eUnited Ready To Make Deep Run At CWL Anaheim
By: Zachary Lange
This weekend eUnited returns to the Anaheim Convention Center for Call of Duty’s most historic open tournament – CWL Anaheim.
Located just outside of sunny Los Angeles, the squad is looking to far surpass last year’s result of a top-12 finish. Many predictions have eUnited claiming the championship on Sunday, which would stand as the organization's first title of the Black Ops 4 competitive cycle. In two of the first three open tournaments, the team has finished runner-up as late losers bracket runs fell shy in the grand finals at both CWL Las Vegas and CWL London.
But with a playoff bid secured to the CWL Pro League Playoffs after dominant performances over the past two weeks at MLG Studios in Columbus, Ohio, the team’s focus can shift towards claiming some serious hardwood. With a 7-0 record in the past two weeks of pro league, eUnited are firing on all cylinders, a stark contrast from the struggles that ensued at this point last year for James “Clayster” Eubanks and the team.
“(It) feels great to have our playoffs spot secured,” Clayster said. “Last year with weaker divisions, weaker teams and an overall weaker league we struggled to qualify. We wanted to make sure this year we put ourselves in the best position with the best seed going into playoffs, so the work isn't quite done yet. It took a ton of time and dedication to get here, as well as some amazing plays from the entire team.
“I'm just happy we're in this spot instead of the one last year.”
Gotta remember what winning feels like. Going for it this weekend boys 👊🏻
— eU Clayster (@Clayster) June 12, 2019
Pool play begins Friday with eUnited fighting it out in Pool B against Team Reciprocity, Elevate and UYU. The squad has found success against these teams in the past, most recently with eUnited defeating Elevate in pro league action on June 3.
In London, eUnited walked away with a 3-1 victory over Reciprocity to send them home with a top-8 finish, respectively. The history against UYU is short, with only a 3-0 victory against the team during cross-divisional play in the pro league back in March.
Even with the prior results panning out in favor of eUnited, the way each match is treated will remain the same.
“It's the start of the tournament and it's basically three ‘pre-bracket’ matches that actually matter an insane amount,” Clayster said. “If us or 100 Thieves lose one (series), then we potentially play each other first round (of the winners bracket). I think everyone, including the fans, wants to see these matches later in the tournament so we're approaching our pool with a cut-throat attitude.
“We want to be the best and beat every team, we know that REC, Elevate and UYU will put up good fights, they're pro league teams for a reason. So, we have to be on top of our game to put ourselves in the best position to win Anaheim.”
By the numbers
5- The amount of consecutive Control matches the team have won during the most recent stretch of pro league play. At one point in the competitive season the third game mode was a point of weakness, but now they sport an 11-7 record in the league, tied for the third-best winning percentage.
5- Ironically also five is the number of series straight that eUnited won to get to the grand finals at CWL London. The run began on Saturday and continued through Championship Sunday where the Copper Box Arena shook with excitement.
855- The amount of days (dating to Championship Sunday at Anaheim) that it will have been since eUnited won a major tournament in Call of Duty. In drought dates back to CWL Atlanta in 2017.
So excited to play some CoD tomorrow👀 goodnight
— eU aBeZy (@aBeZy) June 14, 2019
Pool play schedule
Here is how to watch the team compete on Friday. (All times Eastern/Pacific)
eUnited vs. Team Reciprocity – Alpha stream @ 6:30 p.m./3:30 p.m.
eUnited vs. UYU – Bravo stream @ 9:30 p.m./6:30 p.m.
eUnited vs. Elevate – Bravo stream @ 12:30 a.m./9:30 p.m.
Matches throughout the course of the weekend are TBA after pool play concludes. Be sure to stay up to date with the latest match information across eUnited’s social media platforms.