Alright, OK, Yes I take full responsibility for saying that the old OpTic Nation roster of Tyler “TeePee” Polchow, Damon “Karma” Barlow, Callum “Swanny” Swan and Jordan “ProoFy” Cannon could have been the best team in the world. On paper, I still stand by that, however it became rather evident that the team composition, whether it was simply the chemistry, play-styles and/or attitudes were to blame, did not work out. To be frank it seems as if ProoFy was a lame duck on the OpTic Nation roster, which I have stated earlier. The Robo Proof that we all came to not only love, but to be in awe of was a mere shell of himself. I think that with his release from the roster he will be able to find, or even create, a team that is focused around, arguably, his unparalleled skill-set. So, all and all, releasing ProoFy was a win-win situation for all parties, however, the forced release of Swanny was the complete opposite of a win-win. After coming over to OpTic Nation for only a brief time period, Swanny captivated the North American scene with his impeccable slaying ability, which brought a much needed new dimension to the, now old, OpTic Nation squad. OpTic Nation was missing a key component, and found their missing link in Swanny, at least so we thought. With the Call of Duty World Championship coming up, Nation was forced to either drop Swanny or Karma because of the region rules, meaning that if a team in the United States is going to qualify from the U.S., that team must consist of at least 3 players from the United States, and both Karma and Swanny are not from the United States (Swanny Europe, Karma Canada). The choice was obvious for Teepee and co., to go ahead with releasing Swanny, for now. I would not be surprised if Nation does not place well at COD Champs that Nation would strongly consider picking Swanny back up. With COD Champs right around the corner it seems that OpTic Nation is leaning towards picking up Adam “Killa” Sloss and Marcus “MiRx” Carter, both former teammates, and Call of Duty World Champions, of Karma during Fariko.Impact’s reign in Black Ops 2, two years ago. Both MirX and Killa have, to be frank, fallen off quite considerably since their Black Ops 2 days, neither of which really showing their old talent, and prowess, which has been a story in of itself. Both players have seen extremely poor placings, statistics, and poor public opinion about their apparent complacent attitudes, which evidently spawned after their Call of Duty Championship. The statistics from UMG Orlando speak volumes of MiRx’s and Killa’s current play, especially Killa’s. When you matchup MiRx and Killa to ProoFy and Swanny, it does not bode well for Nation. Take a look for yourselves: NOTE: K/D = Kill Death Ratio K/R = Kills per Respawn AI = Kills + Deaths per Game OS % = Out Slaying Percentage (Percentage of games that the player had more kills than deaths) *Rankings are out of 84 players* Teepee: K/D: 1.00 (41st) AI: 39.23 (72nd) K/R: 27.55 (44th) OS %: 19.35% (61st) Swanny: K/D: 1.26 (2nd) AI: 38.90 (74th) K/R: 29.90 (16th) OS %: 45.61% (3rd) Proofy: K/D: 0.98 (47th) AI: 39.55 (71st) K/R: 27.85 (40th) OS %: 22.58% (48th) Karma: K/D: 1.13 (7th) AI: 41.71 (43rd) K/R: 31.25 (6th) OS %: 29.03% (26th) OpTic Nation: K/D: 1.08 (2nd) K/R: 29.14 (3rd) OS%: 54.84% (6th) Possible Additions: MiRx: K/D: 1.07 (18th) AI: 39.74 (66th) K/R: 28.44 (36th) OS %: 53.85% (23rd) Killa: K/D: 0.96 (55th) AI: 37.15 (80th) K/R: 24.08 (73rd) OS %: 41.03% (45th) Hey, you never know, perhaps playing with their old teammate Karma and the mastermind himself TeePee can reinvigorate players who were once revered as two of the best players in the world. Either way, who do you think is the best fit for the OpTic Nation roster? Do you think this roster can work? Let me know if the comments below, or mention me on Twitter @SaVi_JayD!
