Team Kaliber look to get back to winning ways at the Stage 2 Playoffs, as $500,000 are up for grabs. WIth the dust of roster changes settled, tK are a strong contender once again, looking to end the year how they started it.
Team Kaliber fans will fondly remember their back-to-back victories at the start of this season. An organization on the fringe for so long finally blasted back to prominence at Dallas and NOLA. However, the glory was short-lived, pulling the trigger in April to cut Dylan “Theory” McGee and Martin “Chino” Chino.
Anthony “Methodz” Zinni and Maurice “Fero” Henriquez filled in for CWL Seattle, finishing a respectable Top 6. Methodz went on to join none other than OpTic Gaming, leaving tK with a difficult search on their hands. Legend Damon “Karma” Barlow was allegedly on the radar, but Ian “Enable” Wyatt was recruited for the Stage 2 Pro League as Karma retired.
Role Confusion
Team Kaliber started solidly at 4-3 in the Pro League, but a poor T12 placement at Anaheim called for improvement. Enable, traditionally an Assault Rifle (AR) player, has molded into the SMG role alongside breakout superstar Kenneth “Kenny” Williams. Enable makes room for newcomer Fero to take up the Flex role, switching between AR and SMG when necessary. Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi has achieved a remarkable return to form as tK’s undisputed Main AR, holding a 1.15 KD in Stage 2.
With internal issues solved, tK are undoubtedly one of the best Hardpoint teams in the game. Boasting a 70% win rate in Stage 2, the team averages a 1.05 KD with Accuracy recording 90 seconds of hill-time almost every map. This recently popularised style of setting up your Main AR in the hardpoint and letting the SMGs push out lanes has worked wonders for this roster. However, if they are to win Stage 2, they will require a stronger showing in Search and Destroy (SnD).
The Path Ahead
Team Kaliber’s SnD was the driving force behind their early success, where they would commonly win in Game 5 fashion. With former “SnD star” Fero now on the team, this prowess was expected to return, especially considering his sniping talents. Accuracy and Kenny are also phenomenal SnD players, but this game mode is Enable’s major weakness. Posting a 0.84 SnD KD in Stage 2, alongside numerous questionable plays, improvement is surely required.
They will play dark horses Unilad in the first round at Playoffs, a matchup yet to occur this year. Unilad have statistically outperformed tK as of late, finishing 4th at CWL Anaheim and bettering tK’s Stage 2 record. The UK boys are easily underestimated, but their phenomenal 76% SnD win-rate in Stage 2 is a worry for tK fans.
Unilad are certainly in form, and even if tK defeat them, the road only gets steeper. They would face the winner of OpTic Gaming and FaZe Clan in winners’ round 2, who both made the grand finals in Stage 1. If Team Kaliber are to make it all the way, they’ll have to revive their earlier clutch factor, as no series will be easy.
Action at the Stage 2 Playoffs kicks off on Friday July 27th! Catch it all on – http://twitch.tv/callofduty
Featured image courtesy of: https://www.twitter.com/nlckarts
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