The inaugural match of the first franchised season of the Call of Duty League is in less than a week. Here is an analytical look at the Florida Mutineers roster and what can be expected from them this season.
Ricky “Atura” Lugo
Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom
Cesar “Skyz” Bueno
Chance “Maux” Moncivaez
Colk “Havok” McLendon
Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson
Nick “MaNiaC” Kershner
There is no doubt that the Mutineers are poised to be a very strong force this season. Even though there is only one ring among the entire team, that shouldn’t be used as a way to judge their success this season. With good team dynamics and strong leadership, the Mutineers could take this season by storm.
Atura has around five years of Call of Duty experience, and has been head coach of different organizations for just about a year now. In his year of head coaching, he went through four different organizations, ending at UYU at the conclusion of the last season. Atura had varying levels of success, but he appears to have done his best with less than optimal rosters.
Prestinni is the only player with a championship ring. It will be interesting to see where exactly he falls as far as leadership goes. He is currently listed at an SMG Support, which is a weird position for an IGL to be at. If Atura wants Prestinni to be IGL for the Mutineers, Prestinni does have some experience as the AR Slayer which is a much more suitable position for an IGL. Regardless of where exactly Prestinni ends up, his experience will be invaluable in this season.
Havok is the SMG Slayer for the Mutineers. He saw relatively consistent success with Gen.G over last season, and has great promise for this season. He also brings a 2016 All Star title to table. Havok was a dominant force in Black Ops 3 and found a lot of success there, here’s to hoping he brings that strength to this season.
Maux is the other player hailing from Gen.G on this Mutineers roster. Currently set as the Main AR for the Mutineers, Maux will be one of the players that has to make a big step up to ensure the Mutineer’s success. Maux doesn’t have any All-Star’s or MVPs, hopefully the Mutineers will see him get his first this season.
Skyz comes from Luminosity, which wasn’t the best of teams last year. He doesn’t have the most experience in competitive Call of Duty, spanning only two years. Skyz is the other integral portion to Mutineers success. If Skyz blows up this season, so will the Mutineers.
Frosty doesn’t technically bring any Call of Duty championships to the table, but he is a world champion in Halo. He knows exactly what it feels like to be a world champion, and what it takes. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Frosty in an IGL role this season.
The Mutineers will face off against the Seattle Surge on Friday, January 24th. Dubbed by the Florida Mutineers as the “Battle of the Tides,” the Florida Mutineers seem to be the underdogs going in. That said there is still a good chance that the Mutineers win their first match and start the season off right.
The next day, the Mutineers will face the Los Angeles Guerrillas. This is a tough matchup to predict, as the Guerrillas haven’t scrimmed all that much and it is tough to tell where they are at. Nonetheless, the Guerrillas have a good roster and it should be a good match.
The Mutineers will host two events, the first kicking off in Orlando. The full schedule hasn’t been released yet, but the teams that have been confirmed to be in attendance are the Toronto Ultra, New York Subliners, Minnesota RØKKR, Atlanta FaZe, Paris Legion, OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, and the London Royal Ravens. Miami will be home to the second event in late July.
The first most anticipated game is definitely against the Seattle Surge. This could be an indicator of how the Mutineers season will go, depending on if they win or lose and what the score differential is. Other important matches will be against the Dallas Empire, Atlanta FaZe, and Chicago Huntsmen, the three best teams in the league.
Prestinni is the biggest one to watch. Whether he switches positions to IGL or simply plays support, Prestinni needs to make a huge splash this year. Additionally, Maux needs to find his rhythm and get an MVP or All-Star somewhere to pad his stats and get confidence in himself early.
The Mutineers have talent, there is no denying that. It will come down to team work, communication, and sticking to the fundamentals. Other than that, as long as the individual players are doing what they are supposed to, the Mutineers should have a promising season.
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