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The European pool of Call of Duty talent has always been minuscule in comparison to the United States, however, that does not mean we should write off the extremely high level of players that the EU scene currently harbors. After Callum “Swanny” Swan joined OpTic Nation, and that put up staggeringly monstrous numbers against the highest level of competition at UMG Orlando, with only a few days of practice with the OpTic Nation roster, I think it is time for us to begin to accept the fact that the EU can produce talent, and the talent is worth recruiting. European players have different play styles, tendencies, in comparison to that of the United States’ league players, and that has seemed to both hinder certain player’s statistics/performance, and also bolster it. In Swanny and Madcat’s case, it bolstered it. Madcat (@Madcat), currently playing under the historic European organization “Epsilon” (@Epsilon_eSports), is a veteran player out of Birmingham, England, who is quite well known over here in the States. At the most recent major US LAN event, UMG Orlando, Madcat, statistically, played extremely well, posting numbers equivalent to that of an upper echelon slayer. He was top 15 in Kill Death ratio (K/D), Kills per Respawn game-mode (K/R), and Out Slaying percentage (OS %), which puts him in the realm of players such as Scump, TJHaLy, and Slasher as the only players to do so. Madcat proved to be an all around stable and strong slayer, a player that would fit well for a team like EnVyUs. His Orlando statistics are posted below: Madcat: K/D: 1.11 (12th) AI: 40.72 (55th) K/R: 30.27 (11th) OS %: 61.11% (11th) When you talk about slaying capability from the EU, one player always comes to mind, Jordan “Jurd” Crowley (@TCM_Jurd). The native Irishman was toted the European Scumpi because of his insane twitch shot and slaying ability. I personally have watched him at events for the past couple years, and can vouch for his raw ability. If you put him in the correct system, with veteran players that can help hone his skills while also applying strategies to his game play, I think Jurd could become a brand in of itself, and break away from the title of being the Irish Scump. His performance at UMG Orlando was below par for his talent level, to the say the least, however I think that this event was anomaly for him, as I truly think he has a rare talent, he simply needs to be consistent. His raw slaying ability would go well on a team with Madcat, perhaps even on EnVyUs. Here are his statistics: Jordan “Jurd” Crowley: K/D: 0.98 (53rd) AI: 45.65 (4th) K/R: 29.11(26th) OS %: 43.75% (46th) Jurd’s teammate, Tom “Moose” Handley (@TCM_Moose), also from Birmingham like Madcat, is a player equivalent to that of Nameless, a consistent player who can play any and all positions, and do they well. His play style would suit him well on a US squad that would allow for him to be a supporting slayer, a player that could freely play to his strengths. He could go into a roster such as Denial, in replace of Replays, to help slay from an objective-driven position. His Orlando statistics show strong rankings across the board: Tom “Moose” Handley: K/D: 1.03 (32nd) AI: 43.56 (23rd) K/R: 29.91 (14th) OS %: 56.25% (15th) Madcat, Jurd, and Moose are only a few of the talented EU players that we in the United States have had the privledge of watching. I hope that all three of them get a chance over here in the States to further their careers, and to play with the highest level of competition in the world. NOTE: Other players to look out for from the EU: - Gunshy - Tommy - ShAnE - MarkyB Right before the MLG Advanced Warfare Season 1 trade deadline Aware Gaming sneakily traded for one of the most talented players in the world, Cuyler “Huke” Garland, who happens to be only 15 years old. Aware shipped Brian “PRXPLX” Lado, another sought after young commodity after his performance at UMG Orlando, off to Team Prophecy in exchange for Huke, solidifying Aware’s Season 1 lineup as follows: Huke (@STNNR_Huke), Tommy “TJHaLy” (STNNR_TJHaLy), Nick “Happy” Suda (@Aware_Happy), and Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi (@Aware_Accuracy). With this current roster they could make some serious noise in the Season 1 playoffs, sadly enough, they will not be able to compete with this team at the Call of Duty World Championships (I’ll save my rant on COD Champs for another article). With the recent pickup of Huke, Aware is the only team in the entire world to comprise of 3 players in the top 15, from UMG Orlando, in both Out Slaying percentage (OS %) and Kill Death Ratio (K/D). Those two categories play a major role in the outcome of not only a respawn game mode, but also in Search and Destroy, which, proven by Stunner Gaming at Orlando, can take you deep into a tournament. Here are the statistics from Orlando for Aware’s new roster: Orlando Happy: K/D: 1.14 (5th) AI: 41.05 (51st) K/R: 27.29 (45th) OS %: 57.89% (13th) Huke: K/D: 1.10 (13th) AI: 43.28 (26th) K/R: 29.48 (20th) OS %: 62.50% (8th) TJHaLy: K/D: 1.13 (6th) AI: 47.31 (2nd) K/R: 31.30 (5th) OS %: 68.75% (4th) Accuracy: K/D: 0.94 (58th) AI: 