After five days of fighting, Evil Geniuses have emerged as the winners of the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship. The victory earned the team $600,000 and made Patrick “ACHES” Price, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov, Adam “Assault” Garcia, and Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer world champions.
The victory gives ACHES and Apathy their second world championship rings – they each won the tournament in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Evil Geniuses was set to take on Team Kaliber in the grand finals, who they had already defeated in the winners bracket finals. Team Kaliber had clawed their way to the grand finals with an intense five-game win over FaZe Clan in the losers bracket.
Evil Geniuses came out strong, taking Gibraltar Hardpoint by 42 points behind a 31-kill performance from Assault. They kept the momentum going with a 6-3 victory on Ardennes Forest Search and Destroy.
🏆🏆🏆 @EvilGeniuses#CWLPS4 | #CWLChamps pic.twitter.com/CZ5HEh7ig2
— Call of Duty esports (@CODWorldLeague) August 19, 2018
The tide changed on the next map, though, where Team Kaliber got on the board first and rallied to a 3-0 Flak Tower Capture the Flag victory. TK also had a strong showing on London Docks Hardpoint, forcing a second best-of-five series with a 6-4 Sainte Maie du Mont Search and Destroy result.
The series loss was EG’s first since the Pool H loss to Elevate, and they were about to let the world title slip through their fingers. However, Evil Geniuses bounced back and took the series lead on London Docks Hardpoint, then went up 2-0 after a Search and Destroy victory.
This time, EG’s two game lead was enough to give them an edge over Team Kaliber. Assault’s aggression and scorestreaks in EG’s Flak Tower CTF 2-0 win helped earn them the CWL Championship. He was also awarded the Astro Gaming MVP of the tournament.
The @ASTROGaming MVP for 2018 Champs: Adam @Assault Garcia!#CWLPS4 | #CWLChamps pic.twitter.com/OwyS3HsRBB
— Call of Duty esports (@CODWorldLeague) August 19, 2018
The 32 best teams in the world spent the last five days competing in Columbus, Ohio for the ultimate $600,000 first-place prize. Evil Geniuses came out on top, but here’s a look at the final placings for this year’s CoD Championships.
1) Evil Geniuses – Patrick “ACHES” Price, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov, Adam “Assault” Garcia, and Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer ($600,000)
2) Team Kaliber – Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi, Kenny Williams, Maurice “Fero” Henriquez, and Ian “Enable” Wyatt ($200,000)
3) FaZe Clan – Dillon “Attach” Price, Tommy “ZooMaa” Paparratto, Preston “Priestahh” Greiner, and James “Replays” Crowder ($100,000)
4) eUnited – James “Clayster” Eubanks, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, and Tyler “FeLo” Johnson ($80,000)
5/6) Team Envy – Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo, Cuyler “Huke” Garland, Martin Chino, and Jacob “Decemate” Cato ($55,000)
5/6) Luminosity Gaming – Josiah “Slacked” Berry, Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, Johnathan “John” Perez, and Matthew “FormaL” Piper ($55,000)
7/8) Elevate – Michael “SpaceLy” Schmale, Chance “Maux” Moncivaez, Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado, and Michael “MajorManiak” Szymaniak ($35,000)
