top-four twice out of three tournaments, and turn that into a long and strong CWL run.
Are you ready for the first Open Event of Season Three? Over 800 players will descend on Dallas next week as more than 200 teams battle it out to see who will be named Call of Duty World League Dallas Open Champions.
Be sure to catch the full event which runs December 8 through December 10 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Tickets are still available, and the event will also be streamed live on MLG.tv/callofduty.
For more intel about Call of Duty World League, be sure to visit CallofDuty.com/esports and follow @CallofDuty and @CODWorldLeague on Twitter.