UK esports organisation Lightning Pandas have acquired a professional Call of Duty roster
Parent company and digital communications agency Kairos Media announced the acquisition of the roster ahead of the first event of the Call of Duty World League season: CWL Dallas Open.
The roster is as follows:
- Jevon “Goonjar” Gooljar
- Matthew “Royalty” Faithfull
- Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado
- John “Xotic” Bruno
This team join the Lightning Pandas as the tenth seed in North America and will compete within the open bracket of the tournament.
The Canadian-based team are the Lightning Pandas’ third acquisition since the organisation relaunched in September.
“As one of the founding members of the Lightning Pandas, I’m excited to return to the competitive Call of Duty community and take the organisation back to its roots.”
Michael Craddock, Lightning Pandas
This announcement follows the signing of UK FIFA player Sean “Dragonn” Allen, who recently qualified for the first event of the FIFA 18 Global Series as the fourth highest rated player on the Xbox One, and YouTuber Jamie “Bateson” Bateson.
Rahul Uppal, esports manager at Kairos, said: “Following the successful relaunch of the Lightning Pandas, the concept of returning to Call of Duty was one we we’re keen to explore, however, we wanted to ensure we returned in the correct manner with a team who shared our ambitions as an organisation.
“As a result, I’m delighted to welcome Royalty and co. to their new home.”
Michael Craddock, co-founder at Kairos and CEO of the Lightning Pandas, added: “As one of the founding members of the Lightning Pandas, I’m excited to return to the competitive Call of Duty community and take the organisation back to its roots.
“Call of Duty has been one of the most influential titles in my career and I look forward to a new chapter.”
The Lightning Pandas have returned to @CallofDuty! ⚡️?
We’re delighted to welcome @SaugaRoyalty, @Goonjar, @Proto626 and @Xotic16 to the organisation.https://t.co/Q3Fgd2bVGx pic.twitter.com/tcGRgUjYd3— Lightning Pandas (@LightningPandaz) December 7, 2017
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
