This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
The main competition at CWL Anaheim is set to go on Friday, July 16, as the weekend kicks off what is sure to be an explosive start of matches from beginning to end. Thanks to the CWL Global Pro League Stage 1, Anaheim is expected to build off a handful of recent rivalries that spawned during the previous tournament.
CWL Global Pro League Relegation starts Thursday, and the bracket looks to settle scores from group play at the where supposed top-tier teams like Red Reserve, Cloud9, Fnatic and Tainted Minds fell. While these teams won't be facing off against their rivals, they will have to fight for their lives to prove their competitive worth. In preparation for the grueling competition at CWL Anaheim, Cloud9 have made a significant roster shift, adding John "Xotic" Bruno and Preston "Priestah" Greiner. That should be enough to get Cloud9 back into Stage 2, so keep an eye on Red Reserve, Cloud9, Fnatic and Tainted Minds to make a run out of relegation.
CWL Anaheim will start Friday with group play. Each of the four groups already have three teams set, but every group will take on a team from relegation and from the 2K open bracket. The first pool is Pool A consisting of Splyce, Enigma6 and Rise Nation, a mirror of a pool at CWL Dallas. However, a lot has changed since CWL Dallas, not only in mindset but in the meta. Splyce is likely still hyped being the first European team to win an American tournament after the CWL Global Pro League. With an utterly dominant performance, Splyce will surely win this pool. But that's not to say Enigma6 and Rise Nation won't give them a fight. Rise Nation, especially, is eager to prove their a championship team after a heartbreaking loss to FaZe Clan during the CWL Group Play.
Pool B will host Luminosity Gaming, Epsilon eSports and Team EnVyUs. Luminosity Gaming, much like Splyce, had an incredible run at the CWL Global Pro League where they nearly beat Splyce in the championship match. And during their run, the team impressed the entire world with a slay-heavy performance that fixed their lackluster Search & Destroy game. Epsilon eSports and Team EnVyUs, however, are just as eager as Luminosity Gaming. Both teams failed to make significant impact in the brackets, but the talent is there. This will be a very tight pool thanks to each team's pride, but it will likely go to Luminosity Gaming in the end due to it's ability to slay.
Both Pool C and Pool D are wrecked with controversy. Pool C will be seeing FaZe Clan, Evil Geniuses and eLevate square off. This is largely a toss-up between FaZe Clan and eLevate due to the recent controversies surrounding FaZe Clan. Not only will Thomas "ZooMa" Paparratto be recovering from surgery at the event, James "Clayster" Eubanks was mired in the recent eUnited/Gunless controversy. Clayster filled in for eUnited's Pierce "Gunless" Hillman at a 2K event under an anonymous name, kicking up rumors that Clayster was going to be traded for Gunless. Gunless, meanwhile, has been forging through contract disputes that have put him at odds with his teammates and his organization. But with both Clayster and ZooMa struggling through controversy, it's any wonder what state FaZe Clan will be in.
On the other end in Pool D, eUnited will square off with OpTic Gaming and Mindfreak. Mindfreak has been a minor factor in most tournaments. OpTic Gaming has been a monstrous force in most tournaments. And as detailed above, eUnited is going through some violent team shifts with teammates fighting each other on Twitter. It's likely that the bitter in-fighting will put eUnited in a sour mood, meaning OpTic Gaming is going to have a smooth run through all of Pool D.
CWL Anaheim starts with relegation on June 15th at 12:00pm PST, while group play starts on June 16th. Stay update on RotoWire as we bring the latest in Call of Duty esports.
