When discussing the European competitive Call of Duty scene, it is extremely hard not to mention 20 year old Callum “Swanny” Swan.
To many in the community, Swanny is regarded as one of the best players to have ever picked up a controller and with several tournament victories under his belt, who could really argue with that statement?!
During the outset of his playing career, Swanny was immediately recognised as one of the most talented Call of Duty players to emerge from Europe. Within an astonishingly short period of time, the young Englishmen had already made significant impact into the competitive scene, earning the title of ‘best M16 shot in Europe’.
As time progressed, so did his reputation and by Black Ops I, Swanny had cemented himself amongst the top competitors within Europe. While attending the first event of the season, ECL 1, Swanny managed to secure a respectable 4th place finish alongside his fellow Power Gaming teammates, South, U4EA and Pacino.
Over the next few tournaments, Swanny managed to consistently achieve a top 12 placement and soon after, he found himself upon the Prophecy squad, teaming with Sowerz, fellow veteran GunShy and vapeZ. Within their first event together, Prop managed to achieve a top 3 finish, only falling behind a dominant apex.NA team and the Western Wolves.
More recently, one of Swanny’s most notable achievements took place at the 2013 Call of Duty World Championship. Suprisingly, within this particular tournament, Swanny ended up representing an Italian Team, Inferno eSports, consisting of Lukman, Donny and Ko1gaa. However, under his guidance, Inferno managed to catch several teams off guard, as they overcame the likes of Fariko.Allstars and SoaR. Their loss to OpTic Gaming in the lower bracket guaranteed the organisation a top 8 finish, along with a sizable $25,000. Yet, for Swanny, the event more importantly showcased his talent, leadership and potential to a worldwide audience.
After spending a large majority of his competitive career as a member of Prophecy, Swanny was forced to seek out a new organisation following the news of Proph’s departure from the community. As a result, Swanny promptly found himself upon Epsilon eSports at our second Call of Duty event held in October 2013.
For this event, Epsilon consisted of ShAnE, Swanny, GunShy (picking up for MadCat due to age restrictions) and Jurd. Despite establishing an impressive 2-0 lead against one of the most successful teams in CoD eSports history, CompLexity, Epsilon were unable to shut out the series and consequently lost 3-2 after a thrilling encounter in the final.
Swanny went on to represent Epsilon for the entire season of Call of Duty: Ghosts, reiterating his title as one of the best AR players in Europe, while also dominating the European scene.
After expressing his desire to pursue a career in the United States, Swanny was released by Epsilon and consequently joined OpTic Nation in time for UMG Orlando. This made Swanny the second European player to join an American team – The first player being MadCat, who joined Team Elevate.
Although OpTic Nation only managed to secure a top 12 placement at the event, the team showed incredible promise, considering they only had played together for a few weeks. In addition to this, Swanny personally proved himself amongst the world’s best competitors, amassing an impressive 1.26 K/D over the weekend.
Unfortunately, due to his ineligibility to compete in the US qualifiers for this year’s Call of Duty World Championship, Swanny was released from OpTic Nation. As a result, Swanny returned home to the UK and announced he will be competing under Epsilon eSports once again. However, as stated by Swanny himself, the reunion is only temporary, as he hopes to compete in the US again.
In my honest opinion, after following Swanny’s career since its inception, he is undoubtedly the best AR player in Europe and one of the best in the entire world. His relentless dedication, loyalty and skill makes him one of the greatest assets an organisation can have.
If you have enjoyed reading the article, make sure to follow me on Twitter: @MrJonno_95
Keep up-to-date with all the latest gaming and eSports news via our Twitter: @GfinityOnline
More articles from our friends over at ZergNet can be found by clicking the images below.