The 5 longest serving professional Call of Duty teams

Call of Duty (CoD), the video game published by Activision, has long been used in eSports events around the world. And teams line up to play in the tournaments and try to beat the top-level teams and players.

Does roster stability equal to success?

Roster stability is one area of debate with CoD teams around the world. Does roster stability always equal to success? After more than 2 years holding the domestic and international CoD title of longest serving team, Mindfreak recently changed their roster for the Australian event. And with the release of Infinite Warfare, many teams made drastic changes to their rosters.

Who takes over as longest serving team?

So that leaves a gap as to who takes over as the longest serving professional Call of Duty teams, worldwide. Listed in reverse order, the following teams are currently the longest serving intact teams to date, with players aged 18 and over only.

Team EnVyUs: Fifth place

Brought together on June 12, 2016, EnVyUs has been together for a total of 218 days. hailing from the United States, the team consists of John, Slasher, Jkap and Apathy. They are the current Black Ops 3 World Champions, and came together originally for the second part of the North American CoD World League Pro Division. They finished MLG Anaheim at 7th-8th in June 2016, but made something of a comeback by taking overall winners in the Pro Division, Stage 2. They also finished second place at MLG Orlando and took the top spot in CoD XP 2016 with an 800,000 US dollar purse. However, they are struggling a little now in the seeding for Infinite Warfare, and finished just 9th-12th at the MLG Las Vegas event. If February’s Open Bracket event at MLG Atlanta is anything to go by, the roster stability could be at risk.

Epsilon eSports: Joint-third place

The current Epsilon eSports team is in joint third place with 253 days, and were conceived on May 8, 2016. Consisting of four British players, Vortex, Dqvee, Desire and Hawqeh, the team started as Exertus, and took on its first event at ESWC 2016 for Black Ops 3, where it was ranked 5th-8th. Although it did not have any wins through the summer, they did manage some respectable placing in the European scene, with a 3rd-4th in the Gfinity Summer Masters. After the team qualified for the CoD XP, the team were soon signed to the FAB esports group, and managed an admirable 4th place at the World Championships, scooping up a nice 30,000 US dollars each. Since joining Epsilon, the guys have experienced a tough start to Infinite Warfare, following their top 36 placing in MLG Las Vegas. Now attempting to climb their way back up, the team looks good for the season.

Giants Gaming: Joint-third place

Spanish team, Giants Gaming join Epsilon in third place, with the same 253 days. While they may well be the most recognisable faces in their region, Tojor, lgend, Methodz and Sammy have yet to repeat their hometown form in the international arena. The team qualified well for both ESWC and CoD Champs events, but ended in last place with no wins at both. And their season has not started well at all. They missed the first month of the season, and failed to attend the Gfinity London Invitation event. Their points are well behind now, and with the signing of an up-and-coming fresh face, the roster looks shaky.

FaZe Clan: Second place

With over 18 months under their belts — 554 days — this American team are definitely looking good. They came together on July 12, 2015, and were originally formed to try and beat OpTic Gaming. Winning the UMG Dallas in July 2015 saw them achieve that goal, and they went on to win four other events under team captain, James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks. Clayster’s team also includes Enable, ZooMaa and Attach. Black Ops 3 saw a huge challenge in the team, as they failed to place in the top four for the entire event. However, they are sticking to their guns, and are now living together in a house in Texas, so they can practice together more. And it seemed to have worked, as they have since won their first ever event at Infinite Warfare, and have been placed third at MLG Las Vegas.

OpTic Gaming: First place

In first place, the longest serving complete team are OpTic Gaming, FaZe Clan’s big rivals. With a roster made up from Scump, Crimsix, Formal and Karma, the team has been together for a massive 671 days — or one year and nine months. The team made some changes from their original line-up after CoD Champs 2015, and added Karma after Nadeshot left. Its first win as a team was at the UMG California event in May 2015, and it has gone on to win another nine major events since. The players took the title after the roster changes made by Mindfreak, and are considered one of the most threatening teams on the circuit. After a hard start to Infinite Warfare, however, they still managed to finish 5th-6th, and look good for the future.

Call of Duty was first used in eSports in 2006, with CoD 4: Modern Warfare. Since then other games have come into the scene as competition favorites, such as Infinite Warfare, Ghosts, Black Ops 3 and many others. A long running game series, Call of Duty looks to be set as a major pro event for years to come.