Huntsmen Release Entire Roster Ahead of Esports World Cup

OpTic Texas' academy program, the Huntsmen, is coming to an abrupt halt heading into the Esports World Cup. The organization has released the entire Huntsmen roster, cutting ties with all four players and their coach just weeks before the event.

The move comes down to a simple scheduling conflict: with OpTic Texas' CDL roster already qualified and heading to the Esports World Cup, the organization is unable to field two teams at the same event. Rather than sit the Huntsmen out or attempt a loan arrangement elsewhere, OpTic has opted to release the roster outright.

📸 Photo by @Huntsmen

The players affected are Jonathan "Renegade" Willette, Ulisses "Uli" Rios, Carson "Brack" Newberry, and Joseph "Owakening" Conley, along with head coach Michael "MajorManiak" Szymaniak. Not mentioned in the announcement is Jared "Swooty" Najera, who has been competing on another team while being a content creator for Huntsmen. It's a tough break for a group that had represented one of the league's more visible academy programs, now finding themselves as free agents in the middle of the offseason shuffle ahead of the final EWC Last Chance Qualifier.

With rosters across the league still shifting ahead of lock, expect at least some of these names to draw quick interest. Renegade in particular has already been floated as a potential target elsewhere this offseason, and the rest of the group won't be short on suitors as teams continue to finalize their EWC plans.