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Last week three British teams were listed in the GotFrag European rankings for the first time in history. Meet Your Makers took the top spot, Dignitas sat admirably in third, and EXABYTE finished tenth. The UK Call of Duty scene is at a high point and beginning to reflect a depth of talent nobody could have guessed at. In the space of a few short months, the nation has regained hope.
It wasn't so long ago that Dignitas was the sole British representative in the top ten, just clinging on to tenth after another failure at OOF2. MYM, then known as TLR, occasionally showed the potential to hang with better teams, as did Reason, but there was not a single British team who could challenge TEK9, Serious et al at their peak. Dignitas had been in freefall for what seemed like years and their constant roster changes sucked up any emerging UK talent before it had the chance to flourish elsewhere.
Slowly but surely, however, both Dignitas and the other British teams beneath them have turned things around. The addition of Bas "SKO" Dirks was the key for Dignitas. And while Dignitas was adding a key player, TLR adapted quickly to Call of Duty 4, placing second at CDC4 and taking home €2,000. Meanwhile the likes of 4Kings, EXABYTE and Audacity also began to emerge in the international scene. For some in the UK scene, it was a return to the good old days.
"I would say Victum were what MYM is now and Supermen would obviously be us, if you wanted to compare it to the original Call of Duty," jokes Dignitas' Mick Bradshaw. Unlike many of the new UK stars, Bradshaw remembers the last time the Brits ruled the Call of Duty roost. As captain of Supermen, PCG and then riZe, Bradshaw won all there was to win with the likes of "mo_Ose", "Yekoms" and "pain" by his side. If that was the golden age of UK Call of Duty, then surely now we are living in its renaissance.
"I think that the community is finally as strong as what it was back in CoD, ourselves and MYM are once again at the highest level and flying the flag with pride. The UK community is enjoying Call of Duty 4 and I think with that we will continue to see top three placements from the nation's best sides" Bradshaw says proudly. Between the two of them, Dignitas and MYM hold an impressive record and will look to the Summer LAN events to cement their dominance.
Stuart "TosspoT" Saw, another observer that has seen both sides of the spectrum for UK Call of Duty, is understandably pleased with how the scene has developed lately but remains cautious. "MYM struggled through CoD2 and sure they blame lack of motivation or love for the game but the reality is they are a somewhat self-destructive bunch of players, they've just stopped pressing that button for the time being," he says of the former TLR squad.
"As for Dignitas, they always had highs and lows in CoD2" he argues, "Mick just needed someone to take some of the load off him and SKO was an incredible pickup. I'm not convinced how much you can read into the early stages of any game though and for me fnatic are still the safest bet. I'd be surprised if the UK teams haven't had a problem or made a change before them, their track records just don't build long term confidence." He continues, "But I'd love to be wrong, both have done incredibly well and one can only hope that they maintain it".
Many like "TosspoT" have pointed to the addition of "SKO" when it comes to Dignitas' change of fortune but "Mick" also stresses the effect of Call of Duty 4 on UK teams in general. "I think the UK playstyle has always been very aggressive and CoD2 was very campy and boring. In CoD4 you can play a lot more aggressive or pretty passive and it works out nicely, more rounds are won on skill rather then luck now" he explains.
Aside from these issues, the improving e-sports infrastructure in the United Kingdom has also undoubtedly helped teams compete internationally. Multiplay's i-series has come on in leaps and bounds in the last year and with major cash going into their CoD4 tournaments, UK CoD teams have been given a springboard for European success. Could MYM have managed a second place finish at CDC4 if they hadn't grown accustomed to the pressure of offline play at numerous i-series events? It is far from certain. Now with top sides from all over the world attending, UK teams of all levels are improving as competition at their "local" event gets more and more intense. Competition breeds talent and in the UK, the i-series has done just that.
"i33 allowed those who hadn't had the chance before to go head to head with the best in Europe and show that the UK really does have a very deep field of talent in Call of Duty" explains QuadV's Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner, another astute follower of the UK Call of Duty scene. "I would like to think that part of the reason for MYM picking up the UK guys had something to do with the promotion of CoD4 by Stuart Saw at CDC and by Multiplay at i33".
The test now for the UK's best is to triumph abroad this summer. Challenging competitors await the British sides at AEF and the-eXperience and MYM and Dignitas will want to return home to i34 the following weekend with their reputations intact. That they possess the requisite talent is a given but, as TosspoT warns, stability and consistency are the key factors and both have blighted these teams in the past. UK CoD has clawed its way back from the brink of insignificance and is now a hair's breadth from cementing itself as the dominant force in the early CoD4 scene. Will it live up to the challenge?