One of the longest running events of the Call of Duty tournament circuit returns for 2018: CWL Anaheim. Teams from around the world will be competing for a $200,000 prize pool at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
Sixteen Pro League teams will battle it out in Pool Play with groups assigned according to seeding from their placements in Stage 2 of the CWL Pro League. After their initial matches, the teams will be joined by teams that made their way through the grueling Open Bracket, a jungle of over 160 amateur and pro-am teams looking for their share of the glory.
Predictions
Group A features a fantastic Red Reserve team which has looked almost unbeatable since acquiring Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall. The EU team will be tough to beat this tournament, but perhaps the team to do it is also in their group: eUnited. The team has a history of playing well in the group stages of the tournament, and barring some big moves from FaZe Clan or Tainted Minds, eUnited look like the only team in group that could truly challenge Red Reserve for the top spot.
Group B sees the best team in the game, Rise Nation, facing off against teams that turn up during tournaments like Team Kaliber and Luminosity. Rise are coming off of a 3-0 sweep of fan favorites OpTic Gaming in the Pro League, and may just ride that momentum to the top of Group B. From there, it’s left for tK and Luminosity Gaming to duke it out with EU team Epsilon for second place.
Group C features the only team to beat Rise Nation in recent weeks: Evil Geniuses. The team will have some tough competition in the form of UNILAD, a team that recently picked up Zachary “Zed” Zedenyer following Skrapz departure for Red Reserve. Echo Fox and Mindfreak are also teams that could give EG trouble on the first couple of days of competition, so expect the unexpected with this group.
Group D should be OpTic Gaming’s competition to lose, as they face EnVy, Splyce and Complexity. All of the teams have a history of winning competitions, but OpTic’s roster is solid and matches up well against their opponents. The battle for second place will be fierce, but watch for SMG player Cuyler “Huke” Garland to come alive and carry Envy as far as he can in the competition.
