This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
Just a handful of days ago, eUnited shocked the world and took home the 2017 CWL Atlanta Open championship, in a dramatic Grand Final victory over powerhouse OpTic Gaming. Now, teams are preparing for the next Call of Duty tournament: the 2017 CWL Paris Open. 96 teams will battle, some through the open bracket and the lucky few in group play, in Porte de Versailles, France to win their share of the $100,000 prize pool and ever-precious Pro Points -- including 10,000 Pro Points per player on the winning team.
On Wednesday, tournament hosts EWSC announced the four North American teams and the eight European teams that will make up the the first three spots of the four groups at CWL Paris. The final spot in each group will be made up of the top four teams that advance through the open bracket -- which includes recent champions eUnited. Let's take a look at the four, very difficult, groups:
Group A: Orbit, OpTic Gaming, Team 3G
Right off the bat, Group A looks like it will be stiff competition. OpTic Gaming looks like an early favorite, but the Call of Duty titans look like an early favorite in most groups and tournaments they enter in. OpTic Gaming does not only feature a talented roster, they will be motivated after a runner-up performance at CWL Atlanta that saw them run through the losers bracket and take one of two series from the eventual champions, eUnited. After coming so close to a tournament win, it will be hard to bet against the Green Wall of OpTic Gaming.
The two other spots, Orbit and Team 3G, are a lot closer. Team 3G has been a surprising upstart team in 2017, following the addition of Connor "Weeman" Chilton to the squad. They have been consistent, finishing in 5th/8th place in three straight Series EU GameBattles, as well as a 5th/6th place finish at CWL London at the end of January. While their CWL Atlanta showing was a little worse, finishing with a 9th/12th place finish, they are certainly a threat to everyone in their group.
Orbit is the more established team, but has been less consistent throughout Infinite Warfare. They started off 2017 with a bang, winning CWL London, but faltered to a 13th/16th place finish at CWL Atlanta this past weekend. I do think that the disappointment in Atlanta will be fuel for Orbit, and put them one step over the upstart Team 3G.
Expected to advance: OpTic Gaming, Orbit
Group B: Rise Nation, Team Infused, Supremacy
Group B, at first glance, looks like a two team race. Rise Nation is coming off a frustrating performance at CWL Atlanta, a performance that saw them lose their first winners bracket game to Luminosity Gaming, and then subsequently losing to the surprising PNDA Gaming to get eliminated from the tournament. Rise Nation is not used to early exists such as these, and should be motivated to prove their CWL Las Vegas win was no fluke.
Team Infused is coming off of a 4th place showing at CWL London, and a 5th/6th place finish at MLG Atlanta. However Team Infused are one of the strongest European teams in Call of Duty and should advance from this group. Unfortunately for Supremacy, who are a strong French team in their own right, it will be hard to put them over Rise Nation or Team Infused.
Expected to advance: Rise Nation, Team Infused
Group C: Splyce, FaZe Clan, XtroVert eSports
Group C is similar to Group B in that it looks like a two-horse race in the group. Splyce are another team that catches everyone's eye -- they are a historically strong team, and have had success already this year. They were the runner-up to CWL London, and came in 7th/8th place at CWL Atlanta -- while they faltered a bit in Atlanta, they were far from bad.
FaZe Clan has had a lot of strong showings at regional GameBattle events, and came in 5th-6th place at CWL Atlanta. Atlanta was their first big tournament of the year, as they did not participate in London, but they looked strong in Atlanta -- they were a perfect 4-0 in group play. There is no reason why FaZe Clan should not continue their solid group play. XtroVert eSports EU has their work cut out for them in this group, and advancing will be a tough ask, especially over two big names in Call of Duty.
Expected to advance: Splyce, FaZe Clan
Group D: Cloud9, eLevate, Fnatic
The final group looks like the most even of the three. All three teams are talented, but all three teams had disappointing showings in Atlanta and are hungry for a rebound. Cloud9 had the worst showing, finishing in 17th/20th place. Fnatic finished in 13th/16th place, and eLevate in 9th/12th place.
eLevate is the safest pick to advance in this group. They came in third place in their group behind two tough opponents in Luminosity and Team 3G, and fell in the losers bracket because they ran into OpTic Gaming, a team that was unstoppable on their way to the Grand Final. eLevate falling to a team on an incredible run is hardly their fault.
The final spot between Fnatic and Cloud9 is a tough one, but I believe that Cloud9 talent will come out and keep them alive past the group stage. That being said, Cloud9 having to switch up their lineup thanks to what appears to be a visa issue for Renato "Saints" Forza could have major implications for a lineup that just lost 3,000 Pro Points after Adam "Assault" Garcia went literal with his name at CWL Atlanta. I would not be surprised if it was the other way around, or even if eLevate finished third -- it is just that close.
Expected to advance: Elevate, Cloud9
