The groups have recently been announced for Gfinity's first Spring Masters Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare event! 16 teams are congregating on London from all corners of the globe, to battle it out with one another in the hopes of attaining the title of Gfinity Champions as well as a slice of the $25,000 prize pool on offer. Tickets are available now to catch the event live this weekend in London, at Gfinity's own arena.
With only two teams advancing from each group to compete in bracket play, Group D is a difficult one to predict due to the sheer amount of talent possessed by all four of these teams. For me, this is the "Group of Death". All four of these teams have the chance to make it out of the group and into bracket play. So, let's have a look at the teams.
Team Kaliber
Parasite - Nameless - Goonjar - Sharp
Coming into the event with a new roster, Team Kaliber seem to back on track after an 8th place finish at the 2015 Call of Duty Championship in March. Acquiring former World Champ Parasite and 2-time runner-up Nameless appears to be a good move, having teamed together during the Ghosts season under Curse Las Vegas. This team is a pair of long time duos. Goonjar and Sharp have competed together for a long time and know what it takes to perfom at the top level.
Prophecy
Nagafen - Aches - Apathy - AquA
Following the recent edition of "RosterMania" the new-look Proph squad certainly look the part. Gaining the services of Aches, 19-time champion, will only benefit them thanks to his in-game decisions and phenomenal gunskill. Joining him are one half of the now defunct Team Revenge in the shape of Nagafen and AquA. Coming off the back of an incredible 2nd place at the Call of Duty Championship and a top 6 finish at ESWC last weekend, they are ready to play and to prove why they are some of the very best in Advanced Warfare.
Mindfreak
BuZZO - Shockz - Fighta - Denz
If recent Call of Duty events have told us anything it is this: never write off the Australians! Having shocked everyone at the 2014 Call of Duty Championships by achieving a top 5 finish, at this year's tournament they managed to achieve a top 6 placement, finishing ahead of OpTic Gaming. Buzzo is regarded as a veteran of the Australian scene, having competed for numerous years and has more recently played some of the best CoD of his career. Denz was one of the Trident T1 Dotters team which caught everyone off guard in 2014. With a new team, can the Aussies cause more upsets and possibly win the tournament? We will have to wait and see.
Aware Gaming
Rated - Peatie - Joee - Watson
At the 2015 Call of Duty Championships, Aware Gaming were the highest placing European team, finishing in the top 12. Replacing JTee for Rated can only make the team better. After picking up for TCM Gaming back at 2014's ESWC, where they finished runner-up to Evil Genuises, Rated is an extremely talented player who can compete at the top level of international Call of Duty. The core 3 of Peatie, Joee and Watson recently achieved a 2nd place finish at the Gfinity Open in April, cementing their place at the top tier of European CoD. As we saw at Champs, they certainly have the ability to win against the North Americans. Can they do it on home soil?
The Groups
First place in Group D is a tricky decision to make but thanks to their experience of playing at the top level, Team Kaliber should be able to comfortably make it into bracket play. The solid chemistry between the team will be a great advantage due to the fast pace of Advanced Warfare and is the reason why they will take the first place in the group. Second spot in the groups however, is another matter. Prophecy certainly have the players and the skill to grab the spot but this is Call of Duty, anything can happen. In my opinion,
I think that Mindfreak will take the second place simply because of the fact there have been no roster changes and is the same team which finished 6th at Champs. In the tournament, keep your eyes on the Aussies. They've caused upsets before, and they have a chance to do it again.
Predictions
Team Kaliber | 1st | 3-0
Mindfreak | 2nd | 2-1
Aware Gaming | 3rd | 1-2
Prophecy | 4th | 1-2
The best Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare teams from around the world are set to compete at the Gfinity Spring Masters I, May 8-10th. You can grab tickets to spectate the entire thing live, or read up on additional information here.
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