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OpTic Texas
FoundedSeptember 13, 2019;4 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 theDallas Empire) is an American professionalCall of Duty League(CDL) esports team based inDallas,Texas.OpTic Texas is owned byOpTic Gaming.Dallas was announced as one of the first five cities to host a CDL team.

History

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Dallas Empire (2019-2021)

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On May 2, 2019, Activision Blizzard announced thatEnvy Gaminghad purchased one of the first five franchise slots for theCall of DutyLeague.[1]According toESPN,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 2020Call of Duty LeagueChampionship.[5]On September 1, 2020,Claysterannounced 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 the2021 seasonwell, 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 theLos 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 theAtlanta FaZein 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 andToronto 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)

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Ahead of the2022 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 theOpTic Gamingbrand 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'sCall of Duty Leagueinto the Envy family. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully becomeOpTic Gaming,thus moving the ownership of the OpTic Texas brand officially under the OpTic Gaming banner completely.[14]

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 theLos Angeles Thievesand a 3–1 loss to theSeattle Surge.

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" Abnerreleased 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]

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]

Team identity

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The original name "Dallas Empire" was derived from the lyrics, "O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest," of the Texas state songTexas, 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 toEnvy Gaming's history in competitiveCall of Duty.[22]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 theLone Starof Texas in place of the OpTic "G".

Current roster

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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 playerSubstitute
  • InjuredInjury / Illness

Latestrostertransaction: July 30, 2023.

Awards and records

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Seasons overview

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

Tournament wins

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Dallas Empire

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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

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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

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References

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  1. ^Pei, Annie (May 2, 2019)."Activision Blizzard announces first 5 teams for Call of Duty esports league".CNBC.RetrievedJanuary 27,2020.
  2. ^Bhat, Keshav (May 2, 2019)."Five cities have purchased a spot in the upcoming franchised Call of Duty league".Charlie INTEL.RetrievedJanuary 25,2020.
  3. ^Pei, Annie (May 2, 2019)."Activision Blizzard announces first 5 teams for Call of Duty esports league".CNBC.RetrievedOctober 23,2019.
  4. ^Fitch, Adam (October 20, 2019)."Mike" Hastr0 "Rufail announces Dallas Empire branding".Esportsinsider.RetrievedJanuary 28,2020.
  5. ^"Dallas Empire Win First-Ever Call of Duty League Championship".Call of Duty League.August 30, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 1,2020.
  6. ^"Empire Clayster on Twitter:" Restricted F/A for CDL 2021 Season "".August 30, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 1,2020.
  7. ^"Huke benched in surprise Dallas Empire CDL roster change".April 23, 2021.RetrievedAugust 21,2021.
  8. ^"Dallas Empire acquire Vivid from Los Angeles Guerillas".May 21, 2021.RetrievedAugust 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) – viaTwitter.
  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) – viaTwitter.
  11. ^@Crimsix (August 27, 2021)."Restricted Free Agent for 2022"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  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) – viaTwitter.
  13. ^Carr, Joey (November 8, 2021)."Envy and OpTic Gaming merge to create OpTic Texas CDL team. On March 6, 2022, Optic Texas won the first major of 2022 CDL season. Optic won by reverse sweeping Atlanta FaZe in the winners' finals and then beating them by a score of 5-2 in the grand finals".Upcomer.RetrievedNovember 8,2021.
  14. ^"Envy Gaming retires its esports brand, becomes OpTic Gaming".Dallas News.June 27, 2022.RetrievedJune 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) – viaTwitter.
  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) – viaTwitter.
  17. ^"OpTic Texas announces full CDL roster returns for Modern Warfare 2".August 18, 2022.RetrievedAugust 20,2022.
  18. ^Mullins, Alec (January 8, 2023)."OpTic Texas replaces Dashy with Huke ahead of CDL Major 2 qualifiers".RetrievedJanuary 8,2023.
  19. ^"THANKS FOR EVERYTHING".Twitter.January 17, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 17,2023.
  20. ^Stonelake, Ant (February 9, 2023)."Ghosty signs for OpTic Texas to complete roster, replaces iLLeY".esports.gg.RetrievedFebruary 9,2023.
  21. ^Duwe, Scott (June 26, 2023)."OpTic Texas trims roster, moves on from world champion in search of upgrade".dotesports.RetrievedJune 26,2023.
  22. ^Dallas Empire (October 19, 2019)."Dallas Empire: Our Story".Call of Duty League.RetrievedFebruary 16,2020.
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