How Scump has Transcended Competitive Call of Duty
When it comes to competitive Call of Duty, there are few names that have transcended the competitive scene through the ages. Seth “Scump” Abner, widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the esport, has been competing for nearly a decade and on his birthday, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look back from his early career all the way to being the talisman of the Chicago Huntsmen Call of Duty League franchise.
The Early Days
Scump began his competitive career on the first Black Ops title under the Leverage banner alongside fellow veteran Patrick “Aches” Price. His first championship victory came under Quantic Leverage alongside Aches and Tyler “TeePee” Polchow at MLG Dallas.
After such a short time in the competitive scene, Scump quickly began to rise through the ranks and just two months into the Modern Warfare 3 season, Scump joined OpTic Gaming in place of Jordan “Proofy” Cannon in what was a somewhat controversial swap.
Despite the lack of developer support from Infinity Ward during the Modern Warfare 3 season, Scump and OpTic Gaming opted to travel overseas for competition. While in Europe, OpTic began to assert its dominance, winning several EGL titles before losing to TCM Gaming at EGL 8 in the final tournament before the Black Ops 2 season.
Now firmly on the radar of both fans and players heading into Black Ops 2, hopes were high for him and the team as Call of Duty esports began to rise to heights that had never been seen before. Armed with the backing of Treyarch and a solid competitive title, Scump was expected to continue his successes but throughout the season, he and OpTic Gaming only won a single event at UMG Chicago. A third-place finish at the inaugural world championship was still an impressive achievement but just one tournament win in a season was rather disappointing considering the dominance of the Green Wall back on Modern Warfare 3.
Click to enlargeRuthless Aggression
Still under OpTic Gaming for the beginning of the Ghosts season, Scump armed with the Vector SMG was a scary sight to behold. After another third-place finish at the world championships, Scump came into his own a few months later at the X Games, excelling as the ruthless slayer which ultimately secured him and his teammates a gold medal.
Other than the gold medal at the X Games, results were inconsistent for Scump and the team, scoring several top-six finishes at Gfinity 3, UMG Dallas and UMG Nashville. Despite another season with only one major victory to his name, Scump and the Green Wall had proved that they could contend with the almighty Evil Geniuses roster, a feat that very few teams could manage.
Advanced Warfare marked the end of an era for Call of Duty esports. Matt “Nadeshot” Haag had made the decision to retire after a shock 7th place at champs, leaving Scump to take up the role of captain. With huge shoes to fill, OpTic continued to dominate the latter stages of the Advanced Warfare season, winning season three of the Pro League and UMG Washington D.C.
The radically advanced movement mechanics suited Scump extremely well, enabling him to boost, duck, dash and dive at breakneck speed, making him one of the most dangerous SMG players in the world.
Black Ops 3: Continued Domination
The team of Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Matt “Formal” Piper, Damon “Karma” Barlow and Scump opted to stick together for the Black Ops 3 season and continued their winning ways throughout the early stages of the season, winning the Stage 1 Playoffs, ESWC and MLG Anaheim, placing them in a prime position to take the trophy that had eluded him and OpTic a year before, the world championship.
Heading into the tournament as the team to beat, all eyes were on Scump and the Green Wall to go all the way and lift the trophy but a loss to arch-rivals Team Envy sent them to the losers bracket where the team would eventually fall to Cloud 9 by the narrowest of margins. Once again, OpTic had missed the change to win the big one and it looked like Scump was never going to get his hands on the title.
Click to enlargeInfinite Warfare: Success
After missing out on the world title for the past two years, OpTic and Scump arrived into the Infinite Warfare season with a point to prove. The team dominated the season other than a surprising top eight finish at CWL Anaheim, ultimately breaking the curse at the world championship, defeating Team Envy in two best-of-five series to lift the trophy that had eluded Scump and the organisation for so long.
After two years of expecting to walk out as champions, Scump had cemented his place in the Call of Duty history books as one of the handful of players to win a world championship ring and after years of loyalty to OpTic, he finally gave the fans what they had been after for so long.
World War 2: Turbulence
World War 2 saw a return to a more traditional style of Call of Duty, a change that suited some players more than others. OpTic was a team that struggled during the season, making several roster changes in a bid to improve their successes but it was to no avail as the team failed to escape the group stages of the world championship.
After such a turbulent year, Scump arrived at a crossroads. Would he continue competing if another poor season was on the cards or would he stick it out for another shot at success? Scump made it clear that he wasn’t done just yet and for Black Ops 4, he and OpTic Gaming bounced back in some style.
Black Ops 4: A Return to Winning Ways
CWL Las Vegas was a true return to form for Scump. The faster pace of Black Ops 4 saw him excel alongside new additions Thomas “TJHaly” Haly and Brandon “Dashy” Otell which enabled Scump to explore his in-game role.
There were times Scump was the flex player on the team, which suited the composition of the team extremely well and after a season of consistent results, the final world championship of the CWL era came around with Scump and OpTic once again in contention for the title. The team finished third in the final tournament before franchising came into play but after the disastrous World War 2 season, Scump had once again proved that he was still on par with the wave of new stars arriving into the competitive scene.
Click to enlargeModern Warfare: A New Era
Now the talismanic figure for the Chicago Huntsmen, Scump is still on par with the speed of the new talents entering the scene but the standout performances in past titles are few and far between partly due to the fundamental flaws that are within Modern Warfare.
Scump has been no stranger to critiquing the state of Modern Warfare and has paid the price for doing so but despite his dislike for the game, he is still a key ingredient for the success of the Huntsmen who currently sit in third place in the league table.
As one of the few members of the old guard of Call of Duty still competing at the highest level, Scump has become synonymous with competitive CoD thanks to his outright skill and infectious personality. It’s no secret that he is nearing towards the twilight of his career but as long as he continues to compete among the best, Scump has left a lasting impression on the scene which has changed so much since his humble beginnings.
Images via MLG
