This article is part of our Call of Duty Recap series.
In a tournament rife with technical difficulties until the very end, CWL Paris ended with OpTic Gaming taking their first tournament of the season in a decisive fashion, stomping every single team in 3-0 games on their way to the top. American teams somehow continue to outclass European teams despite both regions squaring off only just last week at MLG Atlanta. Team Infused was the only EU team to learn from their mistakes at MLG Atlanta while other strong teams, like Splyce and Fnatic, barely cracked the top eight of CWL Paris. In many ways, it felt like CWL Paris was a "Round 2" for MLG Atlanta
But unlike MLG Atlanta, CWL Paris didn't see a green-horn team sweep through the tournament. Newer teams like Enigma6 and eUnited had to claw their way out of the lower bracket. Both fell before even touching the winners bracket. Without any new surprises, the top teams to come out of CWL Paris were OpTic Gaming, FaZe Clan, and Rise Nation. Team Infused rounded out the top four thanks to the hot shooting of Tom "Moose" Handley and Adam "Peatie" Peate.
Meanwhile, teams like Team EnVyUs and Luminosity Gaming came off CWL Paris looking exceptionally weak. EnVyUs were the worst example, as the 2016 World Champions weren't able to place in the top-8 in this event, thanks in part to a dreadful performance from the normally reliable slayer John "John" Perez. It would also be unfair to suggest that technical difficulties didn't hurt everyone's performances. Rise Nation had to compete during a loud "Just Dance" finals and Tyler "Felony" Johnson was sick with exhaustion both from jet lag and from CWL Paris' poor scheduling. The difficulties even made certain teams, like OpTic Gaming, paranoid of playing on specific monitors.
The grand finals match, OpTic Gaming vs. FaZe Clan, mirrored their semifinal match earlier in the tournament. OpTic Gaming towered over FaZe Clan in close games thanks to clutch performances from Damon "Karma" Barlow. CWL Paris as a whole was a Karma show, as the much renowned slayer seems to be playing at another level. FaZe Clan's performance, which was great all weekend long, may have been hurt from CWL Paris' technical problems. A frustrated James "Clayster" Eubanks slammed CWL Paris in a post-game interview. Round 1 Hardpoint saw a restart halfway through the round for unknown reasons while the Grand Finals match itself was delayed for the "Clash of Clans" finals.
Despite all the scheduling and technical problems surrounding the weekend, CWL players still managed to perform their absolute best. FaZe Clan, Rise Nation, and Team Infused look poised to come out of this weekend even stronger than before. OpTic Gaming will be the team to beat in the CWL from now on; their amazing performances at both MLG Atlanta and CWL Paris set them apart from the pack and has placed them once again as "kings" of competitive Call of Duty.
