After an excellent season in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, OpTic Gaming entered Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 with the expectation to dominate yet another game. Despite being the game’s most polarizing team, OpTic was generally regarded as being one of the best in the world.
With a strong roster of Merk, Scumpii, BigTymer, and Nadeshot, OpTic was poised to take the season by storm. But how did the season really go?
Read on for a breakdown of OpTic’s Black Ops 2 season.
—
#UMG Chicago (December 2012)
In an event marked by the physical confrontation between Aches and Nadeshot, OpTic Gaming managed to kick off the Black Ops 2 season with a huge win over CompLexity Gaming to win UMG Chicago. OpTic looked unbeatable throughout the entire event, winning the tournament without making a trip to the losers bracket. OpTic won the championship despite coL winning more maps, but regardless, it seemed that the team was poised to dominate yet another Call of Duty game.
#MLG Dallas
Coming off of a dominant win at UMG Chicago, OpTic Gaming entered the MLG Winter Championships with the expectation to win their second championship of the new season. After winning their first two matches by a combined score of 6-1, OpTic met its match in the newly formed UNiTE Gaming, falling to the losers bracket with a 3-0 loss.
Although the team was still very much alive, OpTic failed to regain their composure and fell 3-1 at the hands of CompLexity, leaving OpTic with a rather disappointing 4th place finish. Despite the failure to leave MLG Dallas with the championship in hand, OpTic Gaming was still considered one of the most fearsome teams in the game.
#Call of Duty Championship
With a 1 Million dollar prize pool up for grabs in Los Angeles, OpTic Gaming looked to enter the Call of Duty Championships stronger than ever. Unfortunately for OpTic, their hopes of winning took a huge blow in the second round, as OpTic suffered a loss at the hands of Fariko Impact.
With their backs now against the wall, OpTic Gaming fought their way through to the losers bracket and secured a spot in the losers bracket final. With just one match separating OpTic from the Call of Duty Championships final, the team needed to beat Fariko Impact in a rematch of OpTic’s round 2 loss.
After a hard fought battle, OpTic fell once again the the eventual champions Fariko Impact. Still, a 3rd place finish and $120,000 prize was nothing to be disappointed about for OpTic Gaming.
#MLG Anaheim
After failing to win the last two major tournaments they competed in, OpTic Gaming looked to rebound with a win at MLG Anaheim. OpTic started out hot, defeating IcoNs Evil and Team EnVyUS while only dropping one map to each team.
Unfortunately, OpTic was matched up against the four-time-champion Impact, a team that OpTic was yet to beat at a major tournament. Despite their best efforts, OpTic was no match for Impact as the reigning champs dispatched OpTic 3-0.
With the team now in the losers bracket, OpTic easily defeated FaZe and Curse, dropping only one map in the process. With their confidence back in order, OpTic now faced another match against Impact. Once again, Impact asserted its dominance, defeating OpTic 3-1, eliminating OpTic from MLG Anaheim.
For the third time in a row, OpTic secured a Top-4 finish but failed to win the tournament.
#Gfinity
Despite the team’s failure to capture a championship in 2013, OpTic Gaming entered the first ever Gfinity event as a favorite to take home the title. In the group stage, OpTic looked like a team that could indeed win the event, defeating Ozone Giants, UNiTE Gaming, and Team Prophecy and losing only to the reigning champions, CompLexity.
With the group stage in the books, OpTic was set to play the French team AAA in the first round of the knockout stage. Despite close games in the respawn gametypes, OpTic managed to defeat AAA with their strong Search & Destroy game. Next up was TCM, a European team that had surprised many people with its high level of play.
Unfortunately for OpTic, TCM managed to take the victory after a close series, defeating OpTic and handing them yet another 3rd/4th place finish.
Still without a tournament win in 2013, OpTic Gaming was left searching for answers.
#OpTic Drops Merk, Picks up JKap
In arguably the most shocking roster change of the Black Ops 2 season, OpTic Gaming decided to release long-time member and team captain Joe “Merk” Deluca. Shortly after the news, OpTic announced that the team had officially picked up Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, recently of Team EnVyUS, for the remainder of the season.
After briefly questioning his future as a competitive player, Merk announced that he would continue his playing career with Team EnVyUs, a team that had struggled mightily in recent events.
#Gfinity 2
Despite sitting out of the last two major events, OpTic Gaming entered the second Gfinity event with high hopes for success in its first event with JKap on the roster. In the group stage, OpTic was placed in a group consisting of Team Kaliber, Ozone Giants, and Team Infused.
In a series of shocking matches, OpTic Gaming was quickly dispatched from the tournament after only winning four maps and losing seven.
The team did manage to win a series against Ozone Giants, but OpTic proved to be no match for Team Kaliber and the European squad Infused. The 9th-16th place finish was OpTic Gaming’s lowest placement of the season, and the once-dominant team was at a new low.
#MLG Orlando
Coming off of a poor performance at Gfinity 2, OpTic Gaming entered MLG Orlando with a thirst for revenge. In the season’s smallest tournament, only four teams large, OpTic Gaming looked stronger than it had in ages, defeating UNiTE Gaming twice en route to a championship matchup against CompLexity.
In the best-of-seven series, OpTic managed to pick up a map before being defeated by a score of 4-1 after the now-infamous shocking 5-0 comeback from CompLexity on the final map, S&D on Express. Despite the loss, OpTic’s second place finish marked the team’s highest placement of 2013.
#MLG Columbus
After dominating the last Infinity Ward produced title, OpTic gaming entered Call of Duty: Ghosts looking to rebound from its disappointing season in Black Ops 2. Unfortunately, the comeback was not meant to be as OpTic was defeated by the lesser-known Kelevra.Adversity in its first matchup.
With a trip to the loser’s bracket now a reality, OpTic needed to rebound quickly. OpTic did manage to pick up a win in the loser’s bracket, but the team was dispatched by JusTus in its second matchup of the loser’s bracket.
Even after a disappointing 2013 in Black Ops 2, OpTic Gaming had hit another new low with its 16th place finish at MLG Columbus.
#OpTic Releases JKap, Adds Ricky
After playing at only three events with the team, JKap was released from OpTic Gaming following the team’s poor performance at MLG Columbus. Shortly after announcing JKap’s release, OpTic announced the pickup of Ricky, formerly of the now defunct UNiTE Gaming.
With Ricky now on the team, look for OpTic to rebound at UMG Philadelphia on January 3-5.
—
Here’s how the three mainstays of OpTic’s roster performed in 2013.
Matt “Nadeshot” Haag
—
– UMG Chicago – 1st Place
– MLG Dallas – 4th place
– Call of Duty Championships – 3rd Place
– MLG Anaheim – 3rd Place
– Gfinity – 3rd/4th Place
– Gfinity 2 – 9th-16th Place
– MLG Orlando – 2nd Place
– MLG Columbus – 16th Place
Will “BigTymer” Johnson
—
– UMG Chicago – 1st Place
– MLG Dallas – 4th place
– Call of Duty Championships – 3rd Place
– MLG Anaheim – 3rd Place
– Gfinity – 3rd/4th Place
– Gfinity 2 – 9th-16th Place
– MLG Orlando – 2nd Place
– MLG Columbus – 16th Place
Seth “Scumpii” Abner
—
– UMG Chicago – 1st Place
– MLG Dallas – 4th place
– Call of Duty Championships – 3rd Place
– MLG Anaheim – 3rd Place
– Gfinity – 3rd/4th Place
– Gfinity 2 – 9th-16th Place
– MLG Orlando – 2nd Place
– MLG Columbus – 16th Place
