Top 20 Players of Vanguard : #2 Pred
The #2 Player of the Vanguard stormed the CDL from down under, it’s Amer “Pred” Zulbeari. The Rookie of the Year helped Seattle win Major 3 and become one of the most dangerous dark horse teams!
The rookie came out of the APAC challengers circuit last offseason to sign with the Seattle Surge under the leadership of Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi. While Pred had loads of untapped potential in the amateur side, he was able to instantly bring that level of play to the CDL. This propelled Pred to win the Rookie of the Year award and help win the Stage 3 Major with the Surge!
Season Review
The Aussie Sensation Pred had quite a showing in his rookie year in the CDL picking up the Rookie of the Year award as well as the Stage 3 MVP and a place in the CDL All Star Team. Pred provided an unbelievable slaying presence for Seattle Surge with massive plays and consistently massive numbers in every game mode. His playmaking ability on Tuscan Hardpoint especially will still be riddled in opposing players nightmares.
Seattle had their ups and downs in the Vanguard season. After an impressive showing at the Kickoff Classic they shockingly stumbled to a Top 12 finish at the first Major of the year. They improved for Major 2 where Mack sadly fell ill during the event and were eliminated in Top 6. It all came together at Major 3 as they powered through the bracket reverse sweeping Atlanta FaZe in the Winners Final before taking them down once again in the Grand Finals to claim the Teams first CDL Tournament Win. They once again slumped during Stage 4 falling out dead last once again.
As the inconsistency continued they this time had a strong performance at the CDL Championships. They took down London Royal Ravens, Toronto Ultra and OpTic Texas on the way to a 3rd place finish after falling to Atlanta FaZe in both the Winners and Losers bracket. This concluded the best season to date in the history of the Seattle Surge and thus they will be running it back in MW2 with the same roster.
How good was Pred in 2022?
Hardpoint
Pred’s best mode of the season was Hardpoint. In the mode, he only got better as the season went along. His all out aggression made Pred hard to handle and easy to lose track of in the chaos. Overall for the season, Pred finished with a 1.13 KD in the mode with 27.5 kills per 10 minutes and 3068.7 damage per 10 minutes. He was great at roaming around the map and gaining map control for his squad.
Pred played at his best at the tail-end of the season. While he continued to get more accustomed to the pacing and routes, Pred turned into an elite SMG player in Hardpoint. During Stage 4 and Champs, Pred finished with a combined 1.29 KD in Hardpoint. During Stage 4, Pred set season highs in KD (1.29) and Kp10M (30.9), while adding 3206.1 DMGp10M and 68.0% non-traded kill percentage. With this level of form, it’s hard to see Pred not being one of the best Hardpoint players next season!
Search & Destroy
Pred found success in Search & Destroy during his inaugural season in the CDL. For the year, Pred finished with a 1.02 KD in SnD with 0.73 kills per round and 91.67 ADR. Seattle’s struggles as a team hurt Pred, as his aggression that rewarded him in respawns wasn’t as effective at times in SnD. Still, the star SMG found a lot of success during the middle of the season. In Stage 3 of the League, Pred had a 1.13 KD in the mode with 0.81 KpR, 104.13 ADR, and 53.7% opening duel win percentage. This performance helped Seattle take the Major Championship during the stage!
Pred’s best map of the season was easily BoCage SnD. This is where his elusiveness was on display, as he would easily get kills and get away. On the map he ended with a 1.26 KD for the season, having individual map highs in KpR (0.84), OpDuel W% (57.8%) and TES Rating (57.8%). This is the level of performance fans can expect heading into next season.
Control
Control was another game mode that Pred could pop off in at any time. He ended the year with a 1.08 KD in the mode with 20.4 kills per 10 minutes and 72.6% non-traded kill percentage. Pred was on fire during Stage 4 of the season, where he finished with season highs in almost every category including KD (1.29), Kp10M (23.8), and DMGp10M (2612.8). With the addition of Berlin into the map pool, Pred was able to become one of the best Control players in the CDL. Look for him to continue this level of play in Modern Warfare II!
A look ahead to Modern Warfare II
Heading into the Modern Warfare II season, Seattle will look very similar to the team of 2022. The Seattle Surge are one of three teams that did not make changes to their starting roster, opting to run it back with those on the team now. The only change to the roster is the departure of GM/Analyst Brandon “Novus” Hewitt, but that role was fill by John “Revan” Boble. With another season of development coming to both Sib and Pred, this roster should be extremely terrifying. If they can become more consistent and keep hitting the highs we all saw in Vanguard, this team will be competing for championships at every Major!
