A History of Trash Talk – Call of Duty at its Finest

For those of us with Call of Duty deeply ingrained in our blood, we know that trash talking is an integral part of the scene. Whether it be a simple public match, an online tournament, or LAN, players learn quickly and sometimes harshly that if you’re losing, somebody will be there to repeatedly remind you. After all, there’s nothing better than rubbing salt in the wound when you win, right? Despite being quite shallow in nature, trash talking in Call of Duty has given us some of our most memorable personalities as well as some of the best entertainment.

The future of Call of Duty is looking bright with the upped investment from Activision. The World League, which includes more lucrative open tournaments and Pro Leagues, gives the space a more professional feel. However, I find it imperative that we remember our roots and ensure that we don’t leave those memories behind.

Trash talk has always been at the heart of Call of Duty, so let’s look back at some of the most memorable insults:

Satisfaction

Beating your opponent is one thing, but ensuring they know you won makes it just that bit more satisfying. This one isn’t a throwback, but instead from the recent CWL Birmingham where Bradley “wuskin” Marshall, from the newly formed Fnatic, gives Team Supremacy a taste of England after annihilating them in their long loser’s bracket run.

A similar scenario from back in Ghosts features OpTic Gaming and Clayster, who after defeating their rivals Team EnvyUs in dominating fashion, had the crowd rampant with a hand sign that would later become one of Clayster’s signature moves.

Optic Gaming defeats nV 3-0 – MLG Anaheim 2014

The Call of Duty scene has become synonymous with ‘letting everyone know’ when they win, but it’s all in good fun. It definitely gets the fans involved and is part of the reason why organizations like OpTic and FaZe have such dedicated fan bases.

Psychological Edge

For long-time viewers, this trash talk clip is probably the one they’ll never forget. The culprit? None other than Adam “Killa” Sloss.

Recently voted the most delusional professional player, the man became a Call of Duty sensation built off of moments just like this. The abuse comes as a result of Damon “Karma” Barlow leaving Killa to join Team EnvyUs, whom Killa just so happens to be playing. The former World Champion runs his mouth in an attempt to throw his enemies off their game. It’s hard to say whether the outlandish tactic was the reason for the win or not. However, one can imagine it would be hard to start performing when this happens on top of already being behind. Without further ado, take a look at the infamous clip from Black Ops II.

Killa The Choo Choo Train– and Epsilon going off on nV and Crowd

Although coaching is rarely seen in Call of Duty, as you can see from the next clip even coaches like to get involved in trash talk. They might look like complete assholes, but they are trying to achieve the same outcome as Killa in the previous clip.

The two in this clip are coach Hilton “Hilton” Howell and player Anthony “Nameless” Wheeler. Another instance of coach trash talk is from compLexity versus Team Kaliber. The compLexity coach Matthew “Mr. X” Morello shows former player Clayster why he was kicked from the team.

Nameless Goes Off Against Epsilon!!

coL vs tK UMG Philly 2014

It might seem slightly immature, and the Call of Duty scene has come a long way since most of these examples, but hopefully every now and again we get trash talking moments like these because as a fan myself, these are the memories that stick. The victory is marked by the victor.

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