A new Empire: OpTic Texas is the new Call of Duty League team in North Texas

There was already OpTic DNA at Envy Gaming, but now the two Call of Duty esports powerhouses are one.

Envy officially merged with the OpTic Gaming brand, the team announced Monday, ending a long offseason of speculation and rumor spreading. The Dallas Empire are now OpTic Texas, with Seth “Scump” Abner and Brandon “Dashy” Otell joining Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro and Indervir “iLLeY’ Dhaliwal.

This deal was a long time coming, Envy CEO Adam Rymer told The Dallas Morning News. OpTic CEO Hector Rodriguez and Envy founder Mike Rufail have been friends for over a decade, battling it out in Call of Duty esports for championships.

“Obviously for years, with OpTic changing hands, there wasn’t really an opportunity for us to do too many things together with OpTic. But with Hector regaining control and us both being in Dallas, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Rymer said. “Timing was exactly right for Mike and Hector to discuss things that they’ve been talking about for years, to potentially bring the brands together to create an opportunity that they’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

The highly anticipated merger was a poorly kept secret. There were small hints and leaks all over the place since the end of the season. Cuevas-Castro was even spotted at OpTic owner Hector Rodriguez’s compound in Frisco.

The deal was also fairly telegraphed.

Rodriguez was juggling his OpTic brand for the first two years of the Call of Duty League. It wasn’t his in 2020, as he was with NRG, hosting the Chicago Huntsmen with the iconic OpTic duo of Abner and Matthew “FormaL” Piper. Rodriguez required OpTic, which then became 100 Thieves, and ran with OpTic Chicago for 2021.

Now OpTic is a part of Envy, giving stability and opportunity to both organizations. Envy gained the most notable content mentor in the Call of Duty space, and the #GreenWall fan base that erupts at every Call of Duty event, no matter the location. Dexerto reported that Envy also acquired the rights to the 12th CDL spot (formerly OpTic Chicago), with the intent of selling it before the 2022 season.

Rymer said it was important that followers of both organizations, which were always fierce rivals, still feel the presence of Envy and OpTic.

“For the fans that have been with Envy for so long and have been attached to us for so long, all I can tell them is that the logo might change for them, and the colors might change for them, but it’s the same core heart,” Rufail said. “What we stand for as Envy isn’t much different than what OpTic stands for. I hope they can still cheer for the same group that helped produce great moments.”

H3CZ and Hastr0

Rufail and Rodriguez met at the first Call of Duty 4 LAN event back in early 2008. They only shared a couple words then, but they couldn’t keep away from each other in the 13 years since.

Whether it was traveling on the road together, going out for drinks or dinner after LAN competition, or even watching they teams play against each other, they’ve always worked side by side.

“I always felt like I was competing against my family. It felt like we should have been doing this together,” Rufail said. “I think we finally found the opportunity to make that happen and it all worked out in the end.”

OpTic Texas is hardly the first time Rufail and Rodriguez tried collaborating. Their first attempt was with Eon Interactive in 2013. That’s not a secret, but it is lesser known. The goal was a combined advertising agency would represent both Envy and OpTic.

Envy absorbing OpTic and the Dallas Empire becoming OpTic Texas isn’t too far off from that. But there were still more attempts to work together.

Rodriguez and Rufail tried to collaborate again when they put in a bid to get OpTic back from Infinite Esports in 2019. The failed bid haunted Rodriguez.

“It was one of the most painful things that I have ever endured,” Rodriguez said. “I know that I hid it well on camera and I know that even at home I hid it well. But it was eating me alive ... I’ve done a lot of growing through the last couple of years, and understand what it’s like to not be OpTic H3CZ.

“It’s something that I never want to experience again.”

Rufail and Rodriguez couldn’t the glory of a grand announcement because the world already knew of the deal, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a small win.

Rufail actually has a favorite leak.

Not OpTic Dallas

It’s not all about Dallas, though Envy is a staple in the DFW esports world.

Rufail and Rodriguez were both born in Texas. Rufail’s parents, Christian Egyptians, immigrated to Texas from Egypt in the late 1960s. Rodriguez was born in El Paso.

“When my parents kidnapped me out of Juarez, Mexico and took me to Chicago, I said ‘why are we going so far north and why is it so cold,” Rodriguez told The News. “As a Texas-born, I always knew I’d end up in Texas. Here I am.”

So when the leaks emerged, confidently calling the new Call of Duty League team “OpTic Dallas,” Rufail couldn’t help but consider that a small win.

“My favorite leak by far is that the team is called OpTic Dallas,” Rufail said. “It’s funny because when people think they are leaking something, they think it is absolutely true. What they don’t understand is they don’t control the business and things can change very quickly. They got it wrong this time.”

While the news of the merger may be less shocking than it could have been several months ago, there are still followers of both organizations confused by the move. How could two rivals become one? What about the loyal fans that stood by?

Well, this wasn’t the first time Envy and OpTic merged. Abner made sure to mention Eon in his chat with The News.

“A lot of people don’t really remember Eon, which is something that kind of slipped my memory as well,” Abner said. “It wasn’t done at this level, but Eon happened and it was a mix of Envy and OpTic. It’s crazier that it’s happening again, but now it’s on a bigger and more stable foundation. The past mergers haven’t gone so well, but I think this one is going to go very well.”

That doesn’t answer any questions about roles though. There isn’t much to tell. Rodriguez will still be the president of OpTic, Rufail will heal up all the esports duties as Envy’s Chief Gaming officer and Rymer looks over the whole deal as Envy CEO.

“It feels like not much is going to change because we both have been focused on similar things,” Rufail said. “We are both building big brands in esports. Him and I working together will feel like we just get to do our jobs every day.”