#5 Cellium: Top 20 Players of Black Ops 6

The #5 Player of the Black Ops 6 season is the King Cobra, McArthur “Cellium” Jovel of Atlanta FaZe.

Known as the hardest kill in the game, Cellium has had countless years now as a top AR within the League. In his sixth season on Atlanta FaZe, 7th within the FaZe ecosystem, the goal was to win as many championships as possible. While the team fell short in the two biggest LANs in the end, FaZe still won two Majors & made another Grand Finals. Finishing with a League-High 1.16 Overall K/D and 1.29 KA/D, his individual numbers & efficiency were off the charts this season yet again.

Season Review

After bringing in Zack “Drazah” Jordan before the Modern Warfare 3 season, Atlanta FaZe set their sights squarely on one objective: winning championships. They delivered quickly, capturing the Major II crown and closing the year by hoisting the Esports World Cup trophy. Yet a Top 6 finish at Champs left both the roster and fan base craving more. Entering Black Ops 6, the core trio of Chris “Simp” Lehr, Cellium, and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris returned with one mission: secure another world title.

FaZe kicked off the new year as one of the CDL’s top contenders, keeping their championship-tested core together. Stage 1 began with mixed results, as a 4-3 qualifier record earned them the 6th seed for Major I in Madrid. They found early success in the first online Minor, avenging the LA Thieves in a 3-1 Quarterfinal before sweeping through Miami, Minnesota, and Carolina to take the title and a $20,000 prize.

📸 Photo by @ATLFaZe

That spark carried into Major I in Toronto, where FaZe’s big-stage dominance was on full display. They dismantled Boston Breach and the Toronto Ultra, without dropping a map, then defeated LA Thieves in both the Winner’s Final and a thrilling Grand Final. It marked the first trophy of the Black Ops 6 season, reinforcing that their 2024 Esports World Cup win was no one-off. Cellium stole the spotlight in the Finals, posting an incredible 1.45 SND K/D over the three SND maps played and a 1.13 overall K/D.

Stage 2 saw FaZe turn up the heat, finishing 6-1 in qualifiers and entering Major II as heavy favorites. Their Hardpoint was unmatched, leading the league at 16-5 during the stage. Still, the second Minor brought an unexpected stumble as Vancouver Surge knocked them out early. They brushed it off as an online setback and shifted focus to the Major in Texas.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

In Texas, their three-peat ambitions stayed alive. A favorable bracket paved the way for wins over Minnesota Rokkr and Cloud9 New York before another showdown with Vancouver in both the Winner’s Final and Grand Final. This time, FaZe left no doubt, sweeping Surge 4-0. Cellium would come up huge again, setting the Grand Finals series K/D record. Finishing with 98 kills and a 1.72 K/D, Cellium took home the MVP honors.

Stage 3 brought turbulence. FaZe closed qualifiers at 3-2 with a 4-6 Hardpoint record, hinting at trouble. Those concerns became reality at the Major, where they fell to Vancouver in Round 1 before Miami Heretics sent them home in Top 6. Their Hardpoint woes, especially against elite opponents, became a glaring weakness, and the gap between FaZe and the rest of the league appeared to shrink.

📸 Photo by @ATLFaZe

Stage 4 offered both hope and lingering doubts. FaZe went 4-1 in qualifiers to lock in the #2 seed for DreamHack, but still went just 3-4 in Hardpoint. SND, however, remained perfect at 6-0. On LAN, they dispatched New York, Texas, and Miami with 3-1 scorelines to reach the Grand Finals. Facing long-time rivals LA Thieves, FaZe’s greatest weapon, SND, was shut down as the Thieves stole both maps and the championship.

For the first time in CDL history, FaZe entered Champs without the top seed, and their run unraveled quickly. A blowout loss to OpTic Texas in the opener was followed by a win over Carolina, but Miami ended their run in another Top 6 finish. For the second year running, rivals outshone them on the biggest stage.

