The pre-Global Pro League Stage Two rostermania was expected to be an entertaining one, but it turned out to be almost uneventful. However, one high-profile roster swap made the anticipation worth it.

FaZe Clan dropped team captain James “Clayster” Eubanks and swapped him out for Pierce “Gunless” Hillman. This was the first roster change for FaZe in over two years, leaving OpTic Gaming as the longest standing roster in competitive Call of Duty. Mindfreak would have that honor, but they played without Denholm “Denz” Taylor for Stage One of the Global Pro League before picking him up again. Clayster took Gunless’ place on eUnited.

In their announcement, FaZe called Gunless “Call of Duty’s fastest rising talent”, which is supported by the fact that Gunless’ resume was not very impressive before Infinite Warfare. This year, though, he managed to win CWL Atlanta with eUnited and was named MVP in that tournament.

Gunless’ position with eUnited had been on the bench since the Stage One playoffs when eUnited placed 5th-6th and he decided to explore other options as a result.

“I brought this up to my organization that I had offers on the table and I wanted to explore them and I tried to come to a decision with them peacefully but they wouldn’t budge and wouldn’t allow me to leave for a better team that could benefit my career a lot,” he said in a Twitlonger post.

While he was not yet free to join another team, Gunless chose not to play with his eUnited teammates from that point on and did not play at CWL Anaheim.

Clayster joining eUnited was not entirely a surprise. After Stage One playoffs, where FaZe placed third, Clayster teamed with eUnited and they played under the alternative alias “Billy has no thumbs” for an MLG 2K series, and won. But later at CWL Anaheim, Clayster was still with FaZe and eUnited used Michael “Swarley” Carter as a substitute.

Neither FaZe nor eUnited had the tournament they wanted at CWL Anaheim. FaZe placed 13th-16th while eUnited finished 9th-12th, both severely lower than the teams had done in earlier LAN events. Both teams, however, have been on the brink of being the best in Infinite Warfare throughout the season and one of them may now be able to claim that title.

In a year where no team has consistently been a favorite to win, the roster swap between FaZe and eUnited is an effort to improve team chemistry before the home stretch of the Infinite Warfare season.

Stage Two of the Global Pro League starts on June 30th and concludes with playoffs at the end of July. On August 9th, the CWL Championship begins in Orlando, Florida.

How do you expect FaZe and eUnited to perform with their new rosters? Comment below!

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Image: eUnited Twitter