Scump Opens Up About Mental Health Following OpTic Loss
The Green Wall will always be seen as the foundations of the Call of Duty esports fandom, as the most devoted fans behind OpTic Gaming.
Having seen their side win more championships than any other organisation in the history of competitive CoD, OpTic fans now have the highest of expectations of their players to bring home silverware.
However, in the CDL 'super league' OpTic Chicago have yet to bring home a major championship this year, and the pressure of winning is now getting to their stalwart roster.
OpTic pioneer and captain, Seth "Scump" Abner, has now opened up about his mental health, following their exit in the Stage 4 Major.
Scump opens Up About Pressure And Mental Health
Just a few moments after their defeat to Dallas Empire, leaving them finishing fourth in the Major, Scump took to Twitter to express his sadness.
The OpTic hero said: "I’ve been sad for months and months. I want to win so badly," before adding that he's sacrificed content and hours of personal time to try and overcome these results. He continued to say "Really just lost atm. I never talk about my mental health, but damn it’s been rough recently."
Following support from former teammate James "Clayster" Eubanks, Scump also said that he's "Tired of being a meme and a punching bag for people. Mental health is very important, and communities wither down people. Hoping it will change, but it won’t."
Scump On The Double-Edged Sword Of Esports Pressure
Having given up content creation for devotion towards competing, Scump also opened up on how the pressure of esports is very much a "double-edged sword", where people only care about results rather than the effort put in.
Interacting with Jack "Courage" Dunlop, Scump said "Nobody appreciates the work, only the result. Double-edged sword of competition I guess."
Prior to the Black Ops Cold War season, Scump was faced with the decision of quitting competing altogether, having seen the success of his content on Warzone in the off-season. Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag claimed that if he pursued content and streaming Scump could be "five times as big as he is now", although many "people forget how dominant Seth actually was."
For the Green Wall, it appears that Scump is looking for them to rally behind him, rather than lay another stone in the grave of his competitive career.