41.16 (48th) K/R: 24.79 (73rd) OS %: 47.37% (38th) Statistically Aware now has 3 top 15 slayers in the game today. The greatest part about this team is that none of these great talents are named Scump, Crimsix or Formal, and none of them are on OpTic. Actually, Happy and Scump are the only two players be top 5 in K/D not only at the past two major LAN events, MLG Columbus and UMG Orlando, but also in the online season. So, for Happy, this article was a long time coming, and so is his national, wide spread, recognition as one of the best kept secrets, or talents, tine the game. The sad news about this roster, and for the old Stunner Gaming roster, is that since Huke is under 18 years of age, he will not be able to participate at the Call of Duty World Championships (again, the rant will come later). So, we will only be able to see this squad’s abilities during this MLG online Season (season 1). These are names that only the amateur community has come to know and love. For us these are household names. Seeing TJHaLy make that incredible play on main-stage against OpTic, and having he and Huke live up to the hype, was absolutely splendid. These players represent the populous, the unknowns, the amateurs, the players who never got a shot at playing with the professional players, and instead created their own shot by playing together. I hope these guys continue to transcend their careers, talent and character, and never forget where they came from, and who was with them from the start. Let me know how well Aware will do during this MLG Online Season in the comments below, or at me on Twitter @SaVi_JayD! Denial was, arguably, a Top 3 team before they shipped Renato “Saints” (@SaintsRF_nV) and Tommy “ZooMa” Paparatto (@ZooMa_nV) to Team EnVyUs (@TeamEnVyUs) in exchange for Clay “Clayster” Eubanks (@Clayster) and Jordan “JKap” Kaplan (@DenialJKap). So, what was the point of the trade? In light of the recent surge for players attempting to figure out rosters that would optimize their chances at winning the Call of Duty World Championship, we all knew that EnVyUs had to change their roster (see my previous articles). The trade made sense, somewhat, for EnVyUs. They ship off two players who have under performed (to be fair the entire team except maybe Anthony “Nameless” Wheeler has underperformed) at their only two LAN events in MLG Columbus and Orlando. However, what was the point of trading two players from a team that recently placed 3rd at UMG Orlando? There are a few different reasons that make sense as to why Denial decided to part ways with Saints and ZooMa. Conflict: First off, it seemed a tad bit apparent that there were internal issues between certain roster members on the Denial squad. The most transparent point was when Denial, after recently acquiring one of the best players in the previous Call of Duty title, Ghosts, in “Attach,” an extremely talented, but young (18 years old) player who had never been involved with such a large organization like Denial, placed a measly 6th, and seemed to simply be lacking some sense of camaraderie. 6th place was an underperformance for this roster, as they came off of winning their first ever event during Ghosts, they were arguably the best team in the world coming into Advanced Warfare, however something simply seemed to be missing. Whenever the camera, at events, zoomed into the Denial booth something seemed off. If I had to put my finger on it, I would say there was internal tension on the squad of some form, why else would you break up a team who jumped from 6th to 3rd from one event to the next? Well, the answer could have came from above. Business: Clayster and JKap represent an enormous fan base and present a massive audience outreach that no other player on Denial ever has nor could have. Both these players also bring an extremely high level of talent that neither ZooMa nor Saints really have. Before you jump at my throat, let me say that yes statistically ZooMa and Saints have out played Clayster and JKap so far through Advanced Warfare. However, Clay and JKap are phenomenal players, both arguably top 10 players in the world if they are playing to potential, which in the right system, the right team composition, they can and they will thrive, as we have seen countless times in the past. Is the roster of Attach and Replays the correct system/composition? Only time will tell. Until then, it is safe to say that Robby Ringnalda, Denial’s CEO, did not hesitate to pull the trigger on making Kap and Clay apart of the wolf-pack, and I have to say, I would not hesitate either. From a marketing perspective, it makes sense, and if the roster actually works, meaning Clay and JKap play to their potential while also grooming Attach, and help Replays raise his level of play, it would only be a bonus. Let me know what you think about Denial’s roster move, @SaVi_JayD! envyus trades clayster and jkap to denial for saints and zooma, but does it solve envy's problems?1/21/2015 So, evidently Hastro and co. never read the article, “What’s wrong with EnVyUs’ roster?” Before I continue, let me prefix everything for those who are unaware of the recent roster changes within Team EnVyUs’.
