This weekend, 200 Call of Duty teams from all over the world descend upon Birmingham and Insomnia 62 to take part in CWL Birmingham, the UK’s first Call of Duty major in nearly three years.
The prize pool for the event is $200,000, and several UK teams will be looking to make their mark on the event be it qualifying for Pool Play, placing in the money or even winning the event. Here is a look at some of the key British teams competing:
Splyce
Splyce are going in to CWL Birmingham having underperformed in recent weeks. They failed to qualify for Pro League playoffs and placed 13-16th at the most recent major, CWL Atlanta. This all after placing second at the first major of the year, the CWL Dallas Open in December 2017.
With the success they saw last year, winning Stage 1 Pro League playoffs, Splyce will be looking to improve on their recent performances, as the team absolutely should be championship contenders.
Red Reserve
Red Reserve have been the unexpected dark horse of this Call of Duty: World War II season. Though they were always expected to be a top European team, they have taken the scene by storm and performed inexplicably well, including a second place finish at the CWL Atlanta Open, powering through the Loser’s Bracket and taking down five of the top seven seeds (they themselves being sixth seed) before being narrowly beaten 3-1 in the Grand Final to Rise Nation.
They start the tournament in the same pool as Splyce, so we may very well see a UK battle for first place.
UNILAD
This year, UNILAD have been inconsistent at the best of times, despite maintaining 13-16th placements at each major Open event this year. They have proved themselves capable of beating top teams such as Splyce, EnVy and Evil Geniuses in the Pro League, but other times incapable of beating teams that, at times, they could be comfortably winning against.
They will be looking to keep their standards high in Birmingham and improve on their top 16 finishes.
Epsilon
Epsilon have had a tumultuous season to say the least. It’s fair to say that they have underperformed terribly over the last several months, though with the recent addition of Reedy to the team for rookie player Nathan, who failed to turn up to an event or the Pro League for reasons unknown to anyone (including his own team), they managed to win two series against Evil Geniuses and EnVy in their Pro League group.
Following a now-notorious interview with Epsilon’s Dqvee, we should supposedly look at this time of year as when Epsilon pick up the heat and start placing better than they have been.
"I don't expect to do good this event because we ain't very good" – Hilarious interview with @Dqvee from @Epsilon_Esports that quickly descends into chaos. pic.twitter.com/YlPrs3kVPs
— Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) January 13, 2018
As with all Open events, one of the most exciting parts of the event is the Open Bracket, seeing which teams can make some noise and even make it into Pool Play, playing alongside the professional players and making a name for themselves. Some of the more notable Open Bracket teams to look out for include GGEA Purple, Cyclone, Nordic and Devious Gaming.
As well as the UK teams in attendance, there are a number of the biggest organisations in Call of Duty – and esports in its entirety – coming to Birmingham to challenge the local heroes. This includes teams such as OpTic Gaming, FaZe Clan, Luminosity Gaming, Rise Nation and many more.
Full details of the event can be found at https://cod-esports.gamepedia.com, and we will be posting content here at Esports News UK around not only the CWL Birmingham Open but the rest of Insomnia throughout the weekend.
