CWL Birmingham: Our predictions and who to look out for

CWL Atlanta took place a few weeks ago, and we saw Rise Nation prove their dominance at the top of the game, defeating Red Reserve in the grand final and taking home the trophy. Red performed arguably the best losers bracket run in history when they defeated Ghost Gaming, FaZe Clan, Team Kaliber, OpTic Gaming, Team EnVyUs and Luminosity Gaming on their surge to the final, while teams like OpTic and eUnited failed to meet expectations.

But CWL Birmingham is a brand new event, and anything can happen. Will Rise make it to the top again? Can the British teams other than Red Reserve put on a better performance on home soil? Will OpTic play as well as they’re known for? We’ll find out this weekend, but read on for our team predictions for the top eight this event.

UNILAD Esports - 7/8th

On home soil, we think Unilad might manage to defy expectations and push through to the top eight. They’ve got something to prove so they don’t get left in the dust by Red Reserve and Splyce, and while we have all three of the British teams in the top eight, we think Unilad will just be taking home $1,000 apiece.

Echo Fox - 7/8th

With a top six placement at Nola and top 12 at Atlanta, Echo Fox are always in and around the top spots, but never quite make it to the podium. Given their recent form, we think the same is going to happen again, sharing the 7/8th spot with Unilad, especially since Nagafen is replacing Saints for this event only.

Splyce - 6/5th

The British boys are more than capable of improving upon their top 16 placement at Atlanta, and if they’re going to do it at any event, it’s going to be here. This will be the start of their climb back up the ranks, and they’re going to do it on home soil. The entire roster are esteemed Call of Duty veterans, and their experience and raw gunskill will show the world just why they’re not washed up just yet.

Team EnVy - 6/5th

EnVy surprised a lot of onlookers with their 4th place finish last event, and while it proved they’re more than capable, Slasher is visibly the strongest player on the team and his skill can only take the team so far. The others pull their weight, but the current EnVy roster isn’t a championship winning team and they’ll keep Splyce company just outside the top spots.

Rise Nation - 4th

Champions of Atlanta, and the winners of Division A in Stage One, Rise Nation have quickly proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Call of Duty: WWII. But how long can they keep it up? They have a number of younger players on their team, and CWL Birmingham could be the event they falter due to the strength and stamina required to continue performing at the top. We don’t think they’ll fall all the way to the bottom, but we can see them dropping to around fourth place.

FaZe Clan - 3rd

FaZe fell well short of what was expected of them last time out, and the boys in red will be more than disappointed. They’re hungry for another podium finish and Birmingham will be the setting for it. ZooMaa and Attach especially know they’re able to please the fans, and they’ll get the crowd behind them for the big games.

Red Reserve - 2nd

Undeniably the strongest European team, Red Reserve have everyone’s attention after their phenomenal losers bracket run earlier in the month. And if they’re going to clinch that final spot anywhere, it’s going to be in their home country, where each of the players has grown and honed their skills. But we don’t think they’re going to manage it.

OpTic Gaming - 1st

They’re everyone’s favourite team. The Green Wall, the kings of Call of Duty, the strongest team throughout Infinite Warfare; OpTic have something to prove. Hector Rodriguez’s boys have the biggest fanbase, and we can see them doing exactly what Red Reserve did in Atlanta; falter slightly early on, but then push through the losers bracket and clinch the victory over Red in the final. They have, on paper, the best squad in the game across all instalments, and it’s going to show in a few days time.

Notable exclusions:

eUnited

After Clayster’s questionable decision last event to break the gentleman’s agreement and what seems like a minor rift among the players, we think eUnited will come top 12 this event.

Epsilon eSports

They didn’t play at Atlanta, and it’s going to hurt them going into this event. They haven’t been the best performers in the league either, and while we know they’re capable, it’s going to take them a while to get back to the level they can perform at.

Luminosity Gaming

Easily the biggest surprise exclusion from the top eight, we think Luminosity are going to slip up in Birmingham. No reason other than a hunch, but we don’t think this is going to be their event.

Obviously this is all speculation and most of these predictions are based off of past performances and simply what we know the players are capable of. It could go either way on the day; Luminosity could be at the top of their game and Red could still be fatigued from their run in Atlanta, or OpTic could slip up and eUnited look past their rift and soar to the top. We’ll just have to wait and see.

You can catch all the action on the official Call of Duty Twitch from the 30th March - 2nd April. In other Call of Duty news, the details for the second DLC pack of WWII was announced earlier today, featuring maps in Egypt and Dunkirk.