Their last chance at silverware came at the Esports World Cup, but the tournament ended in collapse. After surviving a scare against OMiT in their opener, FaZe dropped back-to-back series to bow out in 12th place. Cellium still showed flashes of brilliance, with a 2.67 SND K/D versus Miami and 1.19 Hardpoint K/D against OMiT, but the result made roster changes feel inevitable.

How Good Was Cellium in 2025?

Hardpoint

Cellium played very well in Hardpoint this year, leading FaZe with a 1.15 K/D in the mode. His per-10-minute stats were all above-average, having 24.5 kills, 3,186 damage, and 62.5 seconds of hill time per 10 minutes played. Those numbers stayed steady on LAN, ending with a 1.12 K/D and 3,174 damage per 10 mins. MC finished with a positive K/D in the mode 73.6% of maps played, ranking 2nd in the metric. Slaying wasn’t the only good stat, as Cellium has the 2nd most hill time in a single LAN map (173 seconds).

The numbers painted a season of extremes. FaZe finished third in Hardpoint at 52-35 (59.8%) with the league’s best rotation win rate (55.9%), yet ranked just 7th in holds (70.5%) and 10th in breaks (24.6%). Their LAN Hardpoint record slipped to 20-16 (55.6%), and they ended Champs and EWC with a combined 3-6 record, losing four straight maps in the mode. They shone on Rewind (6-3) and Red Card (11-7), but the lack of a deep map pool hurt in crunch time.

Search & Destroy

Search & Destroy has always been a gamemode that MC has excelled in due to his playstyle and how good FaZe has been in the mode historically. This season, he finished with a 1.13 K/D in the mode with 0.70 kills per round, 114.9 ADR, and an opening duel win rate of 59.5%. Cellium was at his best during Champs, ending the event with a 1.28 K/D with 0.79 kills per round and an 83.3% opening duel win rate.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Where they thrived without question was Search & Destroy. FaZe topped the CDL with a 42-23 record (64.6%) and improved to 20-9 (69.0%) on LAN. They were lethal in opening duels (54.7%, 1st) and converted them into round wins at a 76.3% clip (2nd). Their post-plant win rate was 65.9% (2nd), and their retake success stood at 48.6% (1st), making them the most complete SND team in the game.

Control

Control was arguably the best mode this season for MC, ending the year with a League-high 1.19 K/D. Cellium added 21.5 kills and 2,681 damage per 10 minutes to go with 1.2 ticks per attack and a 1.15 attacking K/D. Going off for a 2.67 K/D versus Boston at Major I, that K/D sits 2nd best for a single LAN map. In terms of pure output, Cell had 7 maps with over 4,000 damage, tying the League lead. In 75.5% of his maps played, Cellium had a positive K/D, ranking 2nd in that metric for the year. His impact is what made Atlanta one of the best Control teams in the game, especially during the early Hacieneda meta, where he’d pull out the 3rd SMG.

Control was another bright spot. Their 33-19 record (63.5%) ranked second league-wide, backed by a 13-4 LAN mark before Champs and EWC. But they faltered when it mattered most, going 1-5 in the final two events. Even so, they placed second in offensive and defensive win rates, and top-three in ticks per attack (3.9) and per defense (3.6), showing that the fundamentals were still elite, just not enough to close out the year with another championship.

A look ahead to Black Ops 7

Cellium’s future in Black Ops 7 appears to be taking shape, as the superstar AR enters the new season as a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Atlanta FaZe. While early speculation linked him to a high-profile move to the LA Thieves or even a return to FaZe, reports suggest he has agreed to join the Vegas Falcons, though no official announcement has been made. The Falcons’ offer is reportedly too lucrative to pass up, making them the frontrunners to secure one of the most consistent and impactful players in the CDL. If finalized, this signing could immediately elevate Vegas into title contention heading into the Black Ops 7 season.

📸 Photo by @syrupfx