4 takeaways: OpTic Texas’ flashy moments not enough in Call of Duty League Kickoff Classic exit

OpTic Texas saw its first Call of Duty League action as a rebranded team at Esports Stadium Arlington on Saturday night. Former OpTic player Dylan “Envoy” Hannon and the Los Angeles Thieves topped Texas 3-1, ending OpTic’s season-opening performance early.

While OpTic lost their preseason debut, the team showed bright spots in what could be a strong season.

Here are three takeaways from OpTic’s Kickoff Classic performance:

Home LAN advantage

In perhaps the least surprising development in Call of Duty esports history, the OpTic faithful showed out. “Let’s go OpTic” chants rained down in the middle of a New York Subliners interview.

OpTic has always had a home advantage wherever they travel, but it’s safe to say that any match in North Texas will be heavily painted with green. The Texas and Los Angeles match was also the busiest the venue got throughout both Friday and Saturday.

While players like Seth “Scump” Abner and Brandon “Dashy” Otell may be accustomed to the followers flocking to them, this was new for Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro and Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal. The former Dallas Empire players were often booed at previous events.

Becoming part of OpTic will change that.

Bone to pick

Hannon was the odd man out when Envy Gaming and OpTic Gaming made the decision to merge. He was dropped from the roster and Matthew “FormaL” Piper retired, making room for Dhaliwal and Cuevas-Castro.

Hannon found a new home in Los Angeles and got some early revenge with a first-map win against OpTic. The Thieves kept the momentum going in search and destroy with four straight round wins before OpTic stopped the bleeding.

Dashy was put in two different 1-vs-4 situations — a microcosm of OpTic’s preseason start.

New team, same Shotzzy

OpTic was in jeopardy of being swept, struggling to escape the Thieves’ hot roster. 2020 CDL MVP Shotzzy rose to the moment, hitting a big flank and landing a four-piece to lift OpTic to a 3-1 win in control.

Shotzzy was the Dallas Empire’s emergency guy in 2021 when the team didn’t find the same success after winning a world championship the year before. He can be that guy for OpTic this season if he continues to make clutch plays.

Quick finish, long season

Not the start OpTic Texas wanted. But, the same could be said for defending CDL champion Atlanta FaZe. OpTic had strong moments, like taking the lead after trailing by 60 in hardpoint and firing off quality search and destroy rounds after a sluggish start.

This was a preseason event, and OpTic was one of the best teams all throughout the preseason. OpTic Ray “Rambo” Lussier would much rather OpTic play its best Call of Duty at the end of the season than the beginning.

While it was a disappointing opener for Texas, there’s plenty of room for improvement. Los Angeles Guerrillas player Pierce “Gunless” Hillman tweeted that this event was about finding the bugs in Call of Duty: Vanguard. If OpTic can find the bugs in their own game, then there’s plenty of time left for successful Call of Duty.

Photos

Photos: Welcome home, dudes! Arlington crowd greets OpTic Texas at the Call of Duty League Kickoff Classic

15 images

View Gallery

Find more OpTic Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more esports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.