FAZE DOWN! OpTic Texas Beats FaZe And Wins $200,000 In The Most Perfect Competitive Call of Duty Major
This Major 1 was the perfect storyline and the best possible outcome for the Competitive Call of Duty League.
So let's back up a sec and lemme set the scene: OpTic Texas is the most notorious team in competitive Call of Duty. Like FaZe Clan, they've been around since the dawn of time (in relation to Call of Duty) and have one of the most loyal fan bases out there. Like many others, I got into competitive Call of Duty from watching YouTube content from Seth Abner, aka "Scump."
He's known as the King of Competitive Call of Duty because he's been playing at such a high level for close to a second. On top of that, he grinds content which helps the fan know him even better.
For the past few years, OpTic hasn't had nearly as much success as they would've hoped. The past few years have been filled with struggles and constantly falling just short. Even to start off this competitive Call of Duty year, OpTic lost their first two matchups and didn't look like a well-rounded team. Scump tweeted this on February 6th:
Then, they came into this Major 1 and proved EVERYBODY wrong.
Not only was this the first Major event for the 2022 competitive Call of Duty season, but it was also OpTic Texas' home Major. So, the venue was set in Arlington and the #GreenWall (OpTic's fan base) - showed up in full force.
Ain't saying much but I'll take it
— MRags (@BarstoolMRags) March 7, 2022
Right from the first match against Seattle Surge, OpTic looked like a completely different team from this prior year. Their teamwork was on point, the strategies were working to perfection and everything seemed to be going their way.
After beating Seattle, they moved on to face Atlanta FaZe in the second round of the Winner's bracket - each series is a best of 5, so whichever team wins 3 maps first, wins the series. FaZe went down 0-2 and were looking to sweep OpTic, which would really have been a massive momentum killer aside from being bumped down into the loser's bracket. In an unbelievable turn of events, OpTic went on to win 3 straight maps, 6-0 FaZe on Search & Destroy Map 5 and complete the "reverse sweep." Think about it like hockey - FaZe being up 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in competitive Call of Duty and OpTic made the comeback of a lifetime.
OpTic then goes on to beat the London Royals Ravens and to ultimately face Atlanta FaZe in the Grand Finals. This is the best rivalry in all of Competitive Call of Duty - this is your Yankees vs Red Sox and the series did not disappoint. There were crazy moments the entire series, with OpTic beating FaZe 5-2 to secure the $200,000 prize pool and the Major 1 Championship (Grand Finals are always best of 9).
Overall, Major 1 couldn't have went smoother for the teams, CDL production or as a fan watching. Even though I don't enjoy playing Vanguard, it's a phenomenal game to watch competitively. Of course there's some bugs and glitches even in today's game, but Vanguard is pleasing to the eye.
As a fan of competitive Call of Duty, the entire weekend couldn't have been better. Watching OpTic return to the throne, in front of their home fans with 150k people watching on YouTube, really showed how well competitive Call of Duty can be as an esports. Even if you re-run this tournament, there isn't a single adjustment I would make to enhance the storyline of Major 1. It simply all went perfectly according to plan and sets up the rest of the 2022 CDL Season for some absolute mayhem.
For the rest of the year, we have (3) more Majors and then a CoD Championship to finish off the year. Major 2 is going to be in Minnesota from March 31st to April 3rd. See you there.