7/8) Red Reserve – Joseph “Joee” Pinnington, Rhys “Rated” Price, Trei “Zer0” Morris, and Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall ($35,000)
9/12) Team Vitality – Thomas “Tommey” Trewren, Bjarne “Denz” Sleebus, Jack “Maple” McCartney, and Sam “Chain” Dineley ($25,000)
9/12) UNILAD Esports – Bradley “Wuskin” Marshall, Sean “Seany” O’Connor, Alex “Alexx” Carpenter, and Zach “Zed” Denyer ($25,000)
9/12) Ghost Gaming – Andres Lacefield, Adam “GodRx” Brown, Casey “Pandur” Romano, and Christopher “Parasite” Duarte ($25,000)
9/12) Lightning Pandas – Jevon “Goonjar” Gooljar-Lim, Mathew “Royalty” Faithfull, John “Xotic” Bruno, and Dylan “Theory” McGee ($25,000)
13/16) compLexity Gaming – Brandon “Dashy” Otell, Richard “Ricky” Stacy, Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic, and Doug “Censor” Martin ($15,000)
13/16) Lethal Gaming – Ted “TeddyRecKs” Kim, Vlad “Ramby” Sanchez, Tanner “Super” Bowen, and Alexander “Zaptius” Bonilla ($15,000)
13/16) Rise Nation – Daniel “Loony” Loza, Tommy “TJHaLY” Haly, Peirce “Gunless” Hillman, and Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat ($15,000)
13/16) Team Sween – Shea “QwiKeR” Sweeney, Tom “Moose” Handley, Adam “Peatie” Peate, and Connor “Weeman” Chilton ($15,000)
17/24) OpTic Gaming – Seth “Scump” Abner, Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Sam “Octane” Larew, and Anthony “Methodz” Zinni ($12,500)
17/24) Echo Fox – Renato “Saints” Forza, Brice Faccento, Ulysses “Aqua” Silva, and Donovan “Temp” Laroda ($12,500)
17/24) Enigma6 – Jordon General, Troy “Sender” Michaels, Steven “Diabolic” Ribero, and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris ($12,500)
17/24) Splyce – Ben Bance, Jordan “Jurd” Crowley, Dylan “MadCat” Daly, and Joshua-Lee “Joshh” Shephard ($12,500)
17/24) BRASH Esports – Koen “Benji” Haakman, Ehsan “DREAL” Javed, Robbe “Nevo” Dhondt, and Dylan Thomas Henderson ($12,500)
17/24) Mindfreak – Mitchell “BuZZO” Mader, Denholm “Denz” Taylor, Lincoln “Fighta” Ferguson, and Conrad “Shockz” Rymarek ($12,500)
17/24) Heretics KFC – Juan “JurNii” Antonio González, Alejandro “Lucky” López, Jorge “MethodZ” Bancells, and Endika “Sukry” Andres ($12,500)
17/24) Mentality Esports – Nick “Hate” O’Connor, Paul “Tisch” Tischler, Tom “GRVTY” Malin, and Devin “Demise” Faircloth ($12,500)
25/32) Supremacy – Tommy “Eazy” Besse, Nathan “Natshay” Dupuis, Paul “Breszy” Breszynski, and Jean-Baptiste “ATLAS” Duzert ($10,000)
25/32) HavoK Esports – Ethan “FA5TBALLA” Wedgeworth, Michael “Beehzy” Said, Remington “Remy” Ihringer, and Mike “MRuiz” Ruiz ($10,000)
25/32) Team Prismatic – Wailers Locart, Eddy “Malls” Maillard, Arthur “Zayrox” Chabas, and Cédric “TonyJs” Ruault ($10,000)
25/32) Moritori Esports – Mehran “Mayhem” Anjomshoa, Dakota “Nova” Williams, Tristan “Spoof” Green, and Timothy “Phantomz” Landis ($10,000)
25/32) EZG – Saul “Parzelion” Masse-Siguenza, Ricky “Atura” Lugo, Michael “Apox” Williams, and Robbie “RobbieB” Brugnoli ($10,000)
25/32) ZoneGG – Bradley “endurAAA” Hughes, Adam “Defrag” Mathews, Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan, and Luke “Bidz” Biddle ($10,000)
25/32) Tainted Minds – Kainen “Swiftaz0r” Kini, Giancarlo “Nimble” Vagnini, Hayden “Damage” Handakas, and Daniel “Swifty” Hickey ($10,000)
25/32) Epsilon Esports – David “Dqvee” Davies, Stephen “Vortex” Allen, Billy “Hawqeh” Harris, and Jordan “Reedy” Reed ($10,000)