Top 10 BEST Players of All Time
As of June 2018, this list runs through the absolute best players we've seen throughout the history of competitive Call of Duty. Obviously each list will be subjective and treat different factors with differing importance, but I based my placements off skill, accolades, and wider contribution. Keep in mind I'm not weighting a CoD Champs ring particularly heavily, which is why Apathy didn't quite make the cut. I plan to write another article in this vein when the list has changed significantly, and it will be interesting to see how long that progression will take to occur.
Honourable Mentions
Nadeshot // From working in McDonald's to global phenomenon, Matt Haag not only put competitive CoD on the map, but helped spark interest in Call of Duty as a whole.
Rambo // The grandfather of Call of Duty. Although his tenure was shorter than many, his contribution to the theory of how to play the game remains second-to-none.
Merk // Nearly as successful as he is handsome, Merk was a selfless player who deserves everything he achieved. Your favourite player’s favourite player.
BigTymer // The GOAT, and my nomination for funniest man alive. A great player back in his day, and for a time in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest earning CoD player.
The Unassuming. Despite having the dullest gamertag in the scene, John’s career has been quite the opposite, but he often flies under the radar. John has been around forever, winning his first championship at
MLG Raleigh at only 15 years of age on BO1. Known as a superstar at Treyarch games, he won
UMG Dallas 2013 in BO2, and after a couple of sub-par years in Ghosts and AW, John returned with aplomb in BO3. In contrast to his modest personality, John showed his talents as a remorseless and aggressive slayer, almost certainly the best player of the latter half of the season. He helped
Team EnVyUs to
World Championship glory with an MVP-calibre performance, and almost had the better of
OpTic Gaming in the
Champs finals a year later. Picking up more titles year-on-year, John is an often-overlooked great of the Call of Duty franchise.
The Academic. Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat is the most recent man on the list to rise to prominence. He attended two events in BO2, then took a break until AW to focus presumably on educational pursuits. SlasheR quickly turned heads in AW, showing outstanding raw skill with the AR in his hands. This trend continued throughout the jetpack era, culminating in his
2016 World Championship victory. The scariest facet of this player is his continued improvement. Debatably the strongest AR player of the last 3 years, he has matured into not only a very fearsome and merciless competitor, but also one of the smartest individuals in the game. The Liddigoat is my pick of the bunch to climb this list over the coming years: having just completed his Robotics Bachelors Degree, the 23-year-old should only keep on marching upwards.
The Workhorse. Tyler Polchow started out in MW2, where he first teamed with future duo
Aches. He made his name in BO2 alongside his talisman, and with the addition of
Crimsix and
Clayster to the
CompLexity roster, they went on to win all but one of the game’s final eight events. TeePee revolutionised how to be an objective player, and provided the perfect one-two punch with the slayers on his team. His ruthless playstyle and never-say-die attitude spurred the dynasty to the
2014 World Championship with numerous other titles along the way. Placements fell off after Ghosts, with his eventual retirement in Black Ops 3, but his success and contribution to the theory cannot be understated.
The Wizard. Matthew “You Sexy Man” Piper has not been playing CoD as long as many rivals on this list, but has certainly earned his spot. Making the transition from a Halo champion into CoD in early Ghosts, FormaL would win
Gfinity 3 in his very first year. Incredibly he would go on to join OpTic Gaming a few months later, and the rest is history. FormaL has been a dominant force with the AR throughout the entire jetpack era, and his unrelenting drive for success propelled OpTic into a dynasty roster. He capped off a great tenure under the organisation with an unparalleled performance at the
2017 World Championship, earning the MVP accolade with an astonishing 1.36 K/D. FormaL’s career has been short compared to some other names, but his skill and tournament success makes him impossible to ignore.
