The biggest event of the Call of Duty calendar is upon us.
The CWL Championship kicks off on Wednesday August 15, with 32 teams facing off for the most prestigious trophy the game has to offer. It’s the final showdown of the WWII season.
We’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to provide daily insight into the CWL Championship for prospective betters. If you’re looking to complement your viewing experience by adding some stakes of your own, we’ll be highlighting worthy favorites and underdogs for every day of the competition.
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Play It Safe
Ghost Gaming TO WIN vs Zone
When: Wednesday August 15, 23:30 UTC
Odds: 1.26 vs 3.27
A lot of the heaviest-hitters at the CWL Championship kick off their group stage campaign with comfortable matches, so while there are plenty of clear favorites to pick from on opening day, most of them offer very little return.
That Ghost Gaming and Zone both came through the Last Chance Qualifier perhaps helps to balance out the odds slightly, although Ghost are still favored quite heavily. If you’re looking for a safe pick, this might be the team to back.
Having missed out on both stages of the CWL Pro League, Ghost have been out of the spotlight somewhat this season. Since adding former World Champion Chris ‘Parasite’ Duarte, however, they’ve put in a top-6 placement at CWL Seattle and a top-16 at CWL Anaheim, arguably making them something of a dark horse for a deep run here.
Kicking off their run against Zone, a UK squad which has arguably done well to even make it to the CWL Championship, should offer a fairly safe win for Ghost.
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Feeling Lucky
Lethal Gaming TO WIN vs Brash Esports
When: Wednesday August 15, 22:00 UTC
Odds: 2.05 vs 1.64
Lethal Gaming and Brash Esports occupy similar territory, albeit on opposite sides of the pond. Both teams are made up of players with limited experience at the highest level, having largely operated in the open bracket of major events this season.
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Both are squads of players still looking for a big break. There are no has-beens or veterans to lead the way on either side, only the most hardcore of viewers will find names in these teams they might recognize. None have a top placing at a major event under their belt on any title.
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Both teams made a single roster change coming into the Last Chance Qualifier, further muddying potential predictions of form, and neither had an utterly dominant performance at the event itself. Lethal came through the winner bracket with back-to-back game five wins, while Brash fought through losers, with a game five victory of their own to secure qualification.
With limited evidence of form or class on either side, this match could very much go either way. As such, it makes sense to back the underdog, Lethal Gaming.
Wildcard
Havok Esports TO WIN vs Team Vitality
When: Wednesday August 15, 20:30 UTC
Odds: 2.54 vs 1.42
Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewen has shown he can work miracles with unproven talent, and taking this squad to the CWL Championship, especially on such short notice, is arguably one of them. Half of the line-up had never competed internationally before the LCQ, and now they’re stepping onto the game’s biggest stage.
Facing them in their first match will be a North American line-up under Havok Esports with some familiar names to anyone who watched the Infinite Warfare season, but WWII hasn’t seen them appear at the highest level.
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They lack notable achievements recently, which makes it hard to put much faith in the Havok players, but there is at least enough evidence of quality in the past that they shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, especially against another team which largely has no major achievements to speak of.
The exception is of course Tommey, and his class and veteran leadership may tip the balance in Vitality’s favor, but this is still an uncertain match-up. Vitality’s “favorite” status, at least according to the odds, seems tenuous at best, and so Havok are a good option if you’re looking for high-risk, high-reward.
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