OpTic Texas came together today after numerous roster changes to take down the Seattle Surge, who remain winless in the 2023 Call of Duty League online qualifiers for Major Two.
This was OpTic’s first match following Seth “Scump” Abner’s historic retirement from Call of Duty. In his place, the team brought back Brandon “Dashy” Otell, who had recently been on and off the roster for the Modern Warfare 2 season. This match against Seattle marked the first time OpTic Texas would play without Scump and fans were uncertain how the team would do without his veteran leadership and slaying.
Meanwhile, Seattle were battling a slow start after the holiday break despite placing second at the first Major. That 0-2 start was the fire that Seattle needed to get back together as they overcame a 100-point deficit to take the first map, Al Bagra Fortress Hardpoint, in today’s match. With a slow start to the series, OpTic bounced back in the Embassy Search and Destroy and El Asilo Control to go up 2-1.
Seattle took yet another Hardpoint in the series confidently, which proved that the mode may be a sore spot for the newly formed OpTic team. The duo of Amer “Pred” Zulbeari and Daunte “Sib” Gray was an unstoppable force in the respawn but struggled to do much else in the other modes. This led to a game five that put OpTic over the edge to secure their first victory without Scump on the roster
OpTic will finish out the weekend of matches by going up against the Toronto Ultra, who are undefeated in the Major Two qualifiers right now. To upset one of the best teams currently in the game may be all the confidence the team needs before the second Major in Boston next month.
