The groups have recently been announced for Gfinity's first Spring Masters Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare event! 16 teams are congregating on London from all corners of the globe, to battle it out with one another in the hopes of attaining the title of Gfinity Champions as well as a slice of the $25,000 prize pool on offer. Tickets are available now to catch the event live this weekend in London, at Gfinity's own arena.

We've discussed all four groups in depth individually, predicting who will go through and which teams will shine during the early stages of the tournament. You can view them all below.

• Call of Duty Spring Masters I: Group A Predictions
• Call of Duty Spring Masters I: Group B Predictions
• Call of Duty Spring Masters I: Group C Predictions
• Call of Duty Spring Masters I: Group D Predictions

Now, it's time to get down to the business of winning. By winning, we mean the Call of Duty teams that will be locking in top 4 finishes by the end of an intense weekend of stellar Advanced Warfare play. I've gotten together with Gfinity's Community and Content Coordinator, Rahul, to chat predictions. Let us know in the comments or via Twitter just how wrong (or right!) you think our guesses are. Let's get started.

3rd/4th Place

Dan: Team Prophecy and Vitality Storm

Calling these two teams is probably the most difficult time I've had with predicting an event ever. There's such a high level of ability throughout and perfect parity between all of the lineups in certain groups - anybody could go off at any moment, whilst simultaneously anybody can flop without warning. Combine that with the fact that backet play teams are matched up against one another via random draw, and you have a tough decision to make. OpTic Nation, TCM Gaming, Team EnVy, Team Kaliber, Aware Gaming - all of these passed through my mind as in contention and I won't be at all surprised to be proven wrong here.

Team Prophecy looks like a really strong team on paper, with Aches, Apathy, AquA and Nagafen. Aches has been performing to a much higher standard of late, allowing him to take the role as playcaller and lead his roster packed with young talent to victory. We all know that Apathy is a staple for best in show during a lot of matches, and the duo of AquA and Nagafen just came 2nd at CoD Champs. As long as Aches can bring the best out in his teammates, there's no reason that they can't go this far or even further. I'm really confident in the ability of this Prophecy roster.

Vitality Storm on the other hand is somewhat of a wild card. An explosive taste of European talent with absolutely no practise to give us an indication of their ability as a unit. I've always been a big fan of Tommey, and while most wouldn't agree with me here I think that these components - Joshh, MarkyB, Reedy, and a healthy dose of motivation - is exactly what he needs to perform at his very best. If everything clicks in place, this will be a beautiful thing to behold.

Rahul: Team EnVyUs and Team Prophecy

As stated by Dan, predicting the 3^rd/4^th finalists at the inaugural Gfinity Call of Duty Masters was one of the most challenging bracket predictions I’ve made to date, due to the sheer amount of congested talent at the event. Arguably, we could easily see the likes of Strictly Business, Epsilon, TCM and even any team from Groups C and D within the top 4.  

However, I’ve opted to place Team EnVyUs and Prophecy as my two semi-finalists.

Prophecy have witnessed a number of significant roster changes within the past few months, and as a result, we are left with an entirely different roster to the one that placed 4^th of the iconic Call of Duty Championships.

Aches, Apathy, AquA and Nagafen are undoubtedly a title contending team. Individually, this roster possesses an incredible level of talent. When you combine the winningest player in competitive CoD history; Aches, with one of the most explosive players; Apathy, and two of the brightest talents from Team Revenge;  AquA and Nagafen, there is no reason why this team shouldn’t place within our predictions, if not higher.

However, as a recently constructed roster, much like Dan, I believe their success lies within the leadership abilities of Aches. If Prophecy are able to figure out their roles, teamwork and chemistry in time for the event, we could potentially witness the emergence of a new titan within the competitive scene.

While Dan’s second semi-finalist team may be considered as a ‘wild card’, I have opted to choose, what in my eyes, is a more realistic option. As much as I would like to see an underdog do well at the event, especially one of the new European rosters, realistically, I believe Team EnVyUs should progress from their Group into Bracket play.

