Press and Media

It’s the culmination of a year full of the best professionals to play the game, and it’s proving to be one of the greatest Championships yet. Call of Duty XP 2016 is a mere two days out of reach, and with the highest prize pool in CoD Championship history, 32 of the greatest teams to play the game, and massive crowds of screaming fans, this is sure to be one of the most exciting events in professional gaming history.

And TeamSCUF just can’t miss out on a party like that.



That’s right: we are thrilled to say that when the doors open and the spotlights flare up, we’re going to be right in the thick of things. We’ll have a booth set up for anyone who wants to come and say hello. For those of you who who’ve always wanted to give one of our custom controllers a test drive, we’ll have our Infinity 4PS controllers making an appearance.

Some of our Pro Players will be visiting our signing booth as well: so be sure to come down and get an autograph!

We cannot wait for this weekend! It’s going to be one of the best CoD Championships of all time: we can just feel it. Let’s get hyped and watch the world of Call of Duty come out swinging! Best of luck to the combatants, and we’ll see you in California!

Origins

Unlike many of his esteemed colleagues, Formal came to Call of Duty with the reputation of being a champion. Formal’s five-year stint on Halo saw him race through the ranks before eventually becoming one of the best in the game.

He found a home as part of Ambush — joining forces with some of the game’s most accomplished stars such as Heinz, iGotUrPistola, Snip3down and later Enable. His time in Halo saw him take home seven Major titles, spanning three games in the series.

Understandably then, Formal came into Call of Duty with a higher stock than most. Team Kaliber were willing to take a risk on the former Halo star and combining forces with Sharp, Theory and Goonjar, Formal and Team Kaliber took home a top 4 finish in the Winter Invitational back on Call of Duty Ghosts.

A top 16 finish at the 2014 Call of Duty Championship was to be Formal’s last major act in a Team Kaliber shirt, as soon FaZe Black came calling. It wasn’t until EnVyUs swooped in to acquire Formal’s talents, though, that his true potential was exposed and he quickly helped the Boys in Blue to their first major title in years — this was only the beginning of the Formal story.

Current Team

The world champions (finally). Formal linked up with OpTic Gaming to deliver a Call of Duty Championship as part of a severe roster shuffle that also saw the acquisition of Crimsix.

The new-look OpTic Gaming had great promise and were a championship caliber team from offing, only denied on their debut by Aches and FaZe Clan. The first Major title would soon come, though, and was quickly followed by another before the team took first place at the Call of Duty Championship 2015 NA Regional Finals. The new OpTic Gaming were on course to achieve greatness.

Yet at the Call of Duty Championship, OpTic Gaming fell short, as Denial won the title. This forced a change in the ranks, with long-time OG man Nadeshot stepping down, with two-time Call of Duty Championship Winner Karma filling his boots.

With Karma, OpTic Gaming were even more successful, winning countless major titles along the way to the 2016 Call of Duty Championship. The heavy favourites again, OpTic Gaming were expected to deliver the world title after a season of dominance.

Yet again though, the Green Wall was demolished and Formal had to watch his former team, EnVyUs, lift the title instead of him. For the second year in a row, OpTic Gaming would place top 8.

Despite the defeat, OpTic Gaming decided not to make a change, confident that they had already assembled the game’s best roster. The next year was much of the same, with OpTic Gaming winning three Majors — the most of any roster on the pro circuit

This time, it was meant to be. In a year where OpTic Gaming weren’t the overwhelming favourites, the team assembled to win the world title won the world title. It was an outstanding achievement from a great team, starved of the one honor that deserted them.

OpTic Gaming finished the Infinite Warfare season having won titles in Paris, Dallas, Stage 2 in Columbus and of course, the all-important Call of Duty Championship title.



Greatest Achievement

Unquestionably Formal’s greatest achievement is his latest achievement. Lifting the Call of Duty Championship was Formal’s goal in the game. Formal didn’t just win the title though, he turned in five-days of superb Call of Duty that’ll go down in history.

The competition’s MVP was outstanding from the moment the first bullet was fired, and his stats paint the picture of a man playing at the very top of his game. At the close of play, Formal led all players in Overall K/D, Hardpoint K/D, Uplink points per game, and was second in Uplink K/D.

Formal rose to the occasion like no-other at the 2017 Call of Duty Championship and was the single most important OpTic Gaming player for almost every series spanning the five-day competition in Orlando, Florida.

After claims of wanting to go down as the best FPS player when he eventually hangs up the sticks, Formal took great strides in the right direction.



