OpTic Gaming & Envy announce merger and new OpTic Texas CDL team
OpTic Texas/Call of Duty LeagueAfter months of rumors, leaks and anticipation, the long-awaited OpTic and Dallas Empire merger has finally been announced, creating the OpTic Texaxs CDL team.
Reports of a merger between the two major Call of Duty powerhouses have circulated for some time in the months following the 2021 CDL season.
In August 2021, not long after the culmination of the Call of Duty League Championship, the story came out that Envy-owned Dallas Empire were in talks to merge with OpTic.
Alongside it, the rumored new team — which would be housed by the merged OpTic and Envy organization — has been hotly discussed by the competitive community, and now it’s finally confirmed, with the OpTic Texas announcement finally arriving on Monday, November 8.
OpTic Texas finally announced
On November 8, OpTic Texas was made official, with two of the longest-standing names in CoD esports coming together. Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez will henceforth be the president of OpTic Gaming as they bring OpTic Texas into the 2022 CDL season on Call of Duty: Vanguard.
With the two major brands merging, the new OpTic Texas roster is as follows:
- Seth ‘Scump’ Abner
- Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell
- Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro
- Indervir ‘iLLeY’ Dhaliwal
OpTic Texas“We’ve competed against each other since 2008, and I have a ton of respect for Hector and what he’s built,” said Envy founder Mike ‘Hastr0’ Rufail. “We genuinely care about each other. We are going to be much stronger together than apart.”
What happens to Dallas Empire and Chicago CDL spot?
The Dallas Empire brand will be retired from Call of Duty League competition, rebranding as OpTic Texas as part of the merger.
It was also revealed that Envy and OpTic acquired the Chicago CDL spot through the merger, meaning that they will have to find a suitable buyer for the slot, which they say has received “viable interest.” This confirms NRG’s departure from the CDL after creating the Chicago Huntsmen in the 2020 season.
As of yet, it’s unclear what happens to the vacated Chicago CDL spot, especially since the reported Washington deal fell through recently.