Call of Duty Champs is rapidly approaching, eight teams will be competing for the title of best in the world.
Almost the champions of the 2023 finals, Toronto Ultra are returning this year and eager to earn their victory.
With a nominee for Rookie of the Year in 2021, Ultra’s Jamie “Insight” Craven is known for his slower-paced and methodical gameplay, serving as a foundation for his team.
Insight always comes prepared to win by including meticulous pre-game routines like stretching and breathing. He acts as an anchor for his team’s contrasting playstyles because of his well thought out plans.
Hungry for his shot at redemption in 2024, Insight will do whatever it takes to get Toronto Ultra their victory.
Insight uses a SCUF Reflex, and swears by Reflex’s ability to keep his movement and aim clean without having to take his thumbs off the thumbsticks.
“As a professional player, SCUF Paddles not only enhance my accuracy and response time but also contribute to consistent performances.”
Read the full video transcript
My name is Jamie Craven, also known as Insight. I'd say my style of play is a bit more slow, a bit more methodical. Let the game come to me. I'm the backbone of the team, you know, I'm the one that's picking up the pieces when things are starting to go wrong.
I play for the Toronto Ultra, a team alongside Scrappy, CleanX, and Envoy. Scrappy is the in-your-face AR, getting all the kills. You got Dylan who's more of like a route man, so to say, CleanX he's just a run and gun crazy guy. The complete opposites in game, so you know what they say, opposites attract. We're kind of like a married couple at this point, when it comes to playing.
I use a SCUF controller. I use the Reflex Pro. I actually use the new Toronto Ultra one. You know, being able to just do extra things in-game that you can't do on a default controller, it's so huge and it's something that’s been implemented in my muscle memory now. As a pro player over the 10 years I've played now, I've always used a SCUF. It's just an amazing controller, feels great in my hands.
I've got a couple hand stretches that I'll do every day before I pick up a controller. You know, you got to prolong the money makers. For every role on the team someone has a loadout, you know I use an AR. I use the MCW, so my layout on the SCUF controller is just default, default. I'm a very default guy when it comes to in game. I don't change anything, you know it comes with four paddles but I only use two. That's just mainly to jump and slide. In this game that we play right now, sliding is a huge thing so I've been able to slide on the right paddle while aiming, It's just a huge advantage for me. Taking your thumb off the aiming stick so you can't shoot someone at the same time as sliding is just so crucial in game.
We lost in the 2023 Grand Finals. My second time making it to Champs finals. You know you’re playing against the top teams in the world, everyone's like living and dying for this moment. We managed to get to the finals, there were some close maps but at the end of the day we didn't close out any of them. But to be so close it's almost heartbreaking. At the same time it also motivates you to be a better you, come back stronger so you don't experience that feeling ever again.
I would describe this season as consistent. I feel like our strengths as a team is we've always been trying to get better. Our weakness is probably consistency in Search and Destroy has been up and down. You got to make sure you come out of every day being better as a team. The focus of scrim for every team is it's always dynamic, it's always changing, but it's always making sure you’re taking that 1% goal or step towards that goal at the end of the year of Champs. They're the things that help you as a team.
I'd say the biggest thing for me mentally preparing for a tournament is just meditation. With the way I play with letting the game come to me, I make way more calmer, cooler, collected decisions in game. When I sit down I'll do some like box breathing or 478, something to just slow the heart rate a little bit. And then it's kind of like a minute pause. Then game starts. Then you've got a 30-second countdown where you're just like “all right boys.” It's just you and the team talking about how like “let's go, let's do this.” And then as soon as that 30 seconds is up it's go time. As soon as the map starts I feel like all the noise just disappears and you just kind of get into your own mind and just lock in. All I can see in my peripheral vision is just the screen and it feels like I'm one with the screen. You don't think about it, it's just second nature. It's just happening.
Yeah, as soon as the game finishes the series finishes there's definitely this rush of emotions where you take off this headset. If you win it's kind of like euphoric experience I describe it as. If you lose a game and you lose a series for example you just lost Champs finals. You take the headset off, you kind of lean back in your chair, look up in the sky and like you can just hear the crowd cheering for the other team. And it kind of just like there's this like pit in your stomach that just feels like a void of just like sadness. Like all kinds of emotions going through your head at that moment.
This game, this league has given me this opportunity to live a life that I could never dream of. You know I have the moments where I sit there and I kind of pinch myself where it's like you know it's definitely something I'll never take for granted.
