As the Verdun World Cup looks to enter its penultimate qualifier on February 10th, let's take a look at the teams participating in the North American region, both veterans, and rookies alike.
Rejected Hit
Born as a home for Spanish-speaking players who are regulars in the North American competitive scene, Rejected Hit will look to make an impression in their first E4I appearance. Their founder, Fabian, a veteran of [PC] and [sMW], should provide the team with a solid competitive base to stand on — whether or not he can properly mobilize his less experienced players, though, remains to be seen. Regardless, they should have a communication edge over previous South American ventures, all of whom were multilingual with both Portuguese and Spanish-speaking players.
Toxic Control
With their debut in the last qualifier, Johannes Brahms’ [PC] protégés, Toxic Control, played a seasoned Pirates roster closer than expected on Picardie, making them pay for every inch in blood. Toxic Control will undoubtedly have learned a great deal from that encounter: Brahms is a leader who puts his work in and will have spent plenty of time with his team trying to minimize their weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths. Expect a more battle-hardened Toxic Control looking to show the same grit and determination as before, while this time around converting it into victory.
Schwerer Minenwerfer
This mouthful of a team, more commonly referred by their clan tag [sMW], has been a mainstay of the competitive scene since VCL Season 1. Originally starting out as an all South American lineup, they eventually expanded to include North American players as well. [sMW] have found moderate success in the VWC Qualifiers already, finding wins over ThoT Patrol and Average Joes but falling short against Pest Control. They can’t rest on their laurels though, as hungry young teams like Toxic Control or Rejected Hit will be looking to remove them from their position of moderate comfort.
Clone Control
With Toxic Control firmly established, they, alongside Pest Control, now seek to mentor another budding team. Not much is known about Clone Control, and they still appear to lack permanent leadership. However, don't allow that to undersell their potential, as [PC] and [TC] have proven very effective talent scouts in the past. These Clones may seem unassuming now, but you never know when they might activate Order 66.
ThoT Patrol
ThoT Patrol were unable to best [sMW] in their debut match at the last qualifier. While we didn’t get to see the encounter on stream, one must assume they learned a great deal from it, as any team does in their first official match together. This time around they aren’t the favorites, but they have two completely inexperienced teams with which to compete, and against those foes, their previous exposure to competitive play might be a strength.
Pest Control
Over the past year, Pest Control has cemented themselves as the best team in Verdun history and are still yet to be defeated in an official match. They have surpassed the achievements of previously great teams, such as Pirates and Crimson Tactical, and in a period of history where the game has been arguably much more competitive. There simply isn’t any room for debate, this roster is without equal, and they will look to maintain their dominance going into the next qualifier and beyond.
