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In this special series of in-depth articles, Esports News UK, in collaboration with the betting partner GGBET UK, delves into the stories, moments, and personalities that have left a lasting impression on the past, present, and future of the UK esports scene.
In this article, Call of Duty reporter and Esports Journalist of the Year finalist Jacob Hale presents his five best Call of Duty players from the UK and Ireland.
While Call of Duty esports has been heavily dominated by North America for just about its entire existence, there have been some players from this side of the pond that have managed to make their mark on the franchise.
CoD has a storied history in UK esports, from both a casual and competitive standpoint, but has long lived in the shadow of the United States of America.
With names like Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag bringing Call of Duty to the forefront and helping evolve the esport, it’s always been hard for players outside of NA to push their way in, which is why it’s even more special when those from other regions manage to break those barriers.
But who in the UK did it best? Here’s our list.
5. Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren
There are a number of names that could fill the slots between around four to seven if we were to make this a top 10 (more on that in our honourable mentions down below). There are several veteran names that have helped elevate our scene to greater heights, but Tommey (pictured, top) was a monumental success in the EU scene, especially on his Millenium team, being the most successful European player at EU events.
Not only that, but he went on to become the most successful worldwide player in Call of Duty battle royale hit Warzone, too, as the only player (at the time of writing) to have surpassed the $500,000 earnings mark since the game launched in 2020.
4. Jordan ‘Jurd’ Crowley
It’s only a recent development that NA and EU players mix on teams so freely, and just a few years ago, it was very rare to see cross-regional teams — but one player that many always said could have easily cut it with the very best in North America is Jurd.
An aggressive submachine gun player, this Irishman had the entire European scene on lock throughout the majority of his career, and was no doubt held back by not getting to practice with and compete against the very best players every day.
3. Jamie ‘Insight’ Craven
The youngest player on this list and the newest to the pro scene, Insight made an immediate impact on Toronto Ultra when he was promoted to the starting roster in Black Ops Cold War to replace Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni, putting up MVP-level performances from day one and making the team instant championship contenders.
They went on to win Major 2 that 2021 season — the first event he attended with them — and was battling for the top spot all year. Since then, he’s won multiple championships with the Ultra and placed second at the Call of Duty Championship 2023.
2. Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris
Zer0 had arguably the highest peak of any player in UK Call of Duty history during the Infinite Warfare season, including being named MVP at the CWL Stage 1 Playoffs 2017.
At the time he was right up there in the “best assault rifle in the world” conversations with the likes of Samuel ‘Octane’ Larew and Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper, two certified legends of the esport.
Zer0’s career started to wind down after visa issues prevented him from playing at the start of the 2021 Cold War season and he struggled to find the form of yesteryear, before finally announcing his retirement after the 2023 season to pursue content creation.
1. Ben ‘Bance’ Bance
Bance has had a turbulent career in almost every regard. Coming up in the jetpack era, he was one of the hottest prospects in Europe, clearly destined for greatness, and was quick to rise up the ranks after he started competing in Advanced Warfare.
In 2016, he helped lead Splyce to the COD Champs grand final, just falling short to Team Envy who were on near-perfect form, and battled through the pro league for several more years before finally finding his feet once again in the Cold War Toronto Ultra team alongside Insight.
After winning Major 2 that year, Bance revealed that he was close to retiring, worried that he was no longer capable of competing at the top level, but that longevity and the ability to lead his squad to compete against that formidable Atlanta FaZe side is something that not many players in the world could have done.
Notable mentions
Obviously, a list like this feels incomplete without certain big names. Joshua ‘Joshh’ Shepherd and Dylan ‘MadCat’ Daly were instrumental to the earliest days of UK COD success and had long careers that saw them bring us the likes of Zer0 and Bance at their very best. Along with Tommey, Jurd, and Callum ‘Swanny’ Swan, they ran the EU scene in the pre-CDL era.
Then you have someone like Thomas ‘Dylan’ Henderson, a young Northern Irish player who was an unplayable beast in Black Ops 4, one of the highest peaks in EU CoD history, right up there with Zer0 — unfortunately it just didn’t last as long as he would have hoped.
There is a plethora of incredible talent in the UK and Ireland that has the potential to do some real damage in the Call of Duty League, and while many players have, it certainly feels as though the best could still be yet to come.
Stay tuned for more articles powered by GGBET UK soon. See more UK esports history content here:
