SetToDestroyX is on a never-ending quest to cultivate esports in Canada and the road leads through the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto at WorldGaming’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Canadian Championship on Sunday.

“With being one of the very few Canadian esports organizations … its really important that whenever there is something in Canada, in some way, shape or form or level, we’re involved,” team owner Charlie Watson told TSN.ca. “The opportunity of winning these Canadian events further promotes our brand nationally as well and [gives] us a greater chance of really reaching more Canadians and growing the esports market here in Canada.”

The organization was founded by Watson in 2010 and features teams and individuals across a plethora of titles including Rocket League, Halo, Street Fighter and H1Z1. STDx also signs teams and players for WorldGaming events that require all-Canadian rosters.

The pickup Call of Duty roster is comprised of four professional players — Most Wanted’s Michael “Beehzy” Said, Team Kaliber’s Evan “HollerTV” Vart, GosuCrew’s John “Xotic16” Bruno and STDx’s Mehran “OvOMayhem” Anjomshoa — and is one of the favourites to take home the national title. 

Watson, a successful recruiter in another life, has consistently brought in top-level talent that has reached the finals of three WorldGaming events. A five-man squad captured the Uncharted 4 multiplayer championship in August 2016.

“It’s an amazing time right now just for our brand and so far we’ve qualified for every finals that WorldGaming has ever had,” Watson said. “We love the atmosphere and obviously working within Canada is a big thing with us so we’re extremely proud of being back here in the finals and ultimately having a great squad heading into it. I believe we have the No. 1 seed heading into it and we have a realistic opportunity here of taking home the grand prize.”

STDx does, in fact, have the top seed in the Group A bracket, followed by 1Hype, Earthroot Gaming and Team Impulse. Their two toughest challenges in the hunt for the $20,000 grand prize should be GIRG and Fury Gaming, both Group B teams loaded with their own professional talent.

Having a roster of pros gives STDx an advantage over many of the finalists, but the players spend most of the time with their regular teams and have little time to prepare for a pickup event. With the Call of Duty World League Dallas Open last week, STDx has had less than a week to get up to speed.

“Real preparation is putting in 40 hours a week and going over game play and seeing what individuals are doing on the mini map and how they’re positioning themselves, what their tendencies in general are,” Vart said. “Are they going to rotate to this position? Are they going to hit scraps for 10 seconds? Are they going to play disciplined? There’s so many variables that go into it that we’re not going to be able to go so in-depth on it. Were just going to have the general knowledge that we’re all on the same page and know what we need to do in each situation.”

But the pros have already proved they can play together. STDx rolled through the online playoffs with three consecutive 2-0 series sweeps to qualify for the national finals. 

They passed the litmus test with flying colours and are in the best position to make Sunday another WorldGaming event to remember.

“It’s our goal to go out and win and we have a legitimate opportunity out of here of winning this event,” Watson said. “It’s really about promoting what we’re doing out here in Canada and signifying what we’re doing in Canada and cementing our roots here in Canada as well.”

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
Solar HQ