In-game

Formal is OpTic Gaming’s AR Slayer and is expecting to lead his team in kills — something he achieved to great effect at the Call of Duty Championship and in OpTic’s Stage 2 campaign.

Formal is among the most aggressive rifles in Call of Duty, and is comparable to Splyce’s Zer0 and Luminosity’s Octane in style of play.

What sets Formal apart though is the quality of his aim. The same talent that made him a winner on Halo, has made him a champion on Call of Duty as well. Precise and deadly, Formal has been the catalyst for OpTic’s success and rightly won the game’s biggest individual accolade at the 2017 Call of Duty Championship.



Public Persona

Formal has a clear vision of who he is as both a player and a person; he is a leader, a winner and a competitor first and foremost. This drive and determination largely defines his character, although even by his own acknowledgement, behind closed doors he can be a goofball.

As a long-time member of OpTic Gaming and one of the best players in Call of Duty, understandably Formal has amassed a sizeable social media following. He has 700,000 Twitter followers, making him one of the most popular stars in the whole of Call of Duty. Brief forays into YouTube and Twitch have been highly successful, despite being inconsistent.

Compared to some of his counterparts, Formal has barely even scratched the surface of YouTube, uploading a handful of videos since starting his channel three years ago. Despite that, his following is over 250,000 — an enviable amount to almost any aspiring content creator but just part a parcel of being OpTic Formal.

Jim Maguire, Director of TCM-Gaming had this to say:  “Launching SCUF Gaming as our latest partner while our Ghosts squad are playing at the Activision Cod World Championships in Los Angeles is perfect timing. Providing our guys with the best equipment money can buy in the biggest tournament on the planet has to be a winner. We are looking forward to working closely with Scuf over the coming months. - See more at: http://www.tcm-gaming.net/articles/News/TCM-Gaming/918/TCM-Gaming-partners-with-SCUF-Gaming/#sthash.2m3ygNDg.dpuf “

 



 

Used by over 85% of Pro-Gamers for Shooters, the SCUF Controller is an essential professional grade gaming accessory that enables gamers to take advantage of clever features like our patented paddles, trigger mechanisms and optional extras. SCUF Controllers have become the Pro Gamers choice to aid their game play, while reducing the risk of obtaining hand injuries caused by compromising actions like CLAW Grip.

 

 

Duncan Ironmonger, CEO & Co-Founder Scuf Gaming: “As many of you may know TCM has been one of Europe’s top Call Of Duty teams for sometime now. We have always had an unofficial affiliation with them because their players have been users of SCUF controllers since the early days of Scuf Gaming. It's great to finally solidify the partnership and openly promote together. Our focus has always been helping support players and the community so announcing this partnership at the COD Championship Finals is very apt"

 

 

ABOUT SCUF GAMING: A Company focused on providing “tactical gear for elite gamers”. It all started in 2010 – until the SCUF was invented gamers could only use compromising techniques like CLAW to play with more of their hand. Using patented back paddles, which mimic the front buttons, Scuf Gaming made it possible to display more dexterity is a safe, ergonomic way. Scuf Gaming now has access to over 23 patents, 4 of which are granted patents – offering features such as adjustable hair triggers, trigger stops, military grade SCUF Grip and optional domed or concave SCUF sticks. SCUF Controllers are legally approved for use at most major competitions to include MLG, EGL, WGL, G-finity, Reflex, UMG, ESL, etc. When we designed the SCUF, our focus was to reduce unnecessary latency in hand movement and allow experienced gamers to game for longer while using more of their hand in a safe and ergonomic way. Scuf gaming also sell a variety of accessories and apparel specifically designed for Elite Gamers.

 

For more information please visit www.scufgaming.com

 

PRESS RELEASE: June 6, 2016 – Five (5) years after inventing several additional core functions for a Gaming Controller and creating a new market space for professional controller/ input devices, Scuf Gaming through Ironburg Inventions (Invention/ Patent Subsidiary) talks more openly about its mid-term product strategy, as its count is extended to twenty-one (21) issued patents. On 31st May 2016 the USPTO issued Utility Patent No 9,352,229 B2, which relates to a hand held input device for controlling video games or other interactive systems with a plurality of additional detachable controls located on the back of the controller, ranging from individual elongated members to mounting plates which can activate magnetic switches, sensors or microswitches.

