OpTic Are Back - But What Does This Mean For The Chicago Team?
Over the past few weeks, there was plenty of speculation regarding changes to some of the franchise teams in the Call of Duty League (CDL) and everything has finally come to fruition. Quite possibly the biggest news for the competitive Call of Duty scene in this past year is Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez acquiring the OpTic Gaming brand once again.
Everything started with the rumours about 100 Thieves purchasing a CDL franchise spot. It didn’t take long for the rumours to piece together, with 100 Thieves acquiring the OpTic Gaming Los Angeles franchise. At this point, it was known that Hector had acquired the OpTic branding rights, and the OpTic Gaming Los Angeles franchise had been sold to 100 Thieves.
After initially missing out on a franchise spot due to several reasons, 100 Thieves officially returned to Call of Duty as the LA Thieves. This created an enormous amount of buzz amongst the community and put even more emphasis on the possibility of the OpTic name returning under the Chicago franchise.
After initial reports came through that the CDL had denied the Chicago franchise rebrand, it has since been confirmed that the Chicago team will no longer be known as the Chicago Huntsmen, and instead - OpTic Chicago.
You can see from the responses alone in the several posts from the franchise that those within and outside the Call of Duty community are thrilled to see OpTic Gaming return to Call of Duty with Hector at the realm.
Even other CDL franchises were getting involved. The Dallas Empire operates under Envy, who was a longstanding OpTic rival with the owner Mike "Hastro" Rufail and Hector having a great relationship. This is what they posted on social media following the announcement, jesting the very clear distaste majority of people in the community had to the “fake OpTic” during the inaugural Call of Duty League season.
OpTic Gaming Call of Duty History
It is no secret that OpTic was at the forefront of helping the Call of Duty scene develop and flourish into what it is today. At the early stages of Call of Duty esports, the content aspect was often overlooked by teams and players. This was an area Hector and his teams were able to captivate on, providing a greater connection to the fans, and creating a family feel amongst the GreenWall. This is why despite the turmoil this past year, OpTic is likely still the most strongly supported esports team in the world.
The 100 Thieves owner Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, made his career during his playing time at OpTic over several years. Alongside the likes of Seth “Scump” Abner, the two helped to elevate the brand during the Black Ops 2 season, and the trend continued all the way through to the Advanced Warfare season when Nadeshot decided to retire.
No Nadeshot, Same OpTic
Despite losing what could be deemed their biggest asset at the time, things didn’t change much for OpTic. They continued to compete at the epsilon of Call of Duty esports, winning several championships and being put in contention as the greatest Call of Duty team of all time.
After the departure of Nadeshot, it was the following OpTic Gaming roster that brought endless success to the organisation.
- Seth “Scump” Abner
- Ian “Crimsix” Porter
- Damon “Karma" Barlow
- Matthew “Formal” Piper
However, things at OpTic slowly started turning for the worse after a huge business decision was made.
The Downfall Of OpTic
It’s important to note, throughout this entre turbulent process, the GreenWall and OpTic members stuck by Hector, but it eventually got extremely messy. With the brand still growing at a rapid rate, Hector made the decision to expand the organisation into other esports titles. In order to do this, the team needed additional investment which led to Hector selling his majority shares in OpTic.
The majority of shares were sold to Infinite Esports, a company that left an unpleasant mark on the esports industry with how they operated during their time running OpTic. There is a considerable amount to unpack for this, so here’s a video that will hopefully explain everything you need to know about the downfall of OpTic.
Infinite eventually realised that it was time to dip from the OpTic brand, with everything just seeming to go wrong. They put the majority up for sale for roughly $150 million. Hector made bids in an attempt to get control of the branding rights again, but Infinite apparently refused to sell to him. Finally, the sale went through to Immortals Group, one of the biggest esports organisations out there.
The GreenWall wasn’t fond of this decision, as Hector ended up leaving his beloved OpTic Gaming and the loved segments of OpTic were ditched one by one. Eventually, the only use for the OpTic name was for the Los Angeles CDL franchise. The entire opening season was filled with distaste towards the teams, with many of the original OpTic fans now wanting to see them lose because Hector was no longer running things.
OpTic Moving Forward
There is such a positive feel across the entire community right now. It’s almost like order has been restored, and the GreenWall can return to supporting their beloved team.
Chicago OpTic will be competing in the upcoming season of the Call of Duty League. There are already some spicy rivals we can look forward to including those with the LA Thieves, Dallas Empire, and New York Subliners.
Fans were treated to a year-long battle between OpTic Gaming and 100 Thieves before franchising came into place and it was quite possibly the best season of Call of Duty outside of the introduction to franchising. This move can only be a positive for the longevity of the esport, and you can expect to see viewership numbers continue to grow.
Images via OpTic Chicago
