How to watch the 2018 CWL Birmingham Open

The fourth major Call of Duty World League LAN event for WWII is quickly approaching.

Pool play

The pool play teams for this event were determined at the end of the CWL Pro League Stage One regular season on March 22. All 16 CWL Pro League teams automatically earned a spot in pool play for CWL Birmingham. Four open bracket teams will join these groups on Saturday, April 1.

Here are the pools for the 2018 CWL Birmingham Open, as well as the rosters for each team.

Pool A

Rise Nation: Daniel “Loony” Loza, Tommy “TJHaLY” Haly, Anthony “Methodz” Zinni, and Peirce “Gunless” Hillman
eUnited: James “Clayster” Eubanks, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, and Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer
Echo Fox: Brice Faccento, Adam “Assault” Garcia, Ulysses “Aqua” Silva, and Jared “Nagafen” Harrell (substitute for Renato “Saints” Forza)
Epsilon: David “Dqvee” Davies, Stephen “Vortex” Allen, Billy “Hawqeh” Harris, and Jordan “Reedy” Reed
TBD open bracket team

Pool B

FaZe Clan: Dillon “Attach” Price, Tommy “ZooMaa” Paparratto, Preston “Priestahh” Greiner, and James “Replays” Crowder
Team Kaliber: Dylan “Theory” McGee, Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi, Martin Chino, and Kenny Williams
UNILAD: Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall, Bradley “Wuskin” Marshall, Sean “Seany” O’Connor, and Tom “Moose” Handley
Team Vitality: Eddy “Malls” Maillard, Clément “RiskiN” Hattée, Wailers Locart, and Arthur “Zayrox” Chabas
TBD open bracket team

Pool C

OpTic Gaming: Seth “Scump” Abner, Matthew “FormaL” Piper, Damon “Karma” Barlow, and Ian “Crimsix” Porter
Team Envy: Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat, Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo, Donovan “Temp” Laroda, and Cuyler “Huke” Garland
Reckless: Richard “Ricky” Stacy, Maurice “Fero” Henriquez, Jacob “Decemate” Cato, and Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic
Evil Geniuses: Patrick “ACHES” Price, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov, Ian “Enable” Wyatt, and Anthony “NAMELESS” Wheeler
TBD open bracket team

Pool D

Luminosity: Josiah “Slacked” Berry, Sam “Octane” Larew, Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, and Johnathan “John” Perez
Red Reserve: Joseph “Joee” Pinnington, Joshua-Lee “Joshh” Shephard, Rhys “Rated” Price, and Trei “Zer0” Morris
Splyce: Ben Bance, Jordan “Jurd” Crowley, Dylan “MadCat” Daly, and Thomas “Tommey” Trewren
Mindfreak: Mitchell “BuZZO” Mader, Denholm “Denz” Taylor, Lincoln “Fighta” Ferguson, and Conrad “Shockz” Rymarek
TBD open bracket team

Open bracket

Non-CWL Pro League teams will have the difficult task of fighting through the open bracket in Birmingham. Since this is an international event, it’s possible that less North American teams will make the trip across the pond. But a few top NA contenders include Lightning Pandas, compLexity, Ghost Gaming, and GGEA Orange. Some European squads, like GGEA Purple and Cyclone, as well as Monaco Esports and Team Heretics—who qualified for pool play earlier this month at CWL Atlanta—could also look to make an open bracket run.

The four teams that survive the open bracket without a loss will be placed into one of the four pool play groups for round-robin play. The final four one-loss teams in the open bracket will also advance to the first round of the championship losers bracket.

Storylines

Rise Nation are the top dogs heading into this tournament. They won CWL Atlanta earlier this month in dominant fashion, and they haven’t lost a series on LAN since Jan. 25. Rise should be considered the heavy favorites to win CWL Birmingham.

This tournament is located in Europe, however, so many EU teams could try to defend their home soil. Red Reserve made an impressive run at CWL Atlanta and appear to be the best EU team in WWII. Other squads like Splyce and UNILAD could see success in Birmingham with the support of the home crowd.

But there will be plenty of top NA teams aiming for the throne, too. Team Kaliber will look to rebound from a top eight placing at CWL Atlanta following their back-to-back championships at CWL Dallas in December and CWL New Orleans in January. Luminosity and FaZe Clan played well in Division B of the CWL Pro League, while Team Envy struggled a bit after their fourth-place finish at CWL Atlanta. Fan-favorite OpTic Gaming will also try to capture their first championship in WWII.

Schedule

Friday and Saturday’s tournament action starts at 6am ET, but the broadcasts will begin at 9am ET. Championship Sunday’s gameplay and broadcast will both start at 6am ET.

Here’s the pool play schedule for Friday’s action at CWL Birmingham.

Friday, March 30

9am ET: Splyce vs. Red Reserve
9am ET: Team Kaliber vs. Vitality
9am ET: FaZe Clan vs. UNILAD
9am ET: Luminosity vs. Mindfreak
10:30am ET: OpTic Gaming vs. Evil Geniuses
10:30am ET: eUnited vs. Epsilon

10:30am ET: Rise Nation vs. Echo Fox
10:30am ET: Team Envy vs. Reckless
12pm ET: Luminosity vs. Red Reserve
12pm ET: Splyce vs. Mindfreak
12pm ET: FaZe Clan vs. Vitality
12pm ET: UNILAD vs. Team Kaliber
1:30pm ET: OpTic Gaming vs. Team Envy
1:30pm ET: Reckless vs. Evil Geniuses
1:30pm ET: Rise Nation vs. Epsilon
1:30pm ET: eUnited vs. Echo Fox
3pm ET: FaZe Clan vs. Team Kaliber
3pm ET: UNILAD vs. Vitality

3pm ET: Red Reserve vs. Mindfreak
3pm ET: Luminosity vs. Splyce
4:30pm ET: Rise Nation vs. eUnited
4:30pm ET: Echo Fox vs. Epsilon
4:30pm ET: OpTic Gaming vs. Reckless
4:30pm ET: Team Envy vs. Evil Geniuses

How to watch

CWL Birmingham action will likely be viewable on a variety of platforms. The tournament will be livestreamed on MLG, as well as Twitch—which should feature an Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie stream. Call of Duty fans who own WWII on PlayStation 4 can also watch CWL Birmingham by using the in-game Theater in the Headquarters.

The 2018 CWL Birmingham Open is sure to feature a lot of high-octane Call of Duty action, and it all begins on March 30.