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OpTic Texas
FoundedSeptember 13, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-09-13)
LeagueCall of Duty League
Team historyDallas Empire
(2019–2021)
OpTic Texas
(2021–present)
Based inDallas, Texas, United States
Colors   
Championships1 (2020) (Dallas Empire)
1 (2024) (OpTic Texas)
Stage titles2 (2022 Major 1) (2024 Major 3)
Partners
Parent group
WebsiteOfficial website

OpTic Texas (formerly the Dallas Empire) is an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Dallas, Texas. OpTic Texas is owned by OpTic Gaming. Dallas was announced as one of the first five cities to host a CDL team.

History

Dallas Empire (2019-2021)

On May 2, 2019, Activision Blizzard announced that Envy Gaming had purchased one of the first five franchise slots for the Call of Duty League.[1] According to ESPN, the publisher was looking to sell slots for approximately $25 million per team.[2][3] Starting on October 14, 2019, and over the next 5 days Dallas announced their starting 5 man roster culminating with the announcement of their branding, the Dallas Empire.[4] On August 30, 2020, Dallas Empire won the 2020 Call of Duty League Championship.[5] On September 1, 2020, Clayster announced on his Twitter account that he would go into the 2021 as a restricted free agent as a result of the Call of Duty League moving back to a 4v4 format.[6]

The team started the 2021 season well, finishing 2nd at Stage 1 and 3rd at Stage 2. However, during Stage 3 the team announced that Huke would be moved to the substitute position with FeLo joining the starting roster.[7] Following a disappointing 7th/8th finishing during Stage 3 the team announced another change to the team's roster with Vivid being acquired from the Los Angeles Guerrillas, resulting in FeLo once again being moved to the substitute position.[8] The team showed improvement, resulting in a 2nd finish at Stage 4 after a 5–4 loss to the Atlanta FaZe in the Grand Finals. This result was followed up with a 4th finishing during Stage 5, resulting in the team finishing 3rd in the Regular Season standings. At the Championship Weekend the team finished 3rd following losses to the Atlanta FaZe and Toronto Ultra. After the end of the 2021 season the team announced Ian "Crimsix" Porter and Reece "Vivid" Drost would be leaving the team with both players becoming a Restricted Free Agent.[9][10][11][12]

OpTic Texas (2021-Present)

Ahead of the 2022 season, the team was renamed to OpTic Texas following the merger of Envy and OpTic Gaming.[13]

In November 2021, it was announced that Envy Gaming would acquire the OpTic Gaming brand as part of a merger. OpTic Gaming leader Hector “HECZ” Rodriguez joined the combined companies’ ownership group and was to serve as President of OpTic Gaming. This also brought the OpTic Texas roster for Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty League into the Envy family. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming, thus moving the ownership of the OpTic Texas brand officially under the OpTic Gaming banner completely.[14]

2022 season

During the 2022 season the team won Stage 1, followed by a top 6 place finishes at Stage 2 & Stage 3 and a top 4 finish at Stage 4, resulting in a second-place finish in the overall standings. At the 2022 Championship the team finished 4th following a 3–0 loss to the Los Angeles Thieves and a 3–1 loss to the Seattle Surge.

2023 season

In August 2022, the team announced that it would be parting ways with Brandon "Dashy" Otell and Inderwir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal ahead of the 2023 season.[15][16] A day later however, the team announced that both players would still be part of the team for the 2023 season.[17]

After a disappointing Top 12 finish at Major I, the team decided to pick up Cuyler "Huke" Garland to replace Dashy.[18]

On January 17, 2023, Seth "Scump" Abner released a video announcing his retirement ahead of Major II. In the video, it was also announced that Brandon "Dashy" Otell would be returning to the team for Major II.[19] Following a fourth-place finish at Major II, the team dropped Inderwir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal from the starting roster and added amateur player Daniel "Ghosty" Rothe.[20]

2024 season

On June 26, 2023, OpTic Texas announced that it would part ways with Cuyler "Huke" Garland and Daniel "Ghosty" Rothe ahead of the 2024 season.[21]

On July 31, 2023 OpTic finalized their MW3 season's roster by announcing the additions of Amer "Pred" Zulbeari from the Seattle Surge, and 2022 Champion Kenneth "Kenny" Williams from the Los Angeles Theives.[22]

On May 19, 2024, OpTic Texas won their first major tournament in over 2 years by defeating the home team Toronto Ultra at third event of the year.[23]

On July 21, 2024, OpTic Texas claim their first CDL era championship and their first title since the 2017 season at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend in Allen, Texas's Credit Union of Texas Event Center.[24]

Team identity

The original name "Dallas Empire" was derived from the lyrics, "O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest," of the Texas state song Texas, Our Texas. The team's original primary colors were black and gold, with a secondary color of blue, to represent their regal theme. Their logo displayed a crown, with the points being made up of a stylized N and V, as a nod to Envy Gaming's history in competitive Call of Duty.[25] As of 2024, OpTic Texas uses the traditional colors of OpTic Gaming, green and black. The OpTic Texas logo bears a resemblance to the standard OpTic logo, but with a star representing the Lone Star of Texas in place of the OpTic "G".

Current roster

OpTic Texas roster
Players Coaches
Handle Name Nationality
Dashy Otell, Brandon Canada
Kenny Williams, Kenneth United States
Pred Zulbeari, Amer Australia
Shotzzy Cuevas-Castro, Anthony United States
Head coach

Damon "Karma" Barlow

Assistant coach(es)

JohnPaul "JP Krez" Krez

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: July 30, 2023.

