LG Deny the Crowd at CWL Birmingham 2018

CWL Birmingham was always going to be an insane event - the first time international Call of Duty has centered onto Europe in quite some time excluding the invitationals often held in Paris. This event is only part of the flurry of competitive Call of Duty which is due in these two weeks as the upcoming Pro League Stage 1 Playoffs occur. With so many story lines crashing into one another, and 'the greatest crowd at a CoD event', the grand final between LG and Splyce was a sight to behold. 

Prior to the grand final, both of these teams went on a phenomenal journey against the toughest competition in the game. The two of them advanced into the Winners' Bracket from Pool Play and won their first round; Splyce ruining FaZe in a game 5 and LG sweeping the forgotten team of TK off of the floor. The European Snake would soon progress to match-up against the fears Rise Nation, the current favourites of the competition who make quick work of the Europeans with a 3-0 sweep; Splyce would have their revenge. First, though, they had some cleaning up to do. Team Reckless, a surprising roster which took TK and Team Envy down, would meet a subtle end to prepare for the next game against Optic Gaming. Still under new control through roles, Optic was less practiced than they should be - perfect for Splyce. Another exciting game 5 dragged on where Optic choked and Splyce played out of this world. 

It was here that the European fans began to give Splyce the momentum. They became a changed team; making some unbelievable plays with all 4 of them simply beaming. In the Winners' Bracket, a major upset sees Rise Nation descend into the Losers' Bracket. The favourites were then absolutely destroyed by Splyce, against all the odds and numbers, with 3-0 sweeping to leave their heads shaking. "Let's Go Splyce" and "Shut Up Maven" chants dominated the crowd the whole evening. 

The grand final was ready - could Splyce be the first European team to win an international CoD event in Europe? Through the first best-of-five, it sure looked like that thanks to unbelievable Hardpoint performances from Splyce and an incredible Capture the Flag. The crowd was losing their minds by the first series, while the Splyce team was noticeably calm, including "Tommey", MadCat", "Jurd" and "Bance". However, in the second series things changed. LG managed to pull back the first Hardpoint, meaning that Splyce had to win the Game 4 SnD to advance. Sadly, since all the crowd was behind them, Splyce didn't manage to clutch up and LG went on to win the event. 

LG was the perfect team at CWL Birmingham, thanks to an immense variety of strengths to the point of no weaknesses and enough talent to dominate individually. The boys of Splyce blew expectations out of the water, with most gossiping on the fact that a roster change may be required after relegation in from the Pro League. 

This is only a prelude to the Playoffs of the Pro League this weekend, with almost three times the prize, expect the competition to bump up. We'll definitely be covering it.