Founded | September 13, 2019 |
---|---|
League | Call of Duty League |
Team history | Dallas Empire (2019–2021) OpTic Texas (2021–present) |
Based in | Dallas, Texas, United States |
Colors | |
Championships | 1 (2020) (Dallas Empire) 1 (2024) (OpTic Texas) |
Stage titles | 2 (2022 Major 1) (2024 Major 3) |
Partners |
|
Parent group | |
Website | Official 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.
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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. [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 the Lone Star of Texas in place of the OpTic "G".
OpTic Texas roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
JohnPaul "JP Krez" Krez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: July 30, 2023. |
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) | |
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) |
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 |
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 |
Champs MVP
| 1st Team All-Star
| 2nd Team All-Star
|
OpTic Gaming is an American professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The organization currently operates a Call of Duty team in the Call of Duty League, OpTic Texas, they also operate a Overwatch team in the Overwatch League, Dallas Fuel, as well as Rocket League, and Halo teams. They previously competed in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Gears of War 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite Battle Royale, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant, and Apex Legends. The organization is currently owned by Hector "H3CZ" Rodriguez and Mike “Hastr0” Rufail.
The Call of Duty Championship is an annual Call of Duty tournament held at the end of each competitive season to determine the year's World Champion. To determine qualification, teams must qualify through events before the World Championship. Players must be at least 18 years of age as of the beginning of the tournament in order to participate.
Team Envy was an American esports franchise based in Dallas, Texas, owned by Envy Gaming. Founded in 2007 as a professional Call of Duty team under the moniker Team EnVyUs, they fielded rosters in Counter-Strike, FIFA, Fortnite, Gears of War, Halo, League of Legends, Chess, Magic: the Gathering, Overwatch, Paladins, PUBG, Rocket League, SMITE, StarCraft, Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter and Valorant. Following the merger between Envy Gaming and OpTic Gaming, Envy Gaming retired the Team Envy brand in June 2022, shifting all of them to the OpTic Gaming moniker.
Seth Abner, also known as scump, scumperjumper or The King is a former American professional Call of Duty player who last played for the Call of Duty League team OpTic Texas. Abner is a two time Major League Gaming (MLG) X Games gold medalist. During the first ever Esports Awards in 2016, Scump won the Esports Console Player of the Year award. In August 2017, Scump achieved his first ever Call of Duty World Championship. Abner is sponsored by several gaming hardware companies, including Turtle Beach and Scuf Gaming. He also runs a YouTube channel that currently has obtained over 2.7 million subscribers and over 665 million channel views as of November 10, 2023. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Call of Duty players of all time.
Damon Barlow, better known as Karma, is a Canadian-American professional Call of Duty coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for OpTic Texas. He is the first three-time Call of Duty Championship winner, winning back-to-back titles in 2013 & 2014, and also in 2017, with Fariko Impact, compLexity Gaming, and OpTic Gaming respectively. He is also a Major League Gaming (MLG) X Games 2015 gold medalist, with OpTic Gaming. Karma joined OpTic replacing outgoing captain Matt "Nadeshot" Haag on the team. He is a naturalized American citizen. As of May 2020, Karma has won $815,087.25 from tournament winnings, making him the player to have earned the fifth most total prize money playing professional Call of Duty, and making him the player to have earned the fifth most total prize money playing any professional console game. He also runs an active YouTube channel.
100 Thieves, LLC is an American lifestyle brand and gaming organization based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2017 by Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag. The organization competes in several video games, including Call of Duty, League of Legends and Valorant. They currently operate three franchise teams, in the League Championship Series (LCS), Valorant Americas League and Call of Duty League.
Dallas Fuel is an American professional Overwatch team based in Dallas, Texas. The Fuel compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region.
The Houston Outlaws were an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Houston, Texas. The Outlaws competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. The Outlaws qualified for the season playoffs twice in their existence and reached the Grand Finals once, in 2023.
The 2018 CWL Pro League was a Call of Duty: WWII tournament on PlayStation 4 that occurred on January 23-July 29, 2018.
Envy Gaming, Inc was a collective esports and gaming company. It was originally founded in 2007 by Tosh "Stainville" Mcgruder and Skyler "Foreplayy" Johnson as a Call of Duty esports team known as Team EnVyUs. Envy Gaming, LLC was formed in October 2012 and incorporated as Envy Gaming, Inc in May 2016. The company owned and operated several esports teams, including Team Envy, the Dallas Fuel of the Overwatch League, and the OpTic Texas of the Call of Duty League with OpTic Gaming. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming.
Cloud9 New York are an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in New York City, New York. The team is operated by Cloud9, an esports organization owned by Jack Etienne. The team were formerly known as the New York Subliners (NYSL), owned by Sterling Equities subsidiary Sterling.VC. New York was announced as one of the first five cities to own a spot in the CDL.
The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the video game series Call of Duty, produced by its publisher Activision. The Call of Duty League follows the model of the Overwatch League as well as other traditional North American professional sporting leagues by using a set of permanent, city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups. In addition, the league plays in a tournament point system and playoffs format rather than the use of promotion and relegation used commonly in other esports and non-North American leagues, with players on the roster being assured a minimum annual salary, benefits, and a portion of winnings and revenue-sharing based on how that team performs. The League was announced in 2019 with its inaugural season starting in 2020.
OpTic Chicago was an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Chicago, Illinois. OpTic Chicago was owned by NRG Esports owned and ran by Co-CEO's Andy Miller & OpTic Gaming owner Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez.
The Vegas Falcons are an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Las Vegas, United States. Originally founded as the Paris Legion by C0ntact Gaming, Paris was announced as one of the first five cities to host a CDL team. According to ESPN, the publisher was looking to sell slots for approximately $25 million per team. Despite being one of the first five cities to join the CDL, the team was the final one to unveil their branding on November 2, 2019. On September 12, 2022, the Legion relocated to Las Vegas. Prior to the 2025 season, the team was sold to Saudi esports organization Team Falcons.
Minnesota Rokkr is an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. RØKKR is owned by G2 Esports, a European esports organization, who merged with Version1, in December 2023.
Ian Porter, better known as Crimsix, is an American former professional Call of Duty player and current esports driver. As an esports competitor he has represented multiple organizations in multiple game titles, most notably representing Optic Gaming and Complexity in Call of Duty.
The Los Angeles Thieves or LA Thieves is an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) team based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by 100 Thieves.
The 2021 OpTic Chicago season is the second season for NRG Esports in the Call of Duty League. It was announced on November 11, 2020 that this would be the first season under the brand of OpTic Chicago after the Chicago Huntsmen re-branded when CEO Hector "HECZ" Rodriguez regained the intellectual property of OpTic Gaming.
The 2022 Call of Duty League season was the third season for the Call of Duty League, an esports league based on the video game franchise Call of Duty.
The 2023 Call of Duty League season was the fourth season of the Call of Duty League, an esports league based on the video game franchise Call of Duty.