A roster constructed of veterans, TeePee, Proofy and Merk fully understand what is required of them to place within the money, and as Teep mentioned to Dexerto, there is no reason why this roster shouldn’t finish within the top 4.

While they may be missing their most influential player; Saints, I believe a recently rejuvenated Loony is more than capable to step into his shoes and fill the slaying void, alongside Proofy.

2nd Place

Dan: Denial eSports

Denial are the Call of Duty Champions, and undoubtedly one of only two teams in contention for the title of best in show right now. I think they have the leg up on the competition in most aspects, with the ability to breeze through groups and defeat most bracket opponents without issue. Unless exceptionally unlucky in bracket pulls, Denial and OpTic will meet in the grand finals.

It could go either way, but to me it seems that Denial have lost some of that spark, some of that drive that they had during the World Championships. They're still brilliant, but OpTic shines brighter to me right now. When the two go head-to-head Denial are unlikely to have the same kind of pressure as the Green Wall, and it will likely cost them their tournament attempt.

Rahul: OpTic Gaming

Much like the majority of the community, myself and Dan predict an OpTic Gaming and Denial eSports grand final. However, while Dan believes Denial will place 2^nd, I have opted for Optic.

Although OpTic Gaming will be heading into the event off a championship winning performance at ESWC, I believe Denial will be seeking swift revenge, here in London.

My main reasoning for his decision falls under three categories. Firstly, while OpTic reiterated their dominance with Enable last weekend, they are still ultimately playing with a fill-in, and although Enable held his own throughout the majority of his time in Paris, we did see him falter slightly in the final.

Secondly, even though OpTic swept Denial 3-1 in the final at ESWC, personally, I believe the score line is more flattering than first perceived. Admittedly, OpTic did overcome Denial, however, as much as OpTic won the event, Denial lost it. Having brought the SnD to 5-5 after being down a significant amount, personally, I believe Denial carelessly lost the final round, after attempting an entire A push. In addition to this, after one of the most exciting Uplink games to date, Denial narrowly lost the CTF 4-3. Thus, on another day, we could have easily witnessed a Denial victory.

Lastly, while OpTic secured their European victory at ESWC, typically, they have a track record of performing poorly at Gfinity events. However, admittedly, this time around, several American teams have travelled directly from Paris to London, giving them plenty of time to fully adjust to the environment. Therefore, we’ll finally discover whether jet-lag played a part in OpTic previous performances in London, or whether there are other, unexplainable forces at play.

1st Place

Dan: OpTic Gaming

OpTic Gaming will be coming into this event with confidence, having won the most Advanced Warfare tournaments so far by a notable margin and having defeated Denial on equal ground just last weekend. Enable is no disadvantage for this roster, formidable in his own right. Combining this with Scump, Crimsix and Formal is essentially asking for a rather impressive tournament show reel; something that they'll no doubt deliver on over and over again this weekend. I can't see anything other than first being an option for the Green Wall.

Rahul: Denial eSports

In regards to Denial, as stated previously, I believe their recent loss at ESWC was more of a matter of them defeating themselves, as opposed to OpTic vanquishing Denial.

While the entire team will be disappointed with the defeat, there is no doubt in my mind that this loss would have hurt the ever-passionate Clayster the most, resulting in him analysing every detail, in order to ensure they never make the same mistakes again.

Although Dan states that he believes Denial have lost some of their Call of Duty Championship spark, personally, I believe the loss at ESWC has only ignited a new flame for the #WolfPack, who are now hungrier than ever to reiterate their title of World Champions.

Who do you think was right? Do you have a completely different prediction for the top 4 placings at the Gfinity Call of Duty Spring Masters I? Let us know in the comments or via Social Media!

You'll be able to catch the event LIVE from 6PM (British time) today over at MLG.tv/Gfinity.

The best Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare teams from around the world are set to compete at the Gfinity Spring Masters I, May 8-10th. You can grab tickets to spectate the entire thing live, or read up on additional information here.

Keep up to date with all the latest gaming and eSports news via our Twitter: @GfinityOnline.