OpTic Texas: From 0-18 to world champions

The OpTic Gaming name is one that has defined Call of Duty esports.

The North American organisation originated from the first-person shooter title and has fielded a roster in competitive matches for over a decade. 

In 2024, the Green Wall achieved victory at the Call of Duty League (CDL) Championship, marking the first time in seven years OpTic had won Call of Duty’s biggest esports tournament. After excelling in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the expectations for OpTic Texas were high heading into the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 season in 2025. 

By mid-March, the defending CDL champions entered an unprecedented downturn of form, failing to win a single map across six fixtures in Stage 2 of the regular season. With a possibility of missing out on a chance to defend its Champs title looming, the team called upon a young upstart, sparking an incredible turnaround that has cemented the franchise as one of the best of all time.

Despite securing the top seed for Major 1, OpTic Texas found itself in the elimination bracket following a defeat to the hometown side of Miami Heretics.

The fate of the team was then sealed at the hands of the Carolina Royal Ravens, with a 3-1 loss sending the Green Wall crashing down with a top-eight placement. A far cry from championship glory.

The struggles of OpTic Texas continued to build in the Stage 2 Major qualifiers. Out of the seven online matches, the team lost six of them, earning them a record of 0-18, one of the worst win-to-loss records in Call of Duty esports history. 

“Bad split from myself,” said Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro on X (formerly Twitter). “Gonna lock in and turn it around.” 

It wasn’t just Shotzzy who took responsibility for OpTic’s sudden downturn in form. “Played terrible this whole stage, gotta lock back in for Major 3,” added Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell. 

As a result, Kenny ‘Kenny’ Williams left in favour of former New Your Subliners player Cesar ‘Skyz’ Bueno, who would make his OpTic debut at the Major 2 LAN. 

Even with the addition of Skyz, a former world champion, the foundations of the Green Wall continued to crack, with another top-eight finish confirming that further changes to the roster were still required. In March, Amer ‘Pred’ Zulbeari departed the team for a second time, with Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland re-joining the starting line-up after leaving in February. 

The third Major of the regular season saw signs of improvement following the return of Huke. A 2-3 record during online qualification secured the seventh seed for the Major. While it wasn’t near the top of the table, wins over Minnesota Rokkr and Cloud9 New York instilled some much-needed confidence back into the franchise on the cusp of missing out on Champs qualification. 

OpTic Texas found itself in the elimination bracket at Major 3 at the first opportunity, getting immediately swept aside by Boston Breach in its opening upper bracket match. Victory over the Las Vegas Falcons in round one set up a tantalising clash against Atlanta FaZe, but the Major 1 and 2 winners were the superior side, sending the Green Wall’s gradual rebuild crashing down once again with a top-eight finish.

Major 3 saw the CDL debut of Mason ‘Mercules’ Ramsey, a promising Challengers player who had caught the attention of Toronto Ultra after Ben ‘Beans’ McMellon was unable to attend the event due to visa issues. Toronto, with a substitute and minimal practice, went on to finish the event in third place, with Mercules instantly becoming the talk of the town thanks to his supreme slaying ability and the skills to adapt to a new team with ease.

Shortly after Major 3, OpTic Texas underwent its fifth roster change of the Black Ops 6 season. After excelling on debut for Toronto Ultra, Mercules joined OpTic’s active roster in place of Skyz, who headed to the substitute’s bench.

With Mercules on the starting line-up, OpTic Texas returned to the top three in the Major 4 online qualifier, taking the third seed with victories over Vancouver Surge, Carolina Royal Ravens and Toronto Ultra. The three wins were a step in the right direction, but defeats to Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 and Boston Breach still showed room for improvement. 

Major 4’s Dallas LAN hosted by OpTic Texas itself would be the ultimate proving ground for Mercules’ second CDL appearance. A tricky first-round match against Toronto Ultra was the first hurdle the new-look Green Wall overcame, with a 3-1 score line seeing the team advance to the upper bracket semi-final. 

A victory over Atlanta FaZe, however, would be a step too far for OpTic Texas. A 3-1 loss at the hands of the Red Militia sent OpTic down to the elimination bracket once again. Victory over Minnesota kept the ball rolling, but the Los Angeles Thieves halted any momentum, securing a top-four finish. The result may be another podium miss, but it was a step forward.

Major 4’s performance acted as the catalyst for the comeback of OpTic Texas. After narrowly making it into Champs top eight qualification, the postseason acted as a clean slate for the rebuilt Green Wall to stand tall where it previously fell.

The Champs campaign commenced with a headline clash between OpTic and FaZe. Dubbed the ‘eClasico’ by fans, the two sides have competed against each other for over 15 years, whether it’s content creation or on the main stage.

OpTic Texas came out swinging, sweeping aside Atlanta FaZe 3-0 to begin the season-ending event on the front foot. Momentum continued, with sweeps over Toronto and Boston securing the team’s place in its first Grand Final of the year. 

Vancouver Surge would join OpTic in the Grand Final after surging through the elimination bracket to book its place in its second finals of Black Ops 6. After six maps, nothing could separate the two sides battling for championship glory. Notable moments from Mercules and Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro turned the tide of the match in the Green Wall’s favour, resulting in OpTic Texas taking the series 5-3, defending the championship it won in 2024. 

After almost failing to qualify for Champs for the first time in its history to winning the most prestigious Call of Duty event of the year, the Green Wall stood tall once more with Mercules cementing himself as the latest generational talent to send shockwaves through the CDL landscape. 

With Champs defended, attention turned to the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As newly crowned CDL champions, the team was the heavy favourite heading into Call of Duty’s second appearance at the Middle Eastern multi-title event.

OpTic dominated Group A, scoring 3-0 sweeps over Five Fears and Cloud9 to advance into the knockout bracket. Two-time Black Ops 6 Major winners 100 Thieves couldn’t best an OpTic Texas side that had finally found its footing. A 3-1 win set up a clash against Team Heretics in one of the closest matches of the entire season. The Spaniards raced to a 2-0 lead after winning the opening Hardpoint by a single point and the first Search and Destroy in the eleventh round. 

The close matches continued, but OpTic found itself on the right side of the scoreboard to force a fifth and final map. The Green Wall’s clutch factor shone on the big stage once again, with OpTic moving on to the Grand Final after a 3-2 victory over Heretics. 

Joining OpTic in the EWC Grand Final would be Vancouver Surge, setting up a rematch from the Champs Grand Final. Unlike Champs, Vancouver couldn’t contend with OpTic Texas, which managed to sweep aside Surge with a 4-0 win to secure its second Black Ops 6 victory. 

Across Champs and EWC, OpTic Texas recorded a win-to-loss record of 30-6, a stark contrast from its constant string of defeats during the first half of the season. 

“Crazy journey for me this year, but that’s the best part,” said Huke following OpTic’s Champs victory. “Goodbye to Black Ops 6, onwards to the next!”

From 0-18 in the Major 2 qualifiers to defending its CDL championship to winning its first EWC title, OpTic’s incredible turnaround will go down in history as one of the biggest reversals of fortune in any esport.