Let’s quickly do a recap: EnVyUs (@TeamEnVyUs) traded Clay “Clayster” Eubanks (@Clayster) and Jordan “JKap” Kaplan (DenialJKap) to Denial eSports (@DenialeSports) for Renato “Saints” (@SaintsRF_nV) and Tommy “ZooMa” Paparatto (@ZooMa_nV). There were major issues that resided within the EnVyUs roster, none of which were any of the players faults, to a certain extent. As I have stated before in prior article(s), and have hammered home on and off of social media (@SaVi_JayD), the EnVyUs team composition is atrocious. “Each one of those players is an AR player, none of them have any dominant SMG play style, tendencies, or twitch shot, as seen from Scumpii and Crimsix. The team does not possess the pressure play style that is required in this high paced game, and with the recent patch making the ASM1, a SMG, a viable CQB weapon, this team looks to possibly be even more out of place.” - Jonathan Diamond, ‘What’s wrong with EnVyUs’ roster?’ Ever since the incredible mishandling of the roster towards the tail end of Ghosts, which led to Hastro’s, “Franchise player,” Matt “Formal” leaving the organization for a spot on OpTic Gaming, the EnVyUs roster has been extremely tumultuous, and to be frank, poorly handled. We all knew EnVyUs’ roster was not working, I knew it was not going to work from the moment I heard of the roster composition. So, if we all knew the roster was not working, Hastro must have, right? And if he did realize that, then he also must have been setting plans into motion that would give the Boys in Blue their best chance to bring home a championship, right? If Hastro is the Call of Duty eSport mastermind like we have grown accustom to seeing, then there must be something that he sees in his newly acquired players, and newly formed roster, that I simply do not. Let’s break the roster down. Previous Roster: Jordan “Jkap” Kaplan Columbus: K/D: 1.01 K/R: 28.38 AI: 41.40 OS %: 30% Orlando: K/D: 0.97 K/R: 27.36 AI: 40.36 OS %: 20.59% Joey “Merk” Deluca: Columbus: K/D: 0.96 K/R: 27.15 AI: 40.20 OS %: 35% Orlando: K/D: 0.93 K/R: 27.06 AI: 39.80 OS %: 8% Clay “Clayster” Eubanks: Columbus: K/D: 0.93 K/R: 28.69 AI: 42.65 OS %: 15% Orlando: K/D: 0.99 K/R: 29.88 (12th) AI: 43.92 OS %: 24% Anthony “Nameless” Wheeler: Columbus: K/D: 0.97 K/R: 27.69 AI: 41.80 OS %: 30% Orlando: K/D: 1.02 K/R: 29.44 (17th) AI: 42.16 OS %: 36% EnVy’s statistics as a team: Columbus: K/D: 0.97 K/R: 27.98 OS %: 30% Orlando: K/D: 0.98 K/R: 28.47 OS %: 48% Newcomers: Saints Orlando: K/D: 1.07 (16th) AI: 44.24 (13th) K/R: 29.25 (18th) OS %: 55.58% (18th) Zooma Orlando: K/D: 1.01 (36th) AI: 48.44 (1st) K/R: 31.38 (3rd) OS %: 44.12% (34th) In my previous EnVyUs-driven article I asserted that a player needed, and by needed I mean absolutely has to be replaced, was Joey “Merk” Deluca. I continued the article by then exclaiming that if Hastro was to go as far as to replacing two players from the roster, you would need to add Anthony “Nameless” Wheeler to the hot stove. As I have stated before, Merk looks to be rapidly descending, or ascending depending on your perspective, into where BigT was right before he retired from professional gaming and became more of a “casual” gamer. To add onto the Merk’s lack of ability comes Nameless’ lack of role within the current roster. Nameless has always been an extremely versatile player, able to play any and all roles competently, however with the previous roster of himself, Clayster, JKap and Merk, he, actually, no one had a true role besides Merk as the objective player. That being said, despite the fact that Nameless, statistically, has played the best on the team through the first two events of this game, Nameless had to of been one of the two players to be replaced. He did not fill a void on the team, with or without Clay and/or JKap. Nameless is a filler player, a role-player, a support player. EnVyUs needed dominant SMG-driven slayers to complement the strong AR play of JKap and Clayster. Speaking of those two, I think that both Orlando and Columbus are an anomaly for these two talented players simply because they, sadly enough, were products of the system of which they were placed in, which was a system made up of a poor team composition. Don’t get me wrong, both Saints and ZooMa are great players, players that would have been an excellent fit with JKap and Clayster. It is extremely surprising to see these two players leave a roster which recently placed Top 3 at UMG Orlando, for a team that will be lucky to place Top 8. Let me know if you guys have any thoughts on this matter, if this trade will solve EnVy’s issues or merely exacerbate them! At me on Twitter @SaVi_JayD! FaZe took the world by storm after they shocked the heavily favored OpTic Gaming in the grand finals of the opening MLG LAN event, MLG Columbus, behind the extraordinary play from arguably the greatest player of all-time, the Michael Jordan of Call of Duty, if you will, Patrick “Aches” Price. Aches played the final day of the event with stitches in his right thumb, basically willing his team to victory against an extremely potent OpTic Gaming team who has Aches’ former teammate, Ian “Crimsix” Porter, on their roster, making the victory even sweeter for Aches. The championship solidified Aches as the winningest player in the history of Call of Duty, and because of that, I knew from at that very moment that FaZe would falter at the next event, UMG Orlando. The entire community is fully aware