OpTic Texas wins CDL Major III, the team’s first of the 2024 season (2024)

Published: May. 22, 2024 at 2:23 PM CDT

(Gray News) - On Sunday, OpTic Texas became the third team to win a Call of Duty League (CDL) Major this season. They joined the ranks of Toronto Ultra, who won Major I, and Atlanta FaZe, who won Major II. Including this most recent win, OpTic has made it to two Grand Finals and one Elimination Finals in the 2024 CDL season. With this win, they took home $150,000 and 100 CDL Points.

To win, OpTic beat Ultra, the host team of CDL Major III, 4-0 in the Grand Finals. Before they made it to the Grand Finals, they had to push their way through the elimination bracket. OpTic started Major III in the winner’s bracket and were matched against the Carolina Royal Ravens. OpTic won the series 3-1.

OpTic now had to face Ultra in the second round of the winner’s bracket. Unfortunately for OpTic, the dream of having a straight shot through the winner’s bracket ended here. OpTic started the series strong with a 250-180 win in Hardpoint on map one, but Ultra collected themselves and didn’t drop another map, winning the series 3-1. OpTic was then faced with the slog that the elimination bracket presents all teams that fall victim to it.

In the elimination round three, OpTic found themselves matched against the Miami Heretics. OpTic put up a solid win on map one, but the Heretics trounced them in Search & Destroy (S&D) on map two. Seemingly unfazed, OpTic locked in and won the map three Control with a decisive 3-0. They finished the series 3-1 with a solid win on the final Hardpoint.

Only one series remained before OpTic would reach the Elimination Finals, and the team that stood in their way was the New York Subliners. OpTic took both Hardpoint maps, but the Subliners took the first S&D and the Control. The series was up to the map five S&D, and OpTic had lost the last two S&Ds they had played. If doubt about OpTic’s capabilities had crept into fans’ minds, OpTic quickly squashed it with a 6-2 on Invasion that propelled them to the Elimination Finals.

In the Elimination Finals, Atlanta FaZe, the team that has consistently crushed OpTic’s Major dreams all season, was again the barrier OpTic needed to overcome. OpTic got off to a hot start, winning the first Hardpoint and S&D, but FaZe bore their teeth and won the Control and second Hardpoint. FaZe is a team known for their skill in S&D, but OpTic had already proven to themselves that they had what it took to win. The map was Invasion, and OpTic traded round wins back and forth with FaZe until round seven.

In round seven, OpTic was down to their last man, Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell, who was running out of time. FaZe still had McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel and Zack ‘Drazah’ Jordan alive, and they were scouring the map to find Dashy. Dashy pushed to bombsite A and picked off Cellium, who had pushed in to clear him out. With pressure on, Dashy wasted no time and immediately went prone to plant the bomb. He got the plant off with one second left on the round clock and, thanks to Drazah hesitating, got to cover.

The two players played their positions, with Drazah pushing in close and Dashy rushing in and out of cover, searching for information on Drazah. They simultaneously spotted each other through a door, but Dashy had the better cover behind a counter. Drazah made the aggressive play and flew at Dashy, but Dashy stayed calm, clutched up, and got the elimination, winning the round. FaZe didn’t win another round after that, and OpTic took the series 3-2, putting them in their second Grand Finals.

Toronto Ultra was the team that made the Grand Finals from the winner’s bracket. Ultra, the hosts of Major III, had their home crowd and has been a top-tier team all season. Those two factors alone are enough to expect a dogfight coming OpTic’s way. But the Grand Finals weren’t even a close call. OpTic thrashed Ultra with a 4-0 sweep, and not a single map came down to a nail-biting finish. As to why the Grand Final felt so one-sided, one could say that the Ultra came out flat after a wait to see who won the Elimination Finals and that OpTic was riding high on an epic map five victory. But that would be taking away from the overwhelming force OpTic had become on Sunday evening. OpTic has been consistently improving throughout the season; it was only a matter of time before it clicked. OpTic is the CDL Major III champion, and after an astounding performance on Sunday, it doesn’t seem like they are going to take their foot off the gas.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.

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