The Ponytail. Clayster’s name is synonymous with Call of Duty. The oldest professional remaining in today’s scene, James Eubanks had some success in MW2 before taking time out to focus on academic commitments. He returned in BO2 with a bang, quickly joining CompLexity after a poor World Championship finish. One of the game’s greatest ever slayers, he won seven of the final eight events of the season. After the collapse of this roster, Clay flip-flopped between teams, winning
X Games along the way with OpTic Gaming. AW proved to be another successful year for the superstar. He went toe-to-toe with FormaL as the strongest AR player in the game, and had the lion’s share of the spoils by winning his
World Championship ring. His recent teams have struggled to replicate such success, but there is no doubt his career certifies him as one of the game’s finest.
The Villain. Patrick Price has been an infamous name in the scene for as long as I can remember, reaching his first grand final in MW2 alongside significant other TeePee. Aches achieved great success through BO1, which only expanded as he matured. His reputation really took off in BO2 winning multiple championships in the latter half of the year and bursting into Ghosts to continue the tear. Aches’s CompLexity won the
2014 World Championship as just one of a string of dominant victories. Shortly after the acquisition of the roster by Evil Geniuses, the dynasty fell apart, leaving Aches in a precarious position. He has continued to place highly at many tournaments through the jetpack era, and despite relatively weak years from BO3 onwards, Aches has always retained his villain status, memorably eliminating OpTic from both AW and BO3 Champs. In a similar vein to JKap’s career, any PattyP line-up remains a force to be reckoned with.
The Perpetual. A seemingly timeless icon of the scene, Jordan Kaplan started out way back in CoD4, before improving to a grand finals appearance in MW2. His reputation rocketed in BO1, winning two championships with OpTic Gaming. He is widely considered the best player of that era. Kap’s true prowess is how he has maintained championship potential across such an expansive career. Once the star player, he has transformed into an exceptional leader and developer of young talent, heading
Denial Esports and Team EnVyUs respectively to World Championship rings in 2015 and 2016, earning him the nickname Jetkap. Astonishingly he has appeared in 4 of the 5 World Champs grand finals, and the reasons behind his well-earned legend status should not be underestimated.
Three Rings. The only player ever to be crowned World Champion thrice, in BO2, Ghosts and again in IW. Damon Barlow dominated the first half of the BO2 season with
Fariko Impact, and went on to repeat the trick in later games as an integral member of both dynasty lineups. Karma was arguably the greatest BO2 player, but his individual statistics dropped off somewhat throughout his career, even though the championships still came rolling in. He is now the single highest earning player from competitive CoD, amassing just shy of $700,000 in winnings. However, unless one sees World Championship rings as the be-all-and-end-all, it’s hard to put Karma higher than 3rd. He remains a highly-renowned figure, and I hope on behalf of the Call of Duty community that he returns to competition for Black Ops 4.
The King. Scump won his first title at only 15 years of age on B01 at
MLG Dallas 2011, and remained a top prospect until his true breakout in BO2. Alongside an exploding YouTube presence that helped put competitive CoD on the map, and brought me personally much closer to the scene, Scump proved his worth on LAN as one of the top SMG talents in the game under OpTic Gaming. His championship success would snowball moving into the jetpack games, putting up unheard of numbers considering his aggressive role. A legendary career was topped off in 2017 when he finally won his much-desired
World Championship ring. Scump’s raw talent, incredible reaction time and YouTube presence concrete his spot.
The Winningest. Since his transition from Halo in 2012, Ian Porter immediately showed his proficiency in Call of Duty, quickly establishing himself on the CompLexity roster that would go on to win countless titles in both BO2 and Ghosts including the 2014 World Championship. A fierce competitor, insightful teammate and ruthless slayer, Crim would continue his dominance through the jetpack era on OpTic Gaming. Despite being statistically in the shadow of FormaL and Scump, Crimsix achieved many more championship victories, acquiring his 2nd ring in IW, his 31st chip, the most of any player in history. The 25-year-old’s astonishing accolades and individual skill set him apart from the competition, and it will take some going to knock him off his perch.
