OpTic Chicago’s start to the 2021 Call of Duty League season was almost disastrous but here’s how Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez managed to keep Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell in the starting lineup for their opening matchups.
The new CDL season is all set to kick off on Thursday, February 11 with the Atlanta FaZe Home Series. While teams are all competing online for another year, a majority of the league’s player base has relocated to the United States for the best chance at success.
All of OpTic moved to Texas at the start of 2021 in order to compete out of the HECZQUARTERS. All four starting members made the transition and were ready to get the action underway with their opening series on February 12 against Paris Legion.
However, a major spanner was thrown into the works as Dashy almost missed this first showdown. As a Canadian temporarily in the US, Dashy’s ‘P1’ Visa was only just approved days prior. To properly activate it, he needed to exit the country and make it back in time. Here’s how he got it done thanks to H3CZ.
Due to the ongoing global crisis, leaving the country and reentering in a short timeframe isn’t as simple as it once was. “[Dashy] couldn’t go back to Canada because Canada has a 14 day quarantine period,” H3CZ explained.
Even if Dashy left the moment he got approval, it would have overlapped with the first week of CDL action. To avoid this disaster, the two got on flights to Mexico as soon as they could.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
It was an “insane timeline” but flying in and out of Mexico – a total of “eight hours travel” – was enough to activate the Visa and keep Dashy in the US for the season ahead. The Visa even lasts “five years,” Dashy added, meaning he won’t have to go through that process again anytime soon.
Without that option to rapidly get in and out on the same day, OpTic’s first week could have looked completely different.
The relevant section begins at the 16:45 mark below.
Following their first matchup against Paris, OpTic squares off against Atlanta FaZe on Sunday, February 14. Not having Dashy in the lineup, or having Dashy play on high ping, would have been a major disadvantage to kick the year off.
All four members of the starting lineup will now be competing out of the HECZQUARTERS without issue. Thanks to this hectic day of travel, an early crisis has been avoided. For a full rundown on the first week of action, be sure to check our complete hub for the Atlanta FaZe Home Series.