of Aches’ decline in ambition, drive, etc., ever since the compLexity, and then Evil Geniuses, dynasty began its descent into mortality. That is why it was extremely odd to see Aches come out at the first event of Advanced Warfare and for him to play with such conviction. That same drive and willingness to win is what has catalyzed all of his 1st placements. The only problem is that he has once again become complacent, which was extremely evident at UMG Orlando. And with his complacency, came a decline statistically in every category by 3 out of the 4 players on FaZe. Aches is a leader, and with that comes a direct responsibility for the teams all around performance. Here are the statistics from FaZe’s past two major LAN performances: NOTE: K/D = Kill Death Ratio K/R = Kills per Respawn AI = Kills + Deaths per Game OS % = Out Slaying Percentage (Percentage of time that the player had more kills than deaths) Columbus Aches: K/D: 1.05 (T17th) AI: 42.68 (26th) K/R: 28.54 (24th) OS %: 52.63% (17th) Slasher: K/D: 1.08 (15th) AI: 43.69 (16th) K/R: 29.58 (13th) OS %: 56.41% (10th) Apathy: K/D: 1.07 (16th) AI: 41.41 (35th) K/R: 29.08 (18th) OS %: 58.97% (8th) Censor: K/D: 0.95 (38th) AI: 40.84 (42nd) K/R: 26.23 (45th) OS %: 35.14% (40th) As a Team: K/D: 1.05 (3rd) K/R: 28.36 (3rd) OS %: 58.97% (3rd) Placement: 1st Orlando Aches: K/D: 0.91 (64th) AI: 42.17 (35th) K/R: 29.18 (28th) OS %: 22.22% (T76th) Slasher: K/D: 1.11 (10th) AI: 44.39 (11th) K/R: 33.64 (2nd) OS %: 61.11% (10th) Apathy: K/D: 1.04 (25th) AI: 41.61 (44th) K/R: 29.91 (15th) OS %: 55.56% (19th) Censor: K/D: 0.88 (69th) AI: 38.83 (74th) K/R: 26.82 (56th) OS %: 22.22% (T76th) As a Team: K/D: 0.98 (13th) K/R: 29.89 (1st) OS %: 44.44% (11th) Placement: 13-16th After this poor placing it was transparent that within the inner workings of FaZe the was something wrong, and this past week showed truth to that as Aches gained captainship of the roster and immediately dropped Censor, the former captain, and Apathy from the main FaZe roster, and only kept Slasher, one of the top slayers in the world, from the old FaZe roster and then went ahead and picked up Ian “enable” Wyatt, another upper echelon slayer to complement Slasher. Apathy and Censor are still contracted within the FaZe organization, and will be representing FaZe as FaZe “Orange” at future events, including the Call of Duty World Championships. Speaking of COD Champs, I think it is safe to say that Aches will most likely drop his current complacency for an unrivaled ambition, just for this one event. Why is that, you might ask. Well, the winning team of this mega event receives $400 thousand dollars, and Aches won the last COD Champs during the title Ghosts with compLexity. You can guarantee that Aches will give this event his all, since the COD Champs outreach, prize pool, and stage is unrivaled by any other event in the world. This is where Aches will shine, and because of that, it will not really matter who Aches decides to replace Doug “Censor” Martin with, because I have no doubt that he will not let his team lose. That being said, for longevity purposes, we must disect what player would best fit the teams needs not only for this upcoming event, but for the future. The rumors right now are that it has come down to a couple different players, Parasite and MiRx, both battled-hardened veterans with an extremely high level of skill, but with completely opposite play styles and attitudes. Let’s take a look at only the statistics, to see whom would best suite FaZe (I put Enable’s statistics from Orlando in there as well so everyone can see the raw slaying power that FaZe would posses no matter who they would pick up): Orlando: Enable: K/D: 1.16 (4th) AI: 41.97 (41st) K/R: 29.08 (30th) OS %: 67.65% (5th) Parasite: K/D: 1.12 (8th) AI: 42.70 (31ist) K/R: 28.50 (34th) OS %: 66.67% (6th) MiRx: K/D: 1.07 (18th) AI: 39.74 (66th) K/R: 28.44 (36th) OS %: 53.85% (23rd) It’s an obvious choice, right? You pick up Parasite, and FaZe would have unparalleled talent and raw slaying power, right? Well, this an extremely complicated situation. Both Aches and Parasite have extremely aggressive attitudes both in and out of game, and could cause extreme chemistry problems. However, Parasite could synergize well with the current FaZe roster, as he balances the team out very well with his balanced and smart play style. Now, let’s look at MiRx. MiRx has seen a deterioration in placements ever since winning the Black Ops 2 World Championship with Fariko.Impact, with Parasite. He is well known to be one of the best aggressive SMG players in the world, someone who could take over any map, any game mode, especially respawns, at any given time. He would present a very strong aggressive play style coupled with Aches and Slasher. In my opinion, I think FaZe would be better suited with MiRx. His attitude and pressure play style synergizes almost perfectly not only right now, but in the future. Let me know who you guys think would be the best choice for the new FaZe roster, @SaVi_JayD! Velocity eSports was founded on May 17, 2014 by Matthew “RESTACKZ” Sim. Matt’s vision for Velocity was simple, to bring forth opportunities for his fellow amateur gamers that were willing to transcend not only their gameplay, but their brand, to an entirely new level. People like Mr. Sim are what makes our community tremendously optimistic, as their focus is simple, to help grow Call of Duty eSports as a whole.
