For longtime Call of Duty esports fans, it all just feels so right.
In their first official Call of Duty League match since the franchise’s rebrand and with Hector Rodriguez back at the helm, OpTic Chicago dominated the Paris Legion today to begin their 2021 season with a 3-0 series sweep.
With this decisive victory, the team sent a message to the rest of the league with the drubbing of its European opponent—the “real OpTic” is back.
The Chicago OpTic squad rebranded from NRG’s Chicago Huntsmen late last year after Rodriguez purchased the OpTic brand back from Immortals Gaming Club, who held the OpTic title in Los Angeles in the first season of the CDL.
Many OpTic fans lamented the change, calling OpTic Los Angeles “fake OpTic” and instead pulling for Rodriguez and the Huntsmen. Rodriguez sold OpTic to Immortals just one year prior and bought back the brand he helped build before this season.
A few hours after the team released a Scump-centric second episode of its YouTube series, “The Process,” the King popped off with his teammates to start the first stage of 2021 1-0. The rumors of Scump’s retirement, addressed in the episode, were put to bed in multiple ways after the veteran continued to demonstrate his skills nearly a decade after his career began.
The roster of OpTic legends Scump and FormaL, teamed up with young studs Dashy and Envoy, combined to take out the Legion in an impressive way in the first match of the second day of the 2021 CDL Opening Weekend hosted by Atlanta FaZe.
With over 100,000 viewers tuned in, OpTic jumped out to a 1-0 series lead after a 250-102 trouncing on Raid Hardpoint, in a throwback featuring the CDL’s first official game on the classic Black Ops II map. Envoy led the way with 23 kills, paired up with FormaL’s 2:21 of time in the objective.
They then followed that up with a 6-4 win in Search and Destroy on Checkmate, coming back from a 3-0 deficit on the back of FormaL’s 11 kills. OpTic closed out the 3-0 sweep on Raid Control, flexing their slaying prowess and seamlessly finishing off a Paris team that many are picking to finish in the bottom half of the standings this season.
With Chicago’s main competition this season expected to be both of their biggest rivals, Envy’s Dallas Empire and the Atlanta FaZe, this could be an incredible year for Call of Duty esports in Black Ops Cold War.
OpTic’s first legitimate test this season comes on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 5pm CT when they face off against Atlanta in a true marquee matchup of powerhouse brands and players alike.
