Vancouver Surge Black Ops 6 Season Preview: Fill Yer Boots
As the offseason comes to a close, the Call of Duty League gears up for another thrilling season. The CDL's landscape has changed drastically, with franchises joining and new super teams being formed. The team found their stride by the end of Modern Warfare 3, ending the year with a Top 4 placement at the Esports World Cup. They're back & looking to build off the success from last year. In this season preview, we’ll dive into Surge’s offseason moves, key players to watch, and what are their expectations compared to the competition within the CDL.
📸 Photo by @CODLeague
Offseason Recap: Moving up North
Signings:
+ Charlie "Hicksy" Hicks
+ Byron "Nastie" Plumridge
Releases:
- Paul "Breszy" Breszynski
- Cuyler "Huke" Garland
Goodbye Seattle, hello Vancouver! The Surge finally made the city change this offseason, becoming the second Canadian franchise in the CDL. Their ownership is Canadian & their past Overwatch team was the Vancouver Titans, so this move made a lot of sense.
On the organization side, the team swapped out two players quickly after the conclusion of EWC. While they finished Top 4 there, the Surge still said goodbye to Breszy & Huke. After weeks of speculation about new additions, they announced that British players Hicksy & Nastie would be joining for the Black Ops 6 season.
The Vancouver Surge roster heading into Black Ops 6:
○ Jovan "O4" Rodriguez
○ Jordan "Abuzah" François
○ Charlie "Hicksy" Hicks
○ Byron "Nastie" Plumridge
○ Raymond "Rambo" Lussier [Coach]
Offseason Reactions
Ronnie: "It was an interesting offseason for Vancouver; after finally getting a solid team together to end MW3, it felt like they had some really good pieces to build around. Keeping Jordan "Abuzah" François and Jovan "04" Rodriguez, you felt like the team was in a nice spot to build on from the previous season, so from early on in the offseason, it seemed likely Byron NastiePlumridge would join the team from LAT, and then that left them looking for an SMG. The two main players targeted were Kyle KrempHaworth, but he decided to wait out the LAT situation and then join C9 instead of Vancouver, so once Kremp turned them down, they targeted former Toronto Ultra and champs finalist CharlieHicksy Hicks, who surprisingly didn't get a roster spot in the MW3 season. Some worries with this roster would be the slaying ability of the SMG duo, but if they can find consistency, the team should be in store for a very solid season."
Easy Mac: “The offseason for the Surge was made easier by the correct moves they made last season. Moving Abuzah back into his natural role made his performance pick up drastically. It showed everyone that he is a cornerstone piece that they can build off of. Then signing O4 before any of org was a massive win. He is talented & a very good SND player, which again, makes him another good cornerstone player. That meant in this offseason, Vancouver had to target players that fit around that duo. Nastie & Hicksy each have their own risks but also have the potential to work well with this roster. Keep an eye on how Nastie & Abuzah work together during the opening weekends. If they click, this team will be competing for the 4th seed."
Season Expectations
Ronnie: “Season expectations should be trying to battle it out for the best of the rest spot outside the top 3 and make a few Sundays over the season. A lot of the team's success will come down to the fact that if the SMG duo can keep up with the teams around them, I would be pretty certain the AR duo will be able to."
Black Ops 6 Season Predictions
Best Placement: Top 6
Team MVP: Abuzah
Final Regular Season Seed: 7th
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes
Easy Mac: “I'm much higher on the Surge than others it seems in the preseason. Granted, I was high on Minnesota last year to start & they were disappointing. I just really like the pieces on this roster and think Rambo can get them in a good system fast. Abuzah is one of my breakout players to watch this season, while I think O4 will be in the running for SND Player of the Year. In the end, I'd expect Vancouver to aim for three Top 4 finishes this year & easily qualify for Champs. Watch out for them at the Minors as well. With those being online, I think some of the top teams could take them lightly & result in a Surge shock placement."
Black Ops 6 Season Predictions
Best Placement: 3rd
Team MVP: Abuzah
Final Regular Season Seed: 4th
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes
📸 Photo by @CODLeague
Players to Watch in Black Ops 6
Ronnie: “Player to watch Jovan "04" Rodriguez This will only be 04's 2nd full season of playing respawn. It will be interesting to see if he can go up another level from the previous season. His SND ability is already top tier and puts Surge at a really good level; from that alone, if he can add some Respawn consistency, they will become a dangerous team."
Easy Mac: “This is Abuzah for me. Once he shifted into the slower Main AR role last year, you could see why he was the highest-rated prospect coming out of MW2 Challengers. He is great at getting impact while playing from the hill, which is why I see similarities to Octane. Abuzah is great in all three modes as well and should only continue to get better."
Stage 1 Matches
Qualifier Match 1: December 7th at 6:00 EST vs Toronto Ultra
Qualifier Match 2: December 8th at 4:30 EST vs Miami Heretics
Qualifier Match 3: December 13th at 7:30 EST vs OpTic Texas
Qualifier Match 4: December 14th at 7:30 EST vs Boston Breach
Qualifier Match 5: January 18th at 3:00 EST vs Vegas Falcons
Qualifier Match 6: January 24th at 3:00 EST vs Carolina Royal Ravens
Qualifier Match 7: January 25th at 3:00 EST vs Minnesota Rokkr
The first Minor begins on January 10th, while the first Major starts on January 30th.
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