“Our goal is to be the best of the best! We are a huge growing family and have passion for what we do. Expect much from us at upcoming LAN events” - Matthew “RESTACKZ” Sim Currently Velocity eSports harbors two teams across two separate games. In Call of Duty Velocity owns one team, Velocity Gold. Velocity Gold currently maintains the number 1 ranking on UMG’ Team Ladder. The team has not traveled to a LAN event under the name Velocity, however, they have exuded untapped potential in various online tournaments and matches, defeating the likes of Professional League teams such as OpTic Gaming, Strictly Business, Automatic Reload, and many more as they begin to prepare to take the next step. Velocity “Gold” Roster:
Velocity Gold Standings: http://www.umggaming.com/team/repulseesports-8559-82635621 Velocity’s final team resides in the Halo scene. In the the team’s first LAN event under Velocity, which was in St. Louis, Missouri from January 2nd-4th, they placed Top 16. The event, which was called “UGC20K St. Louis Halo 2 Anniversary,” hosted 96 teams, including OpTic Gaming, Reality Check, Evil Geniuses, and many other well known professional gaming organizations from around the world. Velocity Halo currently ranks 10th on the ESL Halo Team Ladder, as well. Velocity Halo Roster:
ESL Team Standings: http://gfx.esl.eu/gfx/media/play/halo/america/hcs/ESL_HCS_Season-1_PointTracker.pdf This is only the beginning Velocity, and our exponentially steady growth, and strong first few months are a testament to our dedication, and our leader, Matthew “RESTACKZ” Sim’s vision. Stay tuned as we begin to explore new ventures and opportunities, in our quest of being a premier international professional gaming organization. That being said, no matter where Velocity goes, it will always be more than a simple organization. Velocity will forever be a family. Make sure you follow us on social media outlets so you can stay up to date with all things Velocity! Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/veL_eSports Follow us on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/velocity_esports Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thvelocityesports Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVelocityeSports Across all levels of sports, whether it’s high school, college or professional, basketball, baseball or football there is one thing that separates the great players of today and past, from the best players of all-time: championships. When you talk about professional basketball, Michael Jordan is the unanimous greatest individual player of all-time, as his 6 NBA Finals championships speak for themselves, not to mention he is 4th all-time in NBA scoring, a 14-time All-Star, recorded 5 MVP awards, 10 Scoring titles, and the list goes on and on. However, out of all of those personal accolades none of them equate to a championship. Championships are so highly regarded that Bill Russell, who has 11 NBA championships, is considered by many to have at least deserved to be in the discussion for one of the best to ever play. With professional Call of Duty maturing to the point where we are beginning to keep track of players’, and teams’, statistics at sanctioned Major League Gaming events, it will hopefully lead us to the point of giving out personal accolades such as Most Valuable Player, Slaying Title, etc. That being said, we as a community have reached a point where we must begin to give credit where credit is due, begin to reward our star players with acknowledgments. Patrick “Aches” Price won his 19th Call of Duty Championship at MLG Columbus the weekend of Thanksgiving as his team, FaZe, dismantled the heavily favored OpTic Gaming in one of the most thrilling series of games we have seen in some time now. With the victory Aches pushed himself even farther ahead of his former teammate, Tyler “Teepee” Polchow, who has 17 championships, and has solidified himself in Professional Call of Duty history as the winningest player ever, by two championships. Since player statistics have only been charted and made public in the past year, and there have never been any individual player accolades given out, the only measure of a player that we have is, you guessed it, championships. Now, don’t get it twisted, Aches is a remarkably talented player. He had the 16th highest K/D ratio (1.05) at the event, and played with stitches in his swollen hand during the final day of the event. Also, let’s not quickly forget that Aches has been considered at times during various Call of Duties to be one of, if not the best, top players in the world. So, it would not be difficult to conceive that if there were personal accolades that Aches would have some of his own, only adding to his legacy. Like I said before, as a community we need to take this next step forward in our maturity and give credit where credit is due. Until someone surpasses him in championships, Patrick “Aches” Price is the greatest player in Call of Duty history, and let’s not so easily forget it. Don’t get caught up in the hype of “god squads,” instead we should all give a mature salute to the best to ever do it, and be thankful that we have come to a point where we can crown someone, and have it mean something. So, from everyone here at Velocity eSports, and the rest of this amazing community, we salute you, Pat, and hope you continue in your winning ways, and we thank you for your commitment to this community! Written By: Jonathan Diamond OpTic Gaming is the best team in the world, right? The combination of Formal’s map awareness, Crimsix’s unparralled talent and Scump’s ridiculous twitch shot, and let’s not forgot Nadeshot’s objective play, should on paper be