OpTic introduces a new CS:GO team from India

OpTic Gaming has picked up a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team from a brand new region of the world.

The newest addition to the Green Wall is a team from India, OpTic announced on Twitter earlier today. Their new team, formerly known as AFK Gaming, features Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat, Rishab “formless” Tomar, Sabyasachi “antidote” Bose, Agneya “marzil” Koushik, and Vishal “haiVaan” Sharma.

Related: OpTic forms an all-Danish team with JuGi and Snappi

After replacing its North American talent throughout both 2017 and 2018, the OpTic organization seems to be broadening its horizons past the NA region. Last month the Green Wall finalized a star-studded Danish roster consisting of Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke, Rene “cajunb” Borg, Nicklas Gade, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, and Jakob “JUGi” Hansen. Now OpTic is shifting its attention into the Eastern hemisphere—specifically India.

It’s unlikely that this new OpTic roster will compete in big international events with the organization’s main roster from Denmark because many tournament organizers and Valve rules only allow one team per organization at each tournament. This rule is set to prevent conflicts of interest for multiple teams owned by one organization. Other team owners that face this same problem are Astralis and Heroic’s RFRSH, as well as SK Gaming and Virtus Pro’s ESForce.

OpTic’s Twitter announcement was also met with a number of racist comments, and many users were questioning the move altogether. The roster pick up is meant to grow the Indian scene, according to AFK’s co-founder Siddharth Nayyar.

“OpTic India is that big break that we’ve all been waiting for,” Nayyar said. “All of us at AFK Gaming are extremely happy and excited about working with such like-minded professionals and contributing to the scene’s growth.”