OpTic Gaming triumphs at ESWC Paris

The US team faced heavy international competition but eventually emerged as victors.

It came down to a US vs UK grand finals at this weekend's ESWC Call of Duty 2016 tournament in Paris, France. US team OpTic Gaming - who recently won the stage 1 playoffs in the NA division of the Call of Duty World League - faced off against UK team Splyce, defeating them 3-0.

OpTic didn't drop a single map throughout the semifinals and finals, although Splyce came close to taking the second map of their game. In the semis, OpTic got their rematch against UK-based Millenium, who had beaten them 3-1 in the group stage. Millenium would eventually finish 4th in the tournament, losing the third place decider game to US team Rise Nation. OpTic Gaming goes home with a $20,000 cheque.

The event cemented the impression that Call of Duty is heavily dominated by US and UK teams. Of all the top 8 finishers, only one team - French side Team Vitality - didn't hail from those two countries.

Speaking of UK teams, Gamereactor got a chance to talk to Callum "Swanny" Swan of Millenium during the event. The veteran player shared his thoughts both on the dominance of English-speaking nations in the COD scene, controller issues, the rivalry between PC and console players, and much more. Watch that interview below.