unmatched, right? Well, the answer to that question may shock you, but if you’re an OpTic fan, don’t be too quick to jump at my throat, because you need only accentuate your elation. The ever so fruitless, talent and placement wise, OpTic Nation project has now bloomed into one of the most prosperous investments, at least on paper, by Hector “Hecz” Rodriquez, the owner of OpTic Gaming. The keywords in that sentence, and out of this entire article/debate, is “on paper.” On paper, OpTic Nation is arguably the best team in the world, better than even the goliath that is OpTic Gaming. On paper, OpTic Nation has the talent at every position that rivals even that of the old compLexity dynasty of Aches, Teepee, Karma and Crimsix who reigned from Black Ops 2 through Ghosts. On paper, OpTic Nation, on LAN, at the very least, should not be placing outside of Top 2. Now, before we get any further, we must put everything into context, at least from what happened at the last event, UMG Orlando. At the most recent event OpTic Nation, with a fresh roster pickup in Swanny, a player who transferred over from Europe in exchange for MBoZe, placed a measly Top 12 (9th-12th). Nation, with only a few days of preparation with their new fourth, proved to the world that they have, arguably, the most slaying power out of any team, ranking 2nd in K/D, 3rd in K/R and 6th in Out Slaying percentage. Now, before you jump to any conclusions, let me say that yes, OpTic Gaming was the better team at Orlando, seeing as they won the entire event, and posted slightly high statistics than Nation, however, allow me to bring to light something that others have not. When matched up, statistically, and skillfully, Gaming and Nation are on an equal playing, and you can even give an edge to Nation (statistically). Don’t believe me? Check the matchup board below: NOTE:
Nadeshot: vs. Teepee: K/D: 0.96 (56th) K/D: 1.00 (41st) AI: 40.30 (62nd) AI: 39.23 (72nd) K/R: 25.26 (65th) K/R: 27.55 (44th) OS %: 18.52% (64th) OS %: 19.35% (61st) Advantage: Teepee Crimsix: vs. Swanny: K/D: 1.09 (15th) K/D: 1.26 (2nd) AI: 43.33 (25th) AI: 38.90 (74th) K/R: 29.58 (18th) K/R: 29.90 (16th) OS %: 29.63% (25th) OS %: 45.61% (3rd) Advantage: Swanny Scump: vs. Proofy: K/D: 1.21 (10th) K/D: 0.98 (47th) AI: 44.70 (10th) AI: 39.55 (71st) K/R: 31.16 (7th) K/R: 27.85 (40th) OS %: 44.44% (4th) OS %: 22.58% (48th) Advantage: Scump Formal: vs. Karma: K/D: 1.11 (11th) K/D: 1.13 (7th) AI: 44.30 (12th) AI: 41.71 (43rd) K/R: 30.84 (9th) K/R: 31.25 (6th) OS %: 25.93% (37th) OS %: 29.03% (26th) Advantage: Karma OpTic Gaming: vs. OpTic Nation: K/D: 1.09 (1st) K/D: 1.08 (2nd) K/R: 29.21 (2nd) K/R: 29.14 (3rd) OS %: 59.26% (3rd) OS%: 54.84% (6th) Advantage: OpTic Gaming So, did anyone else find the same mind boggling issue? OpTic Nation, when individually matched up at their respective positions, holds a 3 to 1 edge, yet, when you look at the collective team statistics, Gaming elevates to the top, in every category. If you are like me, then you asked the same question, how can that possibly be? The simple answer is the placement of each team’s X factors. Gaming’s X Factor comes in their Objective player, Nadeshot, whereas Nation’s X Factor comes in one of their supporting slayers. There are both pros and cons to these respective strategies: if and when Nadeshot provides any form of slaying power, it is a very nice boost, however, I think I am not alone when I say this, when Proofy plays to the level that we as a community have grown accustom to from past Call of Duties, he is arguably a Top 10, even Top 5 player in the world. The issue is his consistency, and lack of role adjustment. Advanced Warfare’s extremely up-beat tempo has not boded well for the old supportive-slayers who thrive in long range gunfights, assault rifles, and utilizing angles and map positioning. That old-slayer mold is what Proofy used to be, and he has yet to effectively transition himself into Advanced Warfare. You couple that with the current team composition that Nation has, Teepee the objective player, Karma the objective slayer, and now Swanny who has begun to thrive in a supportive slayer type role, and Proofy seems to be a shell of what he once was. The crazy part about that is the fact that his current level of play, when you average out the good and the bad, is still an upper echelon player. Once Proofy fully adjusts to the current roster’s play-style, strategies and composition, I have no doubt in my mind that we will see a return of the Robo Proof of old. And when we do, you will see a knew hierarchal order in the OpTic House. Let's not forget that this is all on paper, so it excludes any possible team chemistry issues that may arise, or have already arisen. Team chemistry, and this point in time in probably Nation's biggest enemy. Perhaps Nation will finally play to their full potential at the next event, which just so happens to be the biggest one of the year in the Call of Duty World Championships. I for one hope they do, maybe that will shake things up for OpTic fans’ allegiances. Either way, let me know what you guys think, mention me on Twitter, @SaVi_JayD, or leave a comment below, and have a wonderful day! How the Prophecy roster of Christopher “Parasite” Duarte, Tyree “Legal,” “Ricky,” and Damond “FEARs” was formed, and how the organization itself was pumped right back into mainstream professional Call of Duty, right before MLG Columbus, simply shows the current parity and talent level that lives in Call of Duty eSports. Prophecy’s move to pickup this very under the radar, out of the ordinary team, has definitely proved to be a wise choice as the team placed 3rd and Top 12 at MLG Columbus and UMG Orlando, respectively.
