The third Gears of War 4 event begins this Friday in Mexico City. Below, I have broken down the reason each team is capable of winning, as well as who you should focus on for each team this weekend.
Group A
- Gilbert “Xplosive” Rojo
- Christopher “Lava” Anderson
- Billy “Mental” Putnam
- Justin “Kenny Bounce” Kenny
- Alex “Sumuns” Ascension
OpTic Gaming comes into this tournament yet to lose a LAN event. OpTic is presumably the best team in Gears of War history and they seem unmatched to this point in terms of raw skill and consistency. The team comes into the tournament looking to take home their third straight Gears of War 4 LAN title and continue to prove that they are the most dominant LAN team we have ever seen. The team has strong slaying, as well as a very aggressive game style, giving them an intimidation factor over most teams.
Key Factor: Aggressiveness
Player to watch: Mental
- Dylan “Eternity” Merrill
- Chris “Affinity” Curren
- Matt “Hudsonz” Hudson
- Christopher “Crushmo” Lauzon
- Ryan “Wildebeast” Gant
Enigma6 will be competing in their first major LAN together as a team this weekend. With this team never being seen, other than online, they will be a true underdog. If they can play to their full potential, they appear to have some upset potential, along with their raw slaying ability. Alongside smooth callouts and great map control, E6 plays with a strong passion for winning, and being slightly unseen, the team may have a few tricks up their sleeve.
Key Factor: Being an underdog/upset potential
Player to watch: Eternity
- Carlos “Demize” Betancourt
- Sahad “Cryticxl” Soria
- Reynaldo “Chaoz” Tosada
- Rogelio “Sleeafer” Rojo
- Jaun “Crack” Nieves
Onslaught comes into this group with a home field advantage, as the team hails from Latin America. Being able to play in front of their home crowd should allow them to play with the energy and passion their hometown fans bring into the arena. The team has very even numbers across the scoreboard, with everyone able to go off at a moment’s notice. Paired with very vibrant callouts, this gives Onslaught fluid map control throughout their matches.
Key Factor: Home field advantage
Player to watch: Cryticxl
Group B
- Dylan “Speedy” Winston
- Frank “KO” Tibbs
- Joshua “Krash” Galan
- Rodney “Clouts” Vaughn
- Kyle “Kyle” Mason
Echo Fox will be heading into this event with two new players on their squad after making a trade with eUnited. The team looks to go strong into this event with two new key pieces that will hopefully help them go further with more power throughout the tournament. Strong teamwork, paired with aggressive slaying, looks to help prove that the trade pushed Echo Fox into the upper echelon of Gears esports teams.
Key Factor: Fresh Team
Player to watch: Crash
- Hector “Dezonide” Becerra
- Daniel “Identivez” Santillana
- Jose “Choche” Jacome
- Diego “Rocher” Ramirez
- Carlos “Advers” Navarro
Being considered the best Latin American team, Splyce comes prepared to make a strong run for their first Gears 4 win this season in their home country. Splyce appears as Latin America’s best hope for a Gears title. The team comes prepared with strong slayers and an ability to lock down their home hill with ease.
Key Factor: Latin pride
Player to watch: Dezonide
- Benjamin “Strangulate” Laird
- Demarco “Drix” Gaines
- Alec “Shock” Collins
- Ozby “Noxious” Romero
- Jakobe “Nastyy” Paterson
Panda Global comes into this event relatively unknown, but they bring a fiery passion alongside a “win at all costs” attitude that can surely give their group play opponents a run for their money. The team’s main strengths are consistent communication and good player movement.
Key Factor: Win by any means necessary
Player to Watch: Strangulate
Group C
- Jose “Franchis” Mavo
- Jamie “Toysoldier” Rivera
- Arody “Praized” Dipre
- Jourdan “Ribs” Ribeiro
- Brian “Solurs” Valenzuela
Team EnVyUs, one of the most experienced teams in Gears of War, looks to bring out all the stops as they compete to dethrone OpTic Gaming for a second time this year. Considered the only team to be able to consistently compete on the same level as OpTic, the boys in blue will come out swinging with their strong slaying ability and overall team play in an attempt to take home their first title of Gears 4.
Key Factor: Experience
Player to watch: ToySoldier
- Will “Phelpzy” Phelps
- Ash “Ash” Griffin
- Ben “Hydrone” Cornwell
- Matthew “Krazed” MacDonald
- Sam “Sam” King
The British powerhouse comes all the way across the pond to bring home a title for their country, as well as prove that the European scene is one who can run with the top tier teams around the world. Considered the best team in all of Europe, Epsilon brings the best players from England and hopes to take their first title of Gears 4.
Key Factor: Teamwork
Player to watch: Krazed
- Ruben “Dementivez” Toledo
- Luis “Evolvess” Ayala
- Alonso “CrisstalizeD” Hernandez
- Rodrigo “Autns” Muratalla
- Carlos “Reduciesz” Alvarez
A completely unknown team to the Gears circuit, Heavenlyz comes to show what they are made of and prove that they deserve a spot alongside the best teams in the world. We will be able to see first hand what this team can bring to the table this weekend.
Key Factor: Nothing to lose
Player to watch: Evolvess
Group D
- Edwin “DeMo” Perez
- Tommy “Dispensa” Dispensa
- Nick “Red Icy” Cope
- Chris “Xcells” Hill
- Kevin “Soto k3” Soto
The other team featured in the two-way trade with Echo Fox, eUnited also brings two new players and a true vengeance, as they were one series away from winning their first Gears 4 event and taking down the OpTic powerhouse. This team has some of the most raw slaying power and all-around composure. Now, if they get thrown off course and get down on themselves, that will be the end to their run in this tournament.
Key Factor: Composure
Player to watch: Soto k3
- Jeffrey “Jerppy” Szewszak
- Patrick “Guishh” Diaz
- Cameron “Giraffe” Tarlton
- Malik “KraZ” Davis
- Zachary “Yogurt” DeFrank
One of the most underrated, yet capable, teams on the Gears circuit, Team Allegiance plays as one of the most hyped teams in Gears of War. If this team can start hot and bring the hype throughout the entire tournament, they can easily make a run for the championship and their first win in Gears 4.
Key Factor: Hype
Players to watch: Guishh
- Diego “Farruko” Campos
- Kevin “Smoosh” Hernandez
- Carlos “Jmmortal” Ortiz
- Sebastian “Prospectt” Garcia
- Jeovanny “Lyrickz” Carrillo
Another unknown team coming out of Latin America, Aztec is a young-gun team with a lot of potential and a pure passion for winning. These young players will come out ready to roll and play to their fullest in order to try and get out of their group stages and make a playoff run.
Key Factor: Passion
Player to watch: Prospectt
This weekend will be a large proving ground for many of these Latin American teams, as well as an opportunity for exposure for the smaller teams. Live coverage for this event begins Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Who do you think has the best chance at winning it all this weekend? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @GAMURScom.
Authors Twitter: @Capt_Shively
