London Royal Ravens Team Profile
The London Royal Ravens is one of only two European franchises participating in the inaugural season of the Call of Duty (CDL). The franchise is owned by ReKTGlobal, owners of esports organisation Rogue, who fought off stiff competition to become the second European franchise in the league. The starting roster consists of Bradley “Wuskin” Marshall, Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall, Dylan Henderson, Rhys “Rated” Price and Jordan “Jurd” Crowley. The substitutes are Dylan “MadCat” Daly and Sean “Seany” O’Connor.
In this article, we will be overviewing the roster and weighing up its potential as we head towards the start of the season.
Jurd & Dylan: Plenty of Potential
The sub-machine gun partnership of Jurd and Dylan is a great mixture of ruthless aggression, youth and experience. As one of the standout players from the Black Ops 4 season, Dylan is certainly going to be a player to watch throughout the Modern Warfare season. Last season, Dylan put in one of the best individual performances ever seen in Call of Duty so it is going to be very interesting to see if he can carry those levels of performance into Modern Warfare.
Billed as the “king” of European Call of Duty for a number of years, Jurd has been one of few European players that has constantly been considered as a player that can compete with the elite North American talents. 2017 saw him win Stage One of the CWL Pro League under Splyce, still proving that he has what it takes to be competing at the highest level.
This partnership has plenty of potential to become one of the most impactful in the CDL. It is going to be very exciting to see these two players perform on the same team for the first time in Minnesota.
Skrapz & Wuskin: Brothers Reunited
Click to enlarge2020 marks the first time in three years that the Marshall twins have competed on the same team. The last time the two competed alongside each other was under Fnatic. Now back on the same roster, expectations are high for both players who are intent on securing their first big championship win.
As the more aggressive of the twins, Skrapz is likely going to be the aggressive AR player on the Royal Ravens. Throughout the Black Ops 4 season, Skrapz constantly dropped big numbers in the slaying department and looked extremely comfortable with the Maddox. This year will be different but expect him to shine with the M4A1 throughout the year.
Wuskin is able to be much more flexible, sometimes alternating between an AR and an SMG depending on the situation. The more passive role makes Wuskin an important part of the Royal Ravens team composition. If he excels in supporting the SMGs then the Royal Ravens will be flying towards the top of the league table after Minnesota.
The twins may have differing styles of play but their chemistry is going to make them a formidable force during the 2020 season.
Rated: A Dark Horse
Despite a turbulent Black Ops 4 season, Rated ended the season very much on the front foot, securing a top six finish at the season-ending world championship. Up there with the likes of Callum “Swanny” Swan, Rated is arguable one of the best main AR players to come out of Europe. With numerous power positions throughout the map pool this season, I firmly expect Rated to be one of the best ARs this season thanks to his expert positioning and supreme gunskill.
The Welshman is going to be an integral part of leading this team when in competition. If he and the rest of the team can avoid conflict, the Royal Ravens could well fly under the radar and land near the front of the pack.
Team Overview: Can They Contend?
The short answer is yes, they certainly can. The Royal Ravens have a very strong mixture of slaying power with Jurd and Dylan along with Skrapz armed with an AR. Wuskin is more than capable of filling in any gaps when required while Rated can hold down areas of the map with ease.
There is a lot of potential for this team to make an impact against some of the stronger North American franchises in the CDL and it is going to be very interesting to see how they do perform against them at the opening weekend of competition.
