OpTic Texas benches Pred for Huke, but CDL fans think the org is sweeping roster change under the rug

OpTic Texas has unceremoniously brought on Huke to replace Pred for this weekend’s Call of Duty League matches with very little fanfare, and fans are questioning the secrecy behind the move.

Yesterday, Pred’s potential removal from the reigning CDL champs’ starting lineup was talked about across social media. Not long after, OpTic posted on Twitter/X, confirming that Huke was back with the squad after spending the last season-plus with Vancouver Surge. Far from an official announcement, however, the promotional image simply showed Huke with the rest of the OpTic squad, minus Pred.

Both OpTic fans and CDL fans in general are wondering the deal is with the move, especially with unsubstantiated rumors swirling online about Pred dealing with gambling-related issues outside of the game, leaving the community to question the situation.

“No welcome to OpTic or anything?” one reply said of Huke, who returns to the OpTic organization for the first time since June 2023. Meanwhile, the post neglected to mention Pred at all. Another post simply posted a photo of Huke focused on his monitor while playing with OpTic.

When asked about the topic on his live stream yesterday, Scump didn’t have much to say about it.

“I don’t really know what to say, guys,” Scump said. “I’m not really involved in any of those talks. All that I know is that it’s personal reasons and it’s not really my place to talk about it, so I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

It’s not uncommon for players to miss some matches due to personal reasons, whether they be family-related, illness-related, or something similar. But OpTic and CDL not acknowledging the change yet has called a lot of attention to it. CDL Major One qualifier matches today are set to begin at 2pm CT, and OpTic will play Huke’s former squad at 6:30pm CT tonight.

Whatever the situation may be behind closed doors, it seems OpTic, its players, and the league mean to stay mum about it. Dot Esports reached out to OpTic for comment on the matter, but has not received a response.

Update on Dec. 13 at 3:30pm CT: The CDL broadcast opened up the show talking about Huke joining OpTic, but did not discuss the reasoning behind it, or Pred in general much at all. Check out the clip.