Winning a World Championship changes everything. For Amer "Pred" Zulbeari, that moment arrived at the 2024 Call of Duty League (CDL) Championship, where he helped OpTic Texas hoist the trophy in front of a home crowd that sounded more like a riot than a fanbase. He was the MVP. Honestly, it wasn't even a surprise to most people who actually watch the tape. Pred has this weird, almost supernatural ability to be exactly where he shouldn't be, according to the enemy team.
He’s a predator. Literally.
The Pred Call of Duty Playstyle: Why It’s Actually Terrifying
If you've played a pub match and got frustrated by a "camper," you aren't understanding what Pred does. He is often called a "lurker," but that feels too passive. Most SMG players in the CDL, guys like Hydra or Abezy, are known for their "entry" pace. They run in, break cameras, and rely on pure, raw reaction time to bail them out of bad situations. Pred is different. He plays with a level of patience that honestly tilts his opponents before the map is even halfway over.
He waits.
He sits in a corner of the map that has been "cleared" for ten seconds, wait for the rotation, and then kills two people in the back. It’s a specific brand of Pred Call of Duty mastery that involves high-level game sense and an ego-less approach to kills. He doesn't care if he's the one sliding out first. He cares about the multi-kill that breaks the opponent's spirit.
During the Modern Warfare III season, his stats were absurd. We're talking about a guy who consistently puts up a 1.10 or 1.20 K/D (Kill/Death ratio) while playing the most volatile role in the game. In a league where the average SMG player struggles to stay "even," Pred treats a 1.0 K/D like a failure. It’s not just about hitting shots—though his recoil control on the Rival-9 or the BP50 was surgical—it’s about the "routes."
Routes are the invisible paths players take across a map like 6-Star or Rio. While most players take the shortest path to the objective, Pred takes the long way. He goes through the water. He climbs a ledge no one is watching. By the time the casters realize where he is, the round is already over.
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The Australian Pipeline and the Seattle Surge Era
A lot of fans forget that Pred didn't start in the US. He came from the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region. For years, the North American scene looked down on Australian players. They thought the competition was "soft." Then Pred arrived at Seattle Surge in 2022 during the Vanguard season.
He won Rookie of the Year. It wasn't even close.
Alongside Sib, Mack, and Accuracy, Pred turned a struggling Seattle franchise into a giant-slayer. They won Vanguard Major 3, and Pred became the first Australian to ever win a Major in the CDL era. That win wasn't a fluke. It was a warning. He proved that the "Oceanic" style of play—which relies heavily on fundamentals and "out-smarting" rather than just "out-aiming"—could dominate the world stage.
Breaking Down the OpTic Texas Transition
When Pred joined OpTic Texas for the 2024 season, the pressure was suffocating. OpTic is the Dallas Cowboys of esports. If you win, you’re a god. If you lose, the "Green Wall" (the fans) will let you know about it every single second on X (formerly Twitter).
Joining a roster with Shotzzy, Dashy, and Kenny was a gamble. People wondered: "Is there enough room for all these stars?"
The answer was a resounding yes, but it took time. Early in the season, the team looked disjointed. Pred was accused of being "too slow." Critics said he was "stat-padding"—basically staying alive too long while his teammates died. But the team stuck to the process. Head coach Karma (the three-time world champ) knew what he had.
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By the time Champs rolled around in July, the Pred Call of Duty experience was fully optimized. He found the balance between his signature lurking and the aggressive "roam" style that Shotzzy requires from a duo. When they beat the New York Subliners in the Grand Finals, it was a coronation. Pred ended the weekend with the MVP trophy, and suddenly, the "too slow" narrative vanished.
What You Can Learn From Pred’s Mechanics
If you want to play like Pred, you have to stop sprinting. Seriously.
One of the biggest mistakes in Call of Duty is "sprint-to-fire" lag. If you are always running, you will always lose to the guy who is already aimed down sights (ADS). Pred is a master of "centering." This is the art of keeping your crosshairs exactly where an enemy’s head will be before you even see them.
He also uses "snaking" effectively, though it's a controversial mechanic. Snaking involves crouching and standing up rapidly behind a head-glitch (a piece of cover where only your head shows). It makes you nearly impossible to hit while giving you a constant stream of information. Pred doesn't just snake to be annoying; he snakes to bait the enemy into shooting, revealing their position for his teammates.
- Patience over Pace: Don't always take the direct line to the Hardpoint.
- Audio Cues: Pred plays with his volume high enough to hear a pin drop. He listens for "dead silence" pops or mantling sounds.
- Trigger Discipline: Sometimes, seeing an enemy doesn't mean you should shoot. If you see one, wait. There might be three. Pred waits for the third.
The Future: Black Ops 6 and Beyond
With Black Ops 6 and its "Omnimovement" system, the game is changing. Diving and sliding in 360 degrees is going to make the game faster than ever. Some experts wonder if Pred’s "patient" style will work when everyone is flying around like they’re in an action movie.
Personally? I think he’ll thrive.
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The faster a game gets, the more people make mistakes. Pred feasts on mistakes. When a young "cracked" player slides around a corner without checking their flank, Pred will be there, sitting in a dark corner, ready to ruin their day. He has the "clutch gene." You can't teach that. In 1v2 or 1v3 situations, his heart rate barely seems to move.
Pred isn't just a player; he’s a student of the game's code. He knows the spawns. He knows exactly how long it takes to run from Point A to Point B. That’s why he’s a World Champion.
Actionable Insights for Competitive Play
If you're looking to improve your own game based on the Pred Call of Duty philosophy, start with these three adjustments. First, record your gameplay and watch your deaths. Most of the time, you died because you were sprinting when you should have been walking. Second, learn the "secondary" routes on every map. If the whole lobby is fighting in the middle, find the flank that takes 10 seconds longer but puts you behind the enemy. Finally, work on your centering. Stop looking at the floor while you run. Keep your reticle at chest height at all times. Consistency is what separates a Diamond player from a Pro, and Pred is the king of consistency.
Stop trying to be the fastest player on the map. Try to be the most inevitable one.