CEO & Founder of Scuf Gaming and Ironburg Inventions, Duncan Ironmonger says, “Since Day 1, our strategy has always been to create a new market space by rethinking and improving how gamers use their hands to ergonomically control Input Devices. Starting with Gaming Controllers, we have focused on five (5) key areas to help improve performance and dexterity while increasing hand use and comfort – most people know these as SCUF controllers and while we are delighted by our success, this is only the beginning. With the evolution of the gaming industry and explosion in eSports, SCUF is able to leverage its IP and evolve into several new areas. I’m extremely proud and excited of what we have achieved and this is possibly our most important patent milestone to date because of how it helps lock down and protect our INPUT DEVICE strategy for Console, PC, Mobile, Tablet and VR."

Over the past five (5) years, Scuf Gaming (through Ironburg Inventions Ltd) has been issued over twenty-one (21) patents with another thirty-eight (38) pending of which many are in areas that bridge future input devices. In October 2015, Scuf Gaming (together with Patent subsidiary, Ironburg Inventions, Ltd) signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft Corporation, providing Microsoft rights to use SCUF’s intellectual property to create the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller.

For additional information please visit scufgaming.com.

About Scuf Gaming:
Scuf Gaming® is a Global Leader and Innovator in eSports, providing Tactical Gear for Elite Gamers where more than 90% of the world’s top professional gamers in shooters use a SCUF. Selling high-end accessories and customized gaming controllers for PC and Console, SCUF offers a number of functional and design features custom built to increase hand use and improve gameplay. Built to specification, SCUF controllers cater to professional and hardcore gamers who are looking for that edge and recognize that one size does not fit all. The primary focus for SCUF controllers are the functional features, which go toward improving your game, allowing you to reduce latency and use more of your hand in a safe and ergonomic way. The SCUF controller has features, which are covered by 21 granted patents, and another 38 pending; protecting 3 key areas of a controller; back control functions and handles, trigger control mechanisms and thumbstick control area. Scuf Gaming is the official controller partner of major gaming leagues, CWL, MLG, ESL, Gfinity, EGL and UMG. With operations and production in North America and Europe, Scuf Gaming also provides a variety of accessories and apparel specifically designed for Elite Gamers.

This week’s profile looks at FaZe Clan’s Thomas ‘ZooMaa’ Paparratto.

Origins

Once derided as primarily an online player, ZooMaa first began to build a name for himself as a Search and Destroy specialist. During Call of Duty Ghosts, he began to transition into playing respawn game modes as well and attending his first events.

Having qualified for Season 2 of the MLG CoD League, ZooMaa’s squad were acquired by Denial. Although the squad qualified for the international playoffs at MLG Anaheim, a last-place finish prompted a major team shuffle, with the squad rebuilt around ZooMaa.

The new team – now featuring prominent pro players Renato ‘Saints’ Forza, James ‘Replays’ Crowder and Jeremy ‘StuDyy’ Astacio, was an instant success, picking up victory at UMG Dallas on their very first outing together. Despite now being surrounded by high-profile names, ZooMaa continued to distinguish himself as a potential superstar.

It was in Advanced Warfare, however, that he completed his ascent to becoming one of Call of Duty’s superstars. After transitioning with Denial into the new season, ZooMaa would move to Team EnVyUs for a stint before finding himself on FaZe Clan.

The first iteration of the FaZe squad challenged the dominant OpTic Gaming in a couple of finals, but didn’t look in much danger of actually toppling them. After losing in the grand finals of the MLG Pro League Season 2 Playoffs, ZooMaa and Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt teamed up with Denial duo and World Champions James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks and Dillon ‘Attach’ Price.

The squad would go undefeated against the previously indomitable OpTic for the rest of the season, picking up three championships during which ZooMaa himself was praised as one of the best players in the world.

Current team

ZooMaa remains a member of that FaZe Clan squad today, although recently the team have been through their first team change in over two years. Despite their success towards the end Advanced Warfare, the team had a much less successful year on Black Ops 3. Though results picked up noticeably in Infinite Warfare, as the year progressed the team remained without a championship win.

Things finally came to a head after a top-16 finish at CWL Anaheim, and a change had to be made. To some controversy, it was James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks on the chopping block, with Peirce ‘Gunless’ Hillman, one of the rising talents behind eUnited’s success, brought in as a replacement.

The new FaZe roster was unable to pick up its first trophy on its debut, instead coming in at 5th/6th at the Global Pro League Stage Two Playoffs. The squad were arguably unfortunate to run into both eventual grand finalists EnVyUs and OpTic Gaming, but the placement leaves the team still looking to prove themselves as they head into this year’s Call of Duty Championships.

Greatest achievement

With multiple trophies to his name, it’s difficult to isolate a single greatest achievement for ZooMaa. It’s easier to narrow down a time period – between the formation of the FaZe Clan roster that held until recently, and the end of the Advanced Warfare season.