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Season Regular season Finish Playoffs Note
P MW ML MW% GW GL GW%
2020 35 23 12 .657 80 55 .593 2nd 1st, Won Grand Finals, 5–1 (FaZe) As Dallas Empire
2021 44 26 18 .591 99 84 .541 3rd 3rd, Lost Lower Finals, 2–3 (Ultra)
2022 36 24 12 .667 90 55 .621 2nd 4th, Lost in Losers Round 3, 1–3 (Surge) As OpTic Texas
2023 45 30 15 .667 101 76 .571 2nd 5-6th, Lost in Losers Round 2, 2–3 (Surge)
2024 45 29 16 .644 109 78 .586 3rd 1st, Won Grand Finals, 5–1 (Subliners)

Tournament wins

Dallas Empire

Date Prize Event Roster
2020-03-08 $ 50,000 Call of Duty League 2020 Week 4 - Los Angeles Clayster • Shotzzy • Huke • iLLeY • C6
2020-04-26 $ 50,000 Call of Duty League 2020 Week 6 - Chicago Clayster • Shotzzy • Huke • iLLeY • C6
2020-07-19 $ 50,000 Call of Duty League 2020 Week 12 - London Clayster • Shotzzy • Huke • iLLeY • C6
2020-08-30 $ 1,500,000 Call of Duty League Championship 2020 Clayster • Shotzzy • Huke • iLLeY • C6

OpTic Texas

Date Prize Event Roster
2022-03-06 $ 200,000 Call of Duty League 2022 - Major 1 Shotzzy • iLLeY • Scump • Dashy  
2024-05-19 $ 150,000 Call of Duty League 2024 - Major 3 Shotzzy • Dashy • Pred • Kenny
2024-07-21 $ 800,000 Call of Duty League Championship 2024 Shotzzy • Dashy • Pred • Kenny

Individual accomplishments

References

  1. ^ Pei, Annie (May 2, 2019). "Activision Blizzard announces first 5 teams for Call of Duty esports league". CNBC. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Bhat, Keshav (May 2, 2019). "Five cities have purchased a spot in the upcoming franchised Call of Duty league". Charlie INTEL. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  3. ^ Pei, Annie (May 2, 2019). "Activision Blizzard announces first 5 teams for Call of Duty esports league". CNBC. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Fitch, Adam (October 20, 2019). "Mike "Hastr0" Rufail announces Dallas Empire branding". Esportsinsider. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Dallas Empire Win First-Ever Call of Duty League Championship". Call of Duty League. August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  6. ^ "Empire Clayster on Twitter: "Restricted F/A for CDL 2021 Season"". August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  7. ^ "Huke benched in surprise Dallas Empire CDL roster change". April 23, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "Dallas Empire acquire Vivid from Los Angeles Guerillas". May 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  9. ^ @DallasEmpire (August 27, 2021). "Today we bid farewell to the 3x World Champ and winningest player of all-time. Thank you for bringing home a world championship to Dallas, Crimsix. Absolute legend" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ @DallasEmpire (August 27, 2021). "It's not easy coming into a team mid-season and stepping up the way you did, helping us push to a 3rd place finish at Champs. Thank you for everything, Vivid" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ @Crimsix (August 27, 2021). "Restricted Free Agent for 2022" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ @VividTheWarrior (August 27, 2021). "Restricted F/A going into the next title. Nothing but love for Dallas Empire for bringing me on for the second half of the year. Looking forwaard to the future" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Carr, Joey (November 8, 2021). "Envy and OpTic Gaming merge to create OpTic Texas CDL team". Upcomer. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Envy Gaming retires its esports brand, becomes OpTic Gaming". Dallas News. June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  15. ^ @OpTicTexas (August 17, 2022). "Always been family since the day you joined OpTic. Thank you Dashy. Wishing you the best in everything" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ @OpTicTexas (August 17, 2022). "Through the highs and lows of this season, always doing "whatever it takes." Thank you for representing OpTic well iLLeYYY. Good luck to what's next" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "OpTic Texas announces full CDL roster returns for Modern Warfare 2". August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Mullins, Alec (January 8, 2023). "OpTic Texas replaces Dashy with Huke ahead of CDL Major 2 qualifiers". Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  19. ^ Patraw, Zack (January 17, 2023). "OpTic Scump Retires Mid-Major". Esports Illustrated On SI. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Stonelake, Ant (February 9, 2023). "Ghosty signs for OpTic Texas to complete roster, replaces iLLeY". Esports.gg. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  21. ^ Duwe, Scott (June 26, 2023). "OpTic Texas trims roster, moves on from world champion in search of upgrade". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  22. ^ Patraw, Zack (July 31, 2023). "OpTic Texas Finalize Roster with Pred and Kenny Signings". Esports Illustrated On SI. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  23. ^ Pryor, Matthew (October 31, 2024). "OpTic Texas wins CDL Major 3 2024, breaks two-year winless drought". Esports.gg. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  24. ^ Binkowski, Justin (July 21, 2024). "OpTic Texas win CoD Champs 2024 to cap roller-coaster end to CDL season". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  25. ^ Dallas Empire (October 19, 2019). "Dallas Empire: Our Story". Call of Duty League. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
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