When the roster was initially formed, and the team began officially playing, they were regarded as one of the best online teams as they absolutely obliterated their opponents. Their slaying power could only be rivaled by top teams such as OpTic Gaming, JusTus, Denial, etc, and fortunately enough for them, their success online translated to LAN. Out of nowhere Prophecy placed 3rd, giving them a reputation as a force to be reckoned with. This success did not last long, as all of their team statistics, mainly slaying ability, increased. ---- Yes, you read that correctly. As a team, statistically, Prophecy was better at Orlando, where they placed 9-12th, in comparison to when they placed 3rd at Orlando. Here are the statistics: Columbus: Parasite: K/D: 1.02 AI: 41.15 K/R: 28.92 OS %: 50% Ricky: K/D: 0.88 AI: 38.90 K/R: 24.85 OS %: 30% Legal: K/D: 0.94 AI: 39.65 K/R: 27.15 OS %: 35% FEARs: K/D: 0.93 AI: 36.75 K/R: 24.46 OS %: 35% As a Team: K/D: 0.94 K/R: 26.35 OS %: 40% Placement: 3rd Orlando: Parasite: K/D: 1.12 AI: 42.70 K/R: 28.50 OS %: 66.67% Ricky: K/D: 0.99 AI: 40.11 K/R: 26.33 OS %: 40.74% Legal: K/D: 0.91 AI: 39.81 K/R: 25.22 OS %: 25.93% FEARs: K/D: 0.91 AI: 36.11 K/R: 23.11 OS %: 33.33% As a Team: K/D: 0.98 K/R: 25.79 OS %: 48.15% Placement: Top 12 So, what changed? The answer, as it so often does at this level, resides in the team composition, and chemistry. No one anticipated Legal, who formerly was on Team FeaR, and was widely known as a “top amateur,” to get a chance to compete alongside the likes of former world champion Parasite, former OpTic player Ricky, and arguably one of the best veteran-raw slayers, FEARs. Legal, an extremely talented 18 year old got his first major shot at becoming what many consider to be “known,” when he was picked up by Moho, the owner of FeaR, however Legal’s biggest moment came with the ridiculous placement of 3rd at MLG Columbus with Prophecy. Sadly enough, Legal, along with his fellow teammates, have fallen prey to Parasite’s nature, which ironically is extremely parasitic. Just like with Fariko.Impact, Parasite grows tired of sacrificing his statistics, for the team’s success, as seen after Impact’s decline after their World Championship victory in Black Ops 2. Parasite made it publicly clear, via Twitter, that he was very proud and happy with his performance at Orlando, stating that statistically he has improved drastically, in comparison to Columbus. He blatantly put his performance above that of the rest of the team. Parasite has lost his perspective, and because of it, has lost the basic objective, winning. His scoreboard is his only priority, and it is no fault to Legal, FEARs, or Ricky, that their placement and team performance has decreased considerably. A roster change at this point would be silly, especially if it were to be anyone besides Parasite leaving. Honestly, FEARs, Legal and Ricky deserve a player willing to sacrifice their statistics for the good of the team, and if and when Parasite does that, this team is arguably one of the best 3 teams in the world, as proven at Columbus. That being said, it is only a matter of time for either one of two things, the team gets restless, and Parasite bolts to eLevate, or the team gets on Parasite’s case, and forces him to change so they can get back to their dominant ways. |
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May 2015
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