During that time, ZooMaa helped to push his squad to three major championship victories, taking down the god-squad of OpTic Gaming in all three grand finals. ZooMaa was arguably in his prime on an individual level, and the team became the first to ever deny OpTic Gaming of multiple trophies.

If a single event were to be selected, however, it would probably be the Gfinity Summer Championship. Offering a $50,000 first place prize – one of the biggest pay-outs of the year outside of the Call of Duty Championships – it was only the second event the then-new FaZe had competed at.

Having previously won UMG Dallas, the squad were looking to prove that they weren’t a one-hit wonder, that they could go toe-to-toe with OpTic on a consistent basis. The two teams would meet in an epic best-of-seven final in which FaZe came back from a 1-3 deficit to win 4-3. The match was an instant classic, and also the first time OpTic had fallen short at consecutive events since the addition of Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter and Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper.

In-game

In his rise to the top, ZooMaa quickly developed a reputation as one of the fastest players in the game. While he’s experimented with an Assault Rifle at times, ZooMaa is at his best with an SMG in his hands.

Particularly during Advanced Warfare, ZooMaa was a player to get up in the enemy’s face and force as many interactions as possible, making space for his team and drawing attention away from the dominant riflers. In prime form, ZooMaa would become a one-man wrecking ball, not only taking more fights than any other player but winning most of them as well, almost single-handedly forcing back opponents.

In Search and Destroy, he became known for this aggressive behaviour that it practically became a meme: everyone knew the “ZooMaa flank” was coming, but he retained a remarkably high success rate nonetheless.

Today, ZooMaa is a little more conservative in his play, having amassed more experience at the highest level and learnt when it’s better to reign in the aggression.

Public persona

Like almost all Call of Duty professional players, ZooMaa is no stranger to a range of social media sites. His largest following is to be found on Twitter, boasting more than 278,000 followers, though ZooMaa hasn’t dedicated quite so much time to content creation for sites like YouTube and Twitch as some of his fellow competitors. An active Instagram makes up his second most popular account, with over 138,000 followers.

Unlike some, ZooMaa generally isn’t a particularly divisive or controversial figure. Typically coming across as humble and honest in interviews, even those who may support fierce rivals are rarely found with a bad word to say about ZooMaa on a personal level.

PRESS RELEASE: Scuf Gaming partners with TeamKaliber and releases the ‘TeamKaliber HYBRID’ Team Controller – September 23th, 2013

Scuf Gaming is delighted to partner with TeamKaliber Gaming and release the all-new ‘TeamKaliber HYBRID’ team controller. Used by over 85% of Pro-Gamers for Shooters, the SCUF Controller is an essential professional grade gaming accessory that enables gamers to take advantage of clever features like paddles, trigger mechanisms and optional extras. SCUF Controllers have become the Pro Gamers choice to aid their game play, while reducing the risk of obtaining hand injuries caused by compromising actions like CLAW Grip.

Jimmy aka Chaosxsilencer “We are truly excited to announce our partnership with SCUF. To be able to partner up with the #1 Controller Company in gaming is truly an honor for us. The name TeamKaliber already resonates as family within our organization and it is always about the team as opposed to the individual, so having a SCUF TeamKaliber Controller is very special to us. It represents all aspects of the TeamKaliber organization and what we stand for. We look forward to the partnership and relationship with everyone at SCUF and are excited about the future. “

Duncan Ironmonger, CEO & Co-Founder Scuf Gaming, said “Its great to be working with TeamKaliber who, although a relatively new organization, built a very strong competitive presence in the Call Of Duty scene. In a short time TeamKaliber have built an impressive and loyal following and we are excited for the upcoming year.”

ABOUT SCUF GAMING: Until the SCUF was invented in 2010, gamers could only use compromising techniques like CLAW to play with more of their hand. Using back paddles, which mimic the front buttons, Scuf Gaming has made it possible to display more dexterity is a safe, ergonomic way. Scuf Gaming also offer features such as adjustable hair triggers, trigger stops, military grade SCUF Grip and optional domed or concave sticks. SCUF Controllers are legally approved for use at most major competitions to include MLG, EGL, WGL, G-finity, Reflex, UMG, ESL, etc. When we designed the SCUF, our focus was to reduce unnecessary latency in hand movement and allow experienced gamers to game for longer while using more of their hand in a safe and ergonomic way. We believe the paddles and adjustable hair triggers are a great advancement for Console Gaming and are ideal for gamers to display their skill and dexterity and pull off more exciting gameplays which in turn will increase audience interest!” For more information please visit www.scufgaming.com