Call of Duty Community Mourns 'Legendary' Team Envy As They Close Esports Branch
A bittersweet symphony has aired over the ears of esports fans. While the roaring vocals of the OpTic Gaming brand continue to cascade through the sky, echoing off the green walls with the drum beat of a victor, the harmonies of Team Envy have finally been eclipsed, as the legendary vinyl track of the noisy neighbours has finally reached an end.
Team Envy has officially closed its doors on its esports album following a successful merger with OpTic, and while the decision has been well received as a smart business venture, the end of the Envy era has marked a sad day.
Deep-rooted into Call of Duty folklore, alongside many other esports ventures, the legendary legacy that Envy left behind is now being mourned as players have taken to social media to reminisce over the impact of the boys in blue.
Team Envy Close Down Esports Branch After OpTic Merger
The end of Envy came with the Rocket League roster finally moving over under the branding of OpTic ahead of the RLCS Spring Major in London. The switch in team branding came following the merger last year which saw Dallas Empire be nuked in favour of the Call of Duty League team OpTic Texas, a move quickly mimicked by the Halo and VALORANT teams.
Following the closure of the Envy esports brand, Owner and Founder Mike "Hastr0" Rufial and OpTic's equivalent Hector "H3CZ" Rodriguez took to YouTube to discuss the merger.
Speaking on H3CZ's podcast, Hastr0 said, "I told myself when we did this, 'it might not make sense to be fostering multiple brands and spreading our resources'. But I said 'let's see what happens'. So we started building again with both brands and I just saw so much more potential with OpTic and what we were doing."
"The green wall accepted me. With all the stuff that had happened, I felt accepted by OpTic. For me, it didn't make sense to take a bunch of the resources."
Call Of Duty Pros Mourn Team Envy
Team Envy (nV/EnvyUS) are most known for their Call of Duty history, being the only organisation ever to reach four World Championships finals, winning one in 2016. The iconic "boys in blue" hosted near enough every notable veteran of the scene over their 12-year tenure in Call of Duty, touching the hearts of many superstars we know now.
Patrick "Aches" Price was one of the first to take to social media, sharing an image of the pantomime villain doing what he did best: beating OpTic.
Current CDL Major caster and former Team Envy player Joe "MerK" De Luca also shared some old-school snaps, featuring the likes of Jeremy "StuDyy" Astacio, Matthew "FormaL" Piper, and Jordan "JKap" Kaplan.
World Championship-winning duo Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat and Bryan "Apathy" Zhelyazkov also relived a passionate moment under the Envy banner.
Team Envy didn't just act as a hub for the finest talent in Call of Duty history - they even motivated players to make it to the professional game in hope of representing the brand.
Despite being one of few players to have repped the blue jersey, Dillon "Attach" Price also took to social media to show his admiration and appreciation for how they influenced his career.
Now Team Envy will rest, as an esports brand at least, but that doesn't erase the memories of their Call of Duty legacy.
From pulling off the greatest comeback in the history of CoD esports (overcoming the 0-10 deficit on Uplink versus eUnited), to winning a championship ring from under the nose of dynasties, to simply being an elite-run business with avid fans, Envy will go down as one of the best Call of Duty orgs in history.