Evan “ShotzEC” Commerford and his 1Hype squad are not the heavy favourites heading into WorldGaming’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Canadian Championship at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto on Sunday, but don’t tell them that.

“We know where we stack up against the other teams,” Commerford told TSN.ca. “We know our capabilities and how we can play. If we show up, we have the ability to compete with any of the teams there.

“We can 100 per cent make it to the grand final and have a good series against whoever we play there. It’s just all about grinding out the day and actually getting there.”

The roster of ShotzEC, Jason “Teddybrosaveltjc” Coles, Shedon “VenomShelly” Dubeau and Allameen “TheAnonAlly” Ally are ranked No. 2 in the Group A bracket behind one of the tournament favourites and top-seed SetToDestroyX. The other two heavyweights, GIRG and Fury Gaming, hold the top spot and second seed in Group B, respectively.

Commerford is comfortable being looked at as the fourth-best team among the eight finalists vying for a national title but also believes his team at peak condition is as good as anyone in the field. After all, they dominated the field in the online playoffs and dropped just one round through four series to triumph in the Group C winners bracket.

“I’m sure there was some teams in the other qualifiers that we’re a little nervous to play, but for us it was more like another day at the office,” he said. “We didn’t have any problems at all until the finals. In the finals, the only problem was the team that we beat in the finals had the capability to qualify if they practised other game modes than Hardpoint because they were a really, really good Hardpoint team.”

In an event that features a plethora of pickup teams due to WorldGaming’s requirements that rosters be made up entirely of Canadians, 1Hype comes Toronto with more familiarity than many of their opponents. Commerford, Coles and Dubeau have competed together in many high-level events and Ally joins the team having already won two different WorldGaming events - Black Ops 3 and Uncharted 4. 

Ally is the veteran at the Scotiabank Theatre, but Commerford says each member of the team is comfortable in high-pressure situations.

“As funny as it sounds, I think he’s the most inexperienced on the team when it comes to getting on a bigger stage,” he said. “He’s won on Canada’s biggest stage twice now, but when it comes to Call of Duty on a big stage, you think of MLG [Major League Gaming] events. His first MLG event was recently; we all went to Atlanta. It’s a different beast going to an MLG event than it is a Canadian championship because there’s so many more teams, so many bigger names, but obviously you’ve got to have ice in your veins to do well in any championship so it’s definitely good to have him on our team.”

Unlike many of their opponents, including the top three ranked teams, 1Hype is not made up from players with outside allegiances to other pro clubs. That means a victory Sunday would not only net them the $20,000 grand prize, but it would also get them a ticket to the Call of Duty World League Anaheim Open in June.

As the consensus fourth-ranked team in the tournament, 1Hype is not taking their opportunity for granted.

“People always looked at us as not really people who would go and win a championship, but for sure it would be an amazing experience. Getting Ally a third ring would be pretty fun and going to Anaheim would be an experience in itself,” Commerford said. “If we were to win, it would probably turn a lot of heads.”

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The teams competing for a piece of the $65,000 prize pool at WorldGaming’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Canadian Championship are:

GIRG
SetToDestroyX
Fury Gaming
1Hype
Team Impulse
Earthroot Gaming
Rezist Esports
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