It’s that time of year in Call of Duty once again: Rostermania has arrived.
With the Call of Duty World League Dallas Open coming to a close on March 19, the 16 teams for the first season of the CWL Global Pro League have been finalized. All of the other teams that failed to qualify for the LAN league will go back to the drawing board, as a storm of roster changes is sure to strike the Call of Duty scene.
The relegation tournament for the second stage of the CWL Global Pro League will take place on June 15, with CWL Anaheim right behind that on June 16 to 18. With a little under three months to prepare for these major events, several teams will be making roster changes in an effort to put together the best possible lineup for the second season. This article will serve as a compilation of all the confirmed roster changes so far in the Call of Duty community.
*Disclaimer: This article was last updated at 4:00pm ET on March 23, 2017. None of the roster changes announced by individual players have been confirmed by their organizations (unless otherwise noted).
iGame overhauls its roster
After failing to secure the sixth and final European spot in the CWL Global Pro League, iGame (former Team 3G) is dropping Ben “Desire” Wright and Connor “Weeman” Chilton. Desire expressed his discontent with being dropped in a TwitLonger, after he thought he had his “best event on this game” in Dallas.
Soon after this announcement from Desire, Shea “QwiKeR” Sweeney tweeted that the new iGame team will consist of Deleo “Zerg” Devitt, “Defrag,” and “Chain.” This squad will try to improve upon the previous roster’s lackluster top-28 finish in Dallas in preparation for the stage two relegation tournament for the CWL Global Pro League. iGame has not confirmed any roster changes at this time.
EU veteran ShAnE forms his next team
Just a few hours after Desire and Weeman were released from iGame, European veteran Shane “ShAnE” McKerral announced that he will now be teaming with the former 3G duo. ShAnE, Desire, and Weeman will also be playing with Brian “Braaain” Fairlamb, who most recently competed on The Imperial alongside ShAnE. This new team of four will be looking for an organization to represent at the next European event, CWL Birmingham, which takes place April 14 to 16.
Pnda Gaming splits up after heartbreaking loss against Mindfreak
Pnda Gaming entered CWL Dallas in the ninth and final spot for a North American team in the CWL Global Pro League. But, after a disappointing top-16 finish in Dallas, Ethan “FA5TBALLA” Wedgeworth, Sean “Pemby” Pembroke, Christopher “ProFeeZy” Astudillo, and Jay “Prophet” Nicoletti dropped out of ninth place and didn’t qualify for the first season of the LAN league.
In an effort to make the best roster possible for the relegation tournament in June, ProFeeZy tweeted that he will either be a free agent or a team-of-two with Pemby. FA5TBALLA also tweeted that he will either be a free agent, a team-of-two with Prophet or he might consider retiring from Call of Duty. Regardless, it appears that the Pnda Gaming roster we saw competing since CWL Atlanta will be separating. Pnda Gaming has not confirmed any roster changes at this time.
eRa Eternity’s roster leaves the organization
After qualifying for pool play at CWL Dallas and earning a top-20 finish, eRa Eternity’s roster is exploring other options, according to eRa’s CEO Alex “Azuhl.” Caton “Riviction” Dell, Jorge “Nuglect” Aguilar, Zack “GodLike” Goldstein, and Lyric “Lyric” Quinonez turned some heads at Dallas by upsetting Evil Geniuses and qualifying for pool play.
The team went 0-4 in pool play before defeating Epsilon Esports 3-2 in the first round of the championship losers bracket. After that, however, eRa was swept 3-0 by SetToDestroyX, eliminating them from Dallas. It appears that this team of four will be sticking together in preparation for the relegation tournament, while eRa will now be looking for a new Call of Duty team moving forward.
SYF Gaming acquires an Australian team
SYF Gaming introduced the organization’s new Call of Duty roster, consisting of Nathan “Bacabec” Munro, Billie-Jacob “Chilean” Parra, Reef “Eminence” Galloway, and Jake “Fate” Fitzpatrick. With Mindfreak further solidifying its spot as the top team in the APAC region, new organizations are starting to form rosters that can possibly contend with this powerhouse.
Eminence and Fate most recently competed for the Chiefs Esports Club, who came in fourth at CWL Sydney, while Bacabec played for Validate Black, earning a third-place finish at Sydney. This roster will be working vigorously to compete for a spot in relegation tournament for the second season of the CWL Global Pro League.
We will update this article daily as more official roster changes are announced.
Published: Mar 24, 2017 11:38 am