Humber Esports Call of Duty (CoD) have a new look, new players and a new coach. But there are a few familiar faces.
They are currently seeded at 10 in the Northeast Great Lakes division of the College CoD League (CCL). The first match is Feb. 25 against Akron Club.
Gavin Kainth, the veteran of the CoD team, has returned for another season.
Kainth said he was excited about his veteran role as it invites new competition.
“It’s always great to see new people come and show their passion towards the game, my feeling towards being a veteran of the team is welcoming,” he said
Another welcoming face to Humber Esports is Marcus Macapinlac, the team's new coach. But he isn’t new to the Humber Esports family. He played for their varsity Valorant team from 2023-2024.
Macapinlac said he learned how to make a team and how it should function.
“With that valuable insight and experience, I’ve applied a lot of it to my coaching, creating a team environment I can be proud of,” he said
“There are a lot of fundamentals that can be applied to each, and with having years of prior experience competing in CoD, I found the switch from Valorant to coaching CoD to be pretty seamless,” he said.
Macapinlac said he started his esports career through Call of Duty but stopped because he enjoyed Valorant more.
“I played for Humber’s CoD team before they became the official Humber Esports Program they are today, but my career in esports started in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” he said
“I found myself enjoying Valorant a lot. So after I stopped competing in Call of Duty Vanguard in 2022,” Macapinlac said.
He said he learned how to make a team and how it should function.
“With that valuable insight and experience, I’ve applied a lot of it to my coaching, creating a team environment I can be proud of,” Macapinlac said
In doing so he has created an environment where players can get along.
Brooklyn Palad, the most experienced team member, said the team chemistry never had an awkward period.
“No matter what we always cracked jokes and got along, there wasn't a real weird period where we didn't get along the team chem was just there off the bat,” he said.
He also said that he is happy that Marcus gets to coach while being a competitor outside of Humber.
“Macka (Marcus) has been an insane addition to the team and for sure is a goated captain. It also helps that he competed before and still does,” Palad said.
“He also can get the best out of all of us and can beat us in one, versus ones to humble us,” he said.
Marcus Macapinlac said the love is mutual and is looking for a playoff run with this squad.
“I LOVE my players, they are just about the funniest group of people I could ask for, they are talented individuals who are great at applying feedback I have for them,” he said.
“The team has come a long way and continues to improve every week and so I look forward to when the CCL playoffs begin,” he said.
He also warns the rest of the CCL to not underestimate them.
“Your first mistake will be the moment you underestimate us,” Macapinlac said.
