This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
While "Rostermania" failed to provide the same level of excitement as it has in previous years, there were a handful of notable moves made by some of the lesser teams in the Call of Duty World League, as well as a larger (and much needed) shakeup for Team EnVyUs. Let's take a look at some of the rosters heading into Stage 2!
OpTic Gaming and Rise Nation Rein Supreme
To the surprise of no one, both of the teams that found themselves in the NA CWL Stage 1 finals opted to keep their rosters the same. Complacency can often be a problem for teams that have had so much success over the years, but I'm not particularly a fan of making moves just for the sake of making them. And what's more, it's unclear if any of the marquee free agents such as Patrick "Aches" Price or Chris "Parasite" Duarte really would have made a positive difference to either team anyway, as both players have a known history of causing team chemistry related issues for their respective teams.
In the end, both OpTic Gaming and Rise Nation chose to stand pat during the abbreviated offseason, a move that should solidify their status as forces in Stage 2. It's far too early to begin making bold predictions about where teams might place by the end of the season, but at least for the moment, it seems like the two squads will be dueling for top supremacy once again.
Team EnVyUs Cleans House
Through Week 5 of Stage 1, Team EnVyUs was riding high, sitting near the top of the standings with an 8-2 record. However, things quickly spiraled out of control from there, as the team limped to 12-10 finish, and amidst "toxic environment" chants from sources surrounding the organization, the team opted not to even scrimmage prior to their playoff loss to eLevate.
As a result, both Patrick "ACHES" Price and the aforementioned TeeP were released from the team, leaving just Jordan "Jkap" Kaplan and Austin "Slasher" Liddicoat as the remaining members of EnVyUs --- that is until the organization announced the signing of Johnathon "John" Perez from Luminosity Gaming and Bryan "Apathy" Zhelyazkov from Team Liquid. While the signing of Apathy comes with some fanfare thanks to name recognition, John may end up being the more pivotal signing of the two as he was one of the main threats for Luminosity. It's clear both players will provide a certain level of killing potential to a team that was already one of the better slaying groups in Stage 1, but it remains to be seen whether the group as a whole can develop a certain level of cohesiveness necessary to take down OpTic Gaming or Rise Nation in a best-of-seven series.
compLexity Gaming Goes "Goony"
In what is quickly becoming a disturbing trend in the Call of Duty scene, yet another talented player, this time the aforementioned Parasite, was released from his team thanks to poor behavior. And while most teams try to feign a level of professionalism following a release, former teammate Anthony "NAMELES" Wheeler couldn't even do that, pinning many of compLexity Gaming's issues on the now released player's attitudes in a Reddit post.
Professionalism aside, the move to replace Parasite with former Team Kaliber member Jevon "Goonjar" Gooljar-Lim likely doesn't improve the team on the surface, as the now-released player was one of the better slayers in the world. However, the old adage "addition by subtraction" may effectively come into play here, as it was clear compLexity Gaming was not going anywhere in the CWL with attitude issues hovering around like smog. In a sense, the move to bring in Goonjar effectively wipes the slate clean for Stage 2, as the team can now focus on building their unity and structure during decisive matches, rather than watch when it may all crumble down.
Question Marks Surrounding Notable Free Agents
A handful of talented players still remain unsigned, or at the very least, have not announced a commitment as of this writing. While some of them may very well end up on rosters by the end of the end of the stage, it's clear that more organizations are putting teamwork before talent.
Case in point, Parasite.
Even despite his recent issues with compLexity Gaming, it appeared as if he was going to join Dream Team in a standings-shaking move after the club reportedly released Troy "Sender" Michaels and Steven "Diabolic" Rivero. However, during a scrimmage against eLevate just one day later, a war of words erupted between Parasite and Martin "Chino" Chino, in which Parasite would eventually mute his entire team and proceed to bash them on his stream, ending his tenure with the organization before it even began.
While Parasite suggested in a tweet that he could be close to joining another team as a sub for Stage 2, it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone to see Parasite left off a CWL team. And maybe that's for the best. While the CoD scene certainly would benefit if all of the world's top players were active participants in the CWL, it makes me cringe seeing situations such as this one play out on a daily basis. Like most team sports, success depends on a myriad of factors, but perhaps most importantly might be the mindset of the team as a whole. Top organizations thrive with teamwork and an open line of communication, not screaming over a monstrous KD line and displaying an "I know best" attitude.
The same goes for Aches, who took to Twitter to announce his frustrations about his release from Team EnVyUs (link in a series of backhanded tweets that seemed straight out of LeBron James' very publicized social media spouts throughout the season. With the CWL effectively rendering any outside tournaments pointless, the opportunities to gain notoriety and fame rest on exposure, something free agents will have to work much harder for without finding themselves on a pro roster.
While these type of negative actions may be fun to watch play out as a fan, it's disappointing to see talented players damage their careers by poor, heat-of-the-moment decisions. With access to players at an all-time high thanks to social media, reputations can be built and destroyed with just the click of a button. I, for one, want to see the game continue to grow off the fascinating Stage 1 finals matchup that may have been one of the single greatest competitive Call of Duty matchups of all time.
