For the first time in a decade. The GOAT of Call of Duty will most likely not be competing at the COD Championship this year. After years of being a competitive Call of Duty Player, Ian “Crimsix” Porter has done it all. He is a 37-time COD champion with 3 World Championship rings, earning more than $1 million in winnings along the way. Unfortunately, Crimsix won’t be available to add a fourth ring to his collection this year.
[Related: Call of Duty Major 3 Tournament]
Beginning in 2013 with Black Ops 2, Crimsix has competed in every single Call of Duty World Championship event to date. After playing well last season and qualifying for the event last year in Cold War, Crimsix was ready to run it back in Vanguard.
Crimsix’s new organization NYSL started off strong in the Kickoff Classic placing third and beating top teams like the Boston Breach, Minnesota Rokkr and Seattle Surge. However, things got ugly quick. Coming off the success of the first event, no one would have guessed what happened next.
The Rise and Fall of NYSL
After having initial struggles during Major 1, the organization shocked the community by dropping Neptune for veteran Matthew “Royalty” Faithfull. After continuing to struggle, roster moves were being arranged behind the scenes. A month after bringing in Royalty, NYSL decided to bring back Neptune to the starting lineup, dropping Royalty. However, nothing changed, the team still played poorly and tensions between everyone was getting high. Their solution? Dropping one of the winningest players in Call of Duty history, Clayster. To replace him, NYSL decided to sign London Royal Raven substitute Paul “PaulEhx” Avila.
After finishing 10th at Major 2 and earning a whopping $0, more moves were on the way. Fortunately, the CDL gave an almost two months break in between Major 2 and the Pro-Am Classic. So, for the struggling teams that were looking to make a move, a “trial” period was introduced. This “trial” period allowed a lot of teams figure out what roster works best for them. Bringing in players to trial with their existing team and see how they would play together.
After weeks of trialing lineups, NYSL brought on former Paris Legion and current Challengers player Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley. Once again dropping Neptune, for good.
Going into the Pro-Am Classic, NYSL was near the bottom of the CDL standings. With only the top 8 teams qualifying for COD Champs, Crimsix knew the team needed to perform well.
At the end of the weekend, NYSL were the team holding up the trophy on championship Sunday. The squad played beautiful COD throughout the weekend. Running through teams like Toronto Ultra, London Royal Ravens, and LA Thieves in the Grand Finals.
After such a hectic season, Crimsix and NYSL finally had something to show for all the hard work they put in. Bringing in $100,000 in winnings and their spot up in the rankings. However, still not high enough to qualify. Crimsix and the team knew that Major 3 can be a make or break type event for them.
Make or Break
After having an average placing during qualifiers finishing sixth, the NYSL drew the Seattle Surge in winners round one of the bracket. After losing a heartbreaking game five, the team was sent to the loser’s bracket to face an underperforming and very beatable London Royal Ravens team. Unfortunately, they lost in four maps, finished 11th, and ended the team and Crimsix’s chances at qualifying for the biggest event of the season.
With a poor finish at Major 3, it made it near impossible for NYSL to make COD Champs. They would need to win their qualifying matches and would have to win the Major 4 tournament. Along with that, all the teams in the league would need to completely collapse and lose tons of matches. So, fans will most likely not see Crimsix at COD Champs this year.
Is it over for Crimsix?
Crimsix is still a skilled and intelligent player COD player. But so far this season, Crimsix, who is now 29, has a K/DR of only 0.95 in 42 matches played. This may not sound that terrible, but for someone being called the GOAT, it isn’t a good look. Especially when fans see older players like Scump with a 1.05 and even SlasheR dropping a 1.03.
At last week’s Major 3 tournament, Crimsix put on his worst performance of the year. Not only did the NYSL get bounced in two matches, in those matches, Crimsix struggled. He put up a .90 KD/R in winners round one and a horrendous .78 in the losers bracket to end their weekend finishing dead last.
Over the years, fans have gotten used to seeing Crimsix sitting atop the COD throne winning championships and bringing home all the prize money. Now, fans used to seeing him put up decent stats and get in fights with his teammates all year round. It is clear that while some may consider him the GOAT of Call of Duty, he is not playing like it right now.
Even with all the drama, Crimsix has been a staple of competitive Call of Duty community. No one can take away the things he accomplished throughout his incredible career. Hopefully next year he will decide to compete again. But if he decides not to and retires, it was a pleasure to watch him compete over the years.
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