#20 Neptune: Top 20 Players of Black Ops 7

The #20 player of the Black Ops 7 season is Paris Gentle Mates SMG star, Travis "Neptune" McCloud.

Neptune's season told two very different stories. In the first half of the year, he was the driving force behind the biggest moment in franchise history, helping lead the Gentle Mates to their first-ever Major title at Major I. But what started as a career-defining run took a sharp turn by Stage IV, when Neptune was benched and missed the final three tournaments of the season. Even with that late fall from the lineup, the impact he made in the months prior was enough to land him on this list to open the countdown.

Season Review

Paris Gentle Mates signed Neptune to be their entry SMG heading into Black Ops 7, joining Daniel "Ghosty" Rothe as the team's main AR, Daunte "Sib" Gray in a flex role, and Dylan "Envoy" Hannon rounding out the roster at SMG. The pairing looked sharp from the jump. Neptune came out of the gates hot in the preseason, finishing runner-up at the Monster Energy Invitational before taking the title at Kaysan's Showdown VIII, an early sign of the form he'd carry into the regular season.

That momentum carried straight into Stage I. Paris topped the Major I Qualifiers with a 5-2 record and an 18-11 map count, locking in the 1st seed heading into the event. At the Major itself, the Gentle Mates rolled through the bracket, sweeping LA Thieves 3-0 and taking down Toronto KOI 3-1, before running into OpTic Texas in the Winners Final and falling 0-3. Rather than fold, Paris fought back through the Lower Bracket, beating FaZe Vegas 3-2 to reach the Grand Final, where they got revenge on OpTic in a 4-3 thriller to claim Major I. It marked the first Major title in franchise history, with Neptune playing a central role throughout the run.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Stage II told a very different story. Paris stumbled to a 4-7 record in the Major II Qualifiers, slipping to the 10th seed and forcing the team into the Play-In bracket at the Major itself. They opened with a 3-1 win over Carolina Royal Ravens to advance, then took down Miami Heretics 3-1 in Winners Round 1. But the run stalled from there, with Paris dropping a 0-3 decision to FaZe Vegas and a 1-3 loss to Toronto KOI, eliminating them in the Top 6.

Stage III brought a modest bounce-back in qualifying, with Paris finishing 6th at 3-2 to lock in their seed for Major III. The event itself was another grind. Paris opened Pool C with a 1-3 loss to Boston Breach, forcing them into the Lower bracket, where they beat both Project Notorious 3-2 and Boston 3-1 to advance into bracket play. From there, Paris fell 0-3 to Riyadh Falcons, then won an elimination match over Miami 3-2 in the Lower Round, before their run ended with a 1-3 loss to FaZe Vegas in the next round, closing the Major with another Top 6 finish.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

The roster began to shift heading into Stage IV, with Envoy traded to G2 Minnesota before the stage began to bring in Justice "Estreal" McMillan. Neptune played just two matches in the Major IV Qualifiers, opening with a 3-0 win over Carolina before falling 0-3 to Riyadh Falcons. Shortly after, Paris acquired Joseph "JoeDeceives" Romero from Toronto KOI to take over the starting SMG spot in Neptune's place. Neptune would not play the rest of the season again, missing Major IV, the CDL Championship, and the Esports World Cup entirely.

How Good Was Neptune in 2026?

Hardpoint

Neptune was a steady, reliable presence in Hardpoint all season, finishing the year with a 1.06 K/D, 26.1 kills per 10 minutes, and 3,250 damage per 10 minutes, adding 50.2 seconds of Hill Time per 10 as well. His numbers dipped slightly on LAN, dropping to a 0.99 K/D, 24.4 kills per 10, and 3,103 damage per 10, but he saved his best for the biggest stage of his season, posting a 1.10 K/D and 27.2 kills per 10 at Major I as Paris claimed the title. Neptune ranked 3rd in the Cellium Index for Hardpoint on the year, finishing with a positive K/D in 67.6% of his maps played.

Paris was a top team in the mode during Stage I, ranking 1st in record (15-5), average margin (+53.4), hold percentage (81.5%), and break percentage (41.8%). They cooled off as the year went on, finishing 40-31 (4th best) with Neptune in the lineup, though they remained a dangerous breaking team, ranking 3rd in break percentage (29.7%), 2nd in points per break opportunity (15.2), and 2nd in break efficiency (25.6%). Paris was especially lethal on the small map Colossus, going 13-6 with Neptune and a +24.3 average margin.

Search & Destroy

Neptune's overall Search & Destroy numbers were fairly modest, finishing the year with a 0.93 K/D, 0.69 kills per round, 98.4 ADR, and a 49.2% opening duel win rate. Interestingly, his play improved on LAN, where he posted a 1.02 K/D, 0.71 kills per round, 96.2 ADR, a 41.0% opening duel win rate, and 6 total clutches. His standout performance came at Major I, where he was Paris's best SND player by a wide margin, going off for a 1.23 K/D and 0.78 kills per round to go along with three massive clutches, including two 1v2s and a 1v3, during the Gentle Mates' title run.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

As a team, Paris was below average in SND, going 24-31 in the mode with Neptune in the lineup. They ranked 7th in opening duel win percentage (49.4%), 10th in conversion percentage (69.8%), and 12th in post-plant win percentage (54.7%). But it all came together at Major I, where Paris won the tournament on the back of standout SND play, going 6-2 in the mode, including a decisive 1-0 record in Map 5s, capped by a 6-5 win over FaZe Vegas in the Lower Final. Their stats spiked across the board that week, posting a 56.5% opening duel win rate (3rd), 76.9% conversion percentage (4th), and 71.4% post-plant win rate (3rd).

Overload

Overload was Neptune's best respawn mode of the season, finishing with a 1.05 K/D, 24.4 kills per 10 minutes, 2,957 damage per 10 minutes, and 27 total goals scored. His numbers came down slightly on LAN, where he posted a 1.01 K/D, 23.6 kills per 10 minutes, and 16 goals.

Paris was the picture of average in Overload as a team, going 21-21 in the mode with Neptune. They ranked 7th in goals per game (3.26) and 7th in average margin (+0.05), with a team K/D of exactly 1.00 (8th).

A Look Ahead to Modern Warfare IV

Neptune remains under contract with Paris, but it looks unlikely he'll be back with the Gentle Mates next season. That sets him up as a restricted free agent heading into Modern Warfare IV, and one who should draw plenty of interest once the market opens up for him.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

So far, the only real rumor tying him elsewhere has been a brief link to Riyadh, but Neptune is expected to be part of the market's second wave of signings rather than an early mover. Right now, the offseason is largely at a standstill, waiting on Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez and Thomas "Scrap" Ernst to determine their next destinations, with much of the rest of the market's dominoes expected to fall into place once those two decide.

Despite being sidelined for the back half of the season, Neptune's high ceiling should keep him in demand. His midseason benching in Paris may have taken a bit of shine off his reputation, but there's still enough belief in his talent that a top-6 team should be willing to take a chance on him this offseason.