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sportsDallas Empire

The sometimes polarizing Crimsix is unapologetic and always wants to win. He could be a key to a Dallas Empire CDL title

The Dallas Empire head into the final stretch of the Call of Duty League season as one of the favorites to win the title.

Furious with his own performance, Ian “Crimsix” Porter decided to take a break from his recent hobby of playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Warzone to focus on what he truly cared about: winning.

The Empire not having won a tournament in the last two tries was frustrating for Crimsix.

He blamed himself for the Empire’s recent woes, and vowed to stop playing Warzone “at least for a while,” he tweeted July 14.

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Granted, perfection is the standard the winningest player in Call of Duty esports history holds himself, and his teammates, to.

The Empire have one of the most stacked rosters in the Call of Duty League, featuring hot, new talent and world title-possessing veterans.

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Crimsix tasked himself with making the difference from here on out. But how can Crimsix, considered the greatest Call of Duty player of all time by many, still get better at 28 years old?

It’s simple. He’s going to be himself and bring his unmatched intensity.

Crimsix is a splitting personality in the Call of Duty community. To some, he comes off as intense or hard to work with. Like the other successful Crimsix teams of the past, the Empire have embraced him.

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He’s their beacon, and guide, to a Call of Duty championship.

For the Empire to reach their goal of being the best team in the CDL, and to hold the most important trophy on Aug. 30, the best player ever will have to be himself.

“My attitude would probably be considered normal in sports,” Crimsix told The Dallas Morning News, “but for some reason people in Call of Duty take things personally. A lot of people in video games take things personally. If you take criticism personally, that’s your own fault.”

Becoming Crimsix

Anthony “Methodz” Zinni was a 14-year-old when he first met Crimsix in a Call of Duty 4 pickup game. Crimsix wasn’t even in the pro Call of Duty scene at the time, competing in Halo instead.

Methodz remembered the encounter vividly.

“I had never talked to him before in my life, we were playing a four- or five-year-old game and he started freaking out at me,” Methodz told The News. “It was quite an experience, not in a bad way, but in a competitive way. I think I made a mistake and he got upset.”

Methodz and Crimsix, who wound up teaming together on OpTic Gaming in 2018, had plenty of back-and-forth banter. The moment they now joke about most happened that same year, when Crimsix asked Methodz “Are you an AR or are you a f---ing b----?” after a match.

They still laugh about it “all the time,” Methodz said. But that didn’t make it funny at the time.

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“It can be intense when you aren’t winning. It can be stressful on any team, but especially with Ian,” Methodz said. “I think he expects so much that not winning is just the end of the world for him. But when you are winning with him, you see why this guy is so successful.”

Crimsix got to where he is today with this mindset, and it doesn’t always result in happy friendships. He’s been outspoken about his disagreements and eventual breakup with former OpTic teammates Seth “Scump” Abner and Matthew “FormaL” Piper, who now headline the Chicago Huntsmen in the CDL.

Scump and FormaL declined an interview with The News for this story.

Crimsix can’t remember when he gained his competitive mindset. Maybe it came from his family, but in his eyes, it’s always been there.

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Ian "Crimsix" Porter talks to the media after Dallas Empire lost to Atlanta Faze in the Call...
Ian "Crimsix" Porter talks to the media after Dallas Empire lost to Atlanta Faze in the Call of Duty League Launch Weekend at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minn., January 25, 2020.(Courtney Perry / Special Contributor)

A Crimsix epiphany

Methodz described Crimsix as “one of the most misunderstood players” in Call of Duty.

Many don’t get him at first, but some eventually come around. That’s what happened with Crimsix’s current Empire teammate, Clayster.

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They teamed together on Complexity Gaming’s roster in 2013. Crimsix was there for the better part of two years, but Clayster only lasted from April to December.

What all has changed since then? According to Clayster, everything.

The 28-year-old AR player had never won a major LAN tournament before that Complexity team, then won seven of eight matches.

“I definitely grew a gigantic ego. I was so full of myself back then after graduating college, thinking I was the s--- as one of the best Call of Duty players in the world,” Clayster said. “I definitely wasn’t an easy person to work with because I was defensive, abrasive and constantly would nitpick Crim all the time.”

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Clayster didn’t realize the kind of person he was being, and how it may have impacted his teammates. He never met anyone who wanted to win more than Crimsix, he said.

The AR player now thinks Crimsix is the “best Call of Duty player of all time,” and was trying to team up with him ever since he left Complexity.

Clayster, while a two-time world champion, went through a drought.

“Clay went through three years of not winning. That was probably extremely tough for him,” Crimsix said. “I think he just wanted to win again. I was able to get a championship here and there over the past couple years, but it’s been a reality check the past couple of years. It just means you have to go harder.”

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Leading the way

Competition in the CDL is tightening. Five different teams have now won home series tournaments -- Florida, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and most recently, New York -- so Crimsix’s guidance is more important than ever.

There are no matches off. Methodz’s Toronto Ultra squad had a slow start to the season, but made it to the New York home series semifinals last weekend after defeating top-ranked Atlanta.

Crimsix and Clayster’s synergy needs to be better than ever.

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The two have a mutual respect for each other now, and that’s allowed them to help nurture their young co-stars, Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro and Indervir “iLLey” Dhaliwal, while meshing with the proven Cuyler “Huke” Garland.

Crimsix is only an effective teacher because he knows how to be taught.

“He was great to coach. He liked to soak things up,” Crimsix’s former Complexity coach Matt “MrX” Morello said. “While he had his opinions and was strong, when he saw the other side he would give in and concede in those moments. The constant work ethic was always there and as long as somebody has that mentality you can get the most out of them.”

The Empire’s head coach, Ray “Rambo” Lussier, took the reins from Crimsix and Clayster when he was signed in March. He’s been most effective with the Empire’s strategy and as a voice of reason in tense moments.

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Sometimes the Empire would be having fun in practice, and Crimsix dampened the mood, Clayster said. Rambo was needed in those scenarios, but Crimsix’s points wouldn’t be forgotten.

“For him to push you and be on your ass like that, it comes from the winningest Call of Duty player of all time and probably the greatest ever,” Clayster said. “If he comes at you and makes you sit up straighter and play a little harder, I think that’s what makes him such a talented player.”

Crimsix said he doesn’t care for the GOAT talk. If he didn’t do that, he would lose focus on what was ahead of him.

When he does look back on his career, Crimsix doesn’t reference the first LAN tournament he won in 2013. It’s always the second one, because it was back-to-back.

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“So many people have won one tournament, but the more you rack up, the less people there are on the list,” Crimsix said. “The realization was after we won back-to-back, and that I could keep going. Then, I was thinking I could be incredible.”

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Find more Empire stories from The Dallas Morning News here.

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