The biggest Call of Duty event of the year is nearly upon us, and 32 of the best teams in the world are gearing up for what may be the most important tournament in their entire careers.
With $1.5 million on the line, there will be no shortage of excitement and tension when the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship kicks off on Wednesday, Aug. 15. The reigning champions, OpTic Gaming, come in on a bit of a cold streak—but a few wins in pool play could change the iconic team’s momentum.
OpTic are just one of the 32 teams aiming to claim this year’s world championship, though. Each team has their own story of how they got to this event, and they will all have an opportunity to become a part of Call of Duty history.
Here is a viewer’s guide to the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship.
Stream
Fans can watch the tournament starting on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 11am CT through several streams. The games can be found on any of the official Call of Duty Twitch channels and on MLG’s website as well. Call of Duty fans who own WWII on PlayStation 4 will also likely be able to watch this event by using the in-game Theater in the Headquarters.
Teams
Like past years, there are 32 teams vying for the CWL Championship trophy. Half of the teams received automatic invites for competing in Stage Two of the CWL Pro League and the other 16 squads earned their spots through the CWL Last Chance Qualifier.
The teams were randomly drawn into eight groups of four teams each. Here are the groups for the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship.
Pool A
- Team Kaliber: Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi, Kenny Williams, Maurice “Fero” Henriquez, and Ian “Enable” Wyatt
- Epsilon: David “Dqvee” Davies, Stephen “Vortex” Allen, Billy “Hawqeh” Harris, and Jordan “Reedy” Reed
- Heretics KFC: Juan “JurNii” Antonio González, Alejandro “Lucky” López, Jorge “MethodZ” Bancells, and Endika “Sukry” Andres
- Lightning Pandas: Jevon “Goonjar” Gooljar-Lim, Mathew “Royalty” Faithfull, John “Xotic” Bruno, and Dylan “Theory” McGee
Pool B
- Rise Nation: Daniel “Loony” Loza, Tommy “TJHaLY” Haly, Peirce “Gunless” Hillman, and Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat
- Tainted Minds: Kainen “Swiftaz0r” Kini, Giancarlo “Nimble” Vagnini, Hayden “Damage” Handakas, and Daniel “Swifty” Hickey
- Lethal Gaming: Ted “TeddyRecKs” Kim, Vlad “Ramby” Sanchez, Tanner “Super” Bowen, and Alexander “Zaptius” Bonilla
- Brash Esports: Koen “Benji” Haakman, Ehsan “DREAL” Javed, Robbe “Nevo” Dhondt, and Dylan Thomas Henderson
Pool C
- Red Reserve: Joseph “Joee” Pinnington, Rhys “Rated” Price, Trei “Zer0” Morris, and Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall
- Mindfreak: Mitchell “BuZZO” Mader, Denholm “Denz” Taylor, Lincoln “Fighta” Ferguson, and Conrad “Shockz” Rymarek
- Ghost Gaming: Andres Lacefield, Adam “GodRx” Brown, Casey “Pandur” Romano, and Christopher “Parasite” Duarte
- Zone: Bradley “endurAAA” Hughes, Adam “Defrag” Mathews, Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan, and Luke “Bidz” Biddle
Pool D
- eUnited: James “Clayster” Eubanks, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, and Tyler “FeLo” Johnson
- Splyce: Ben Bance, Jordan “Jurd” Crowley, Dylan “MadCat” Daly, and Joshua-Lee “Joshh” Shephard
- EZG Esports: Saul “Parzelion” Masse-Siguenza, Ricky “Atura” Lugo, Michael “Apox” Williams, and Robbie “RobbieB” Brugnoli
- Team Sween: Shea “QwiKeR” Sweeney, Tom “Moose” Handley, Adam “Peatie” Peate, and Connor “Weeman” Chilton
Pool E
- FaZe Clan: Dillon “Attach” Price, Tommy “ZooMaa” Paparratto, Preston “Priestahh” Greiner, and James “Replays” Crowder
- compLexity Gaming: Brandon “Dashy” Otell, Richard “Ricky” Stacy, Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic, and Doug “Censor” Martin
- Enigma6 Group: Jordon General, Troy “Sender” Michaels, Steven “Diabolic” Ribero, and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris
- Morituri Esports: Mehran “Mayhem” Anjomshoa, Dakota “Nova” Williams, Tristan “Spoof” Green, and Timothy “Phantomz” Landis
Pool F
- UNILAD: Bradley “Wuskin” Marshall, Sean “Seany” O’Connor, Alex “Alexx” Carpenter, and Zach “Zed” Denyer
- Team Envy: Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo, Cuyler “Huke” Garland, Martin Chino, and Jacob “Decemate” Cato
- Team Prismatic: Wailers Locart, Eddy “Malls” Maillard, Arthur “Zayrox” Chabas, and Cédric “TonyJs” Ruault
- Mentality Esports: Nick “Hate” O’Connor, Paul “Tisch” Tischler, Tom “GRVTY” Malin, and Devin “Demise” Faircloth
Pool G
- Echo Fox: Renato “Saints” Forza, Brice Faccento, Ulysses “Aqua” Silva, and Donovan “Temp” Laroda
- Luminosity: Josiah “Slacked” Berry, Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, Johnathan “John” Perez, and Matthew “FormaL” Piper
- Team Vitality: Thomas “Tommey” Trewren, Bjarne “Denz” Sleebus, Jack “Maple” McCartney, and Sam “Chain” Dineley
- HavoK Esports: Ethan “FA5TBALLA” Wedgeworth, Michael “Beehzy” Said, Remington “Remy” Ihringer, and Mike “MRuiz” Ruiz
Pool H
- OpTic Gaming: Seth “Scump” Abner, Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Sam “Octane” Larew, and Anthony “Methodz” Zinni
- Evil Geniuses: Patrick “ACHES” Price, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov, Adam “Assault” Garcia, and Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer
- Elevate: Michael “SpaceLy” Schmale, Chance “Maux” Moncivaez, Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado, and Michael “MajorManiak” Szymaniak
- Supremacy: Tommy “Eazy” Besse, Nathan “Natshay” Dupuis, Paul “Breszy” Breszynski, and Jean-Baptiste “ATLAS” Duzert
Schedule
For each of the five days of the event, matches will begin at 11am CT. Pool play matches will kick off the tournament at 11am CT on Wednesday, Aug. 15. Bracket play begins at 11am CT on Friday, Aug. 17 and will continue until a 2018 world champion is crowned.
Format
The 32 competing teams were split into eight groups, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the double-elimination playoff bracket. That bracket will decide who will claim the $600,000 grand prize and who’s the best Call of Duty team in the world.
