OpTic Texas hosts the third CDL Major of the season this weekend

(Gray News) - OpTic Texas is hosting the Call of Duty League’s (CDL) Major III in Arlington at Esports Stadium Arlington this weekend, March 9-12. Teams will compete for a $500,000 prize pool and CDL points to climb further up the standings table.

Not as many roster changes occurred between the end of the Boston Major II and qualifiers for Major III, but several are important to note.

Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni, a player for Boston Breach and long-time CDL pro, announced his retirement on the mainstage of the Boston Breach hosted Major II after the Winners Finals had concluded. With a fan favorite suddenly stepping down, finding someone to step up and take over the starting spot became a pressing challenge. The Breach put their trust in Ben ‘Beans’ McMellon, pulling him from their academy team to fill the vacant starting spot. The decision proved successful as they went 4-1 in qualifiers, only losing to Florida Mutineers. Also, Beans’ first mainstage performance yesterday on the opening day to Major III was electric against OpTic Texas, who also made a notable roster change following Major III.

OpTic decided to part ways with Indervir ‘iLLeY’ Dhaliwal and chose to find a replacement from a source they hadn’t tapped in a long time. Daniel ‘Ghosty’ Rothe is a relatively new face to the CDL scene, as he only started competing in Challengers in 2020. OpTic acquired him on February 9th from the Challengers team Decimate Gaming who has seen great success since the turn of the new year, placing first in three of their last four tournaments. Since Ghosty joined the roster, OpTic Texas has seen mixed results, going 3-2 in qualifiers. It’s no secret that OpTic’s roster this season has been in flux, so, understandably, they haven’t had time to iron out a solid team dynamic. Most of their team has already proven that they are powerhouse players, so it’s only a matter of time before they start clicking.

Unfortunately for OpTic, they had to face a confident Boston Breach yesterday in their opening series of the Winners Bracket. OpTic fans appeared in droves to represent the Greenwall at their home event. But even the amped-up atmosphere wasn’t enough to get OpTic over the finish line. The matchup saw incredible play from both sides. OpTic’s Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro got an Ace, eliminating all opponents single-handedly, in the second round of map two Search and Destroy (SnD). Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell also had a clutch map two SnD moment when he 1v2′d Dylan ‘Nero’ Koch and Beans to get the last-second bomb defuse in round 4. Beans proved too much to handle during the SnD, though, getting an unbelievable 17/5 eliminations to deaths ratio, including the final round 11 elimination on Dashy to win map two.

OpTic tried to recover in the map three Control but couldn’t hold on with the Control going 3-2 in favor of Boston. OpTic lost the series 3-0 and is now facing a tough slog through the Losers Bracket, riddled with solid teams. The Los Angeles Thieves and Minnesota RØKKR lurk on the far side of the Losers Bracket. At the same time, either the New York Subliners or Florida Mutineers will wait for OpTic in the elimination round two. But, Optic must first get past London Royal Ravens in elimination round one.

Losers Bracket play starts today, with the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Vegas Legion series kicking off at 1:30 PM EST on the CDL’s Twitch channel. Los Angeles Thieves will take on Minnesota RØKKR at 3 PM EST, OpTic Texas will take on London Royal Ravens at 4:30 PM EST, and New York Subliners will go up against Florida Mutineers at 6 PM EST.

To get the viewpoint of retired pros and the commentary that goes along with it, tune into Seth ‘Scump’ Abner’s CDL watch party on his Twitch channel. Methodz has recently joined OpTic as a content creator and has become the co-host to Scump, helping to cover live matches alongside other former players and members of OpTic Gaming.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.

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