Aches Claims Anyone Could Substitute In For OpTic And They'd Still Be A Top Four Team
Hell would likely freeze over before Patrick "Aches" Price pulled on the OpTic championship white jersey, having dedicated a large portion of his career to being the sledgehammer that knocked down the Green Wall. With 17 Major championships to his name, Aches often beat OpTic in the grand finals prior to their dynasty run, until he was ultimately the roster's demise. However, the pantomime villain of the competitive Call of Duty scene has been full of praise for OpTic as of late and has now given them a very un-Aches-like compliment.
Having seen OpTic Texas secure good results while they scramble to find a fourth player to replace the injured Indervir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal, Aches has now said that the trio of Brandon "Dashy" Otell, Seth "Scump" Abner, and Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro is that good, even he could come out of retirement and be a success on the team.
OpTic Show Strength Without iLLeY
An injury to iLLeY saw Jordon "General" General step in for the roster at the Pro-Am, where they secured a top-four finish. Even though OpTic's new main rival Ian "Crimsix" Porter secured his 38th Championship, OpTic looked back on the event as a success, even with a substitute.
However, a roster change was still imminent, as the playstyles of Dashy and General were too similar to be a permanent solution to a temporary injury problem, and with no knowledge of when iLLeY is to return, OpTic set out to sign a flex player in rookie Byron "Prolute" Vera.
OpTic Texas then got off to a perfect start with Prolute, who has yet to drop a single map loss, as a 3-0 win came in over Los Angeles Guerrillas and Florida Mutineers respectively. While many eyes were on Prolute though, Aches applauded the existing trio, who have continued to post incredible performances.
Aches Full of praise for iLLeY-less OpTic Texas
Speaking in Dexerto's Reverse Sweep, Aches said, "Obviously Prolute is talented, there's no debate about that, but I'm going to be realistic here. I could sub in, Ian ["Enable" Wyatt] you could sub in, Doug ["Censor" Martin] you could sub in, Chris ["Parasite" Duarte] you too, with that OpTic trio, and we're doing just as fine."
"That team is so immensely talented that the role he is filling is not hard. This isn't disrespect to iLLeY. iLLeY is a good player in his own right, but that team, given where they are and who they have on that roster, are going to succeed no matter who they have as their fourth."
It's high praise from Aches, whose Cloud9 team will always be known for ripping apart the OpTic dynasty squad by preventing a World Championship double in a last-minute Search and Destroy clutch.
While the probability is that we'll never see Aches, Enable, and Parasite come out of retirement, maybe Censor could finally get the shot he's been searching for with OpTic, as the Green Wall look destined for greatness in the Vanguard season.
