Event OPAL Awards of Major II Texas

With the conclusion of each event, BreakingPoint will be giving out individual awards called OPAL Awards (Outstanding Players at LAN) to the players who were deemed the best & most impactful in that event.

Players will be acknowledged for their consistency, standout performances, and ability to deliver in high-pressure moments, but their impact on their team’s overall success will be just as important. As we shift focus to the OpTic Texas Major, we’ll spotlight the players who made the biggest impact in Texas.

In Texas, the script was flipped on its head rather quickly. OpTic Texas fell on Saturday. Thieves finished in 4th with two devastating losses. Vancouver surged into the Finals, but in the end, Atlanta FaZe was crowned champion.

The tournament solidified that FaZe are the top team in the game, winning the last three straight LAN tournaments. The question remains who will be able to knock them off the top of the mountain. While they were the best team of the tournament, multiple players performed at a high level during their respective tournament runs. Here were the best players of the OpTic Texas Major LAN event!

MVP: McArthur "Cellium" Jovel - Atlanta FaZe

The hardest kill in the game, Cellium, was clearly going full violence the entire event. From trash-talking the opposing mid-series to telling veterans to retire post-match, Cellium was looking to oppose his will both in and out of the server. The superstar AR would save his best for last, dropping a 1.72 K/D in the Grand Finals against Vancouver Surge, setting a record for highest Grand Finals K/D in the CDL era & guaranteeing the event MVP. While Black Ops 6 seems to be the year of the SMG, it's been crystal clear that Cellium isn't still to that narrative.

📸 Photo by @ATLFaZe

OPAL: Chris "Simp" Lehr - Atlanta FaZe

Picking the second FaZe player was a hard decision, as both Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris & Zack "Drazah" Jordan had many highlight moments throughout the Major. We went with Simp, who started the tournament with back-to-back 1.27 K/D series against New York & Minnesota. He continues to excel in the slaying categories while leading FaZe in both Hill Time per 10 minutes in Hardpoint (67.8) and Plants in SND (10), providing impact in every metric.

📸 Photo by @ATLFaZe

OPAL: Travis "Neptune" McCloud - Vancouver Surge

The best in-season signing of the season, Neptune proved that his success isn't just found online. The high-flying SMG started the tournament with four straight series with a 1.09 series K/D or better, including a 1.29 against Toronto in the Elimination Finals. His slaying numbers have continued to be eye-popping, going off for 112 kills in 4 maps against Boston and 101 kills against Toronto in 4 maps as well. One of the most underrated aspects of the event was the improvement he had in SND. Going from a 0.89 K/D with 0.69 kills per round online to 1.18 K/D and 0.82 kills per round on LAN.

📸 Photo by @syrupfx

OPAL: Joseph "JoeDeceives" Romero - Toronto Ultra

JoeDeceives has one of the best single-stages of the season, making him a dark-horse candidate for awards at the end of the season if he can keep it up. At the Major, Joe had 5 series with a 1.03 K/D or better. That includes a 1.47 K/D vs LAT, 1.45 K/D vs BOS, and a 1.20 K/D vs M8s. Much like Simp, he leads Toronto in slaying while having the 2nd most Hill Time per 10 minutes (76.5), the most plants on the team (12), and the highest ticks per attack (3.1).

📸 Photo by @TorontoUltra

OPAL: Thomas "Scrap" Ernst - LA Thieves

The weekend can be considered a failure for the Thieves as a team, but Scrap delivered in individual performance. The superstar AR had a 1.27 K/D in SND during the event with crazy supporting stats of 0.88 kills per round, 127 ADR, and 78% opening duel win rate. Then looking into Control, Scrap had a team-high 1.28 K/D, which was the 3rd highest at the event. In Control, he also ranked 2nd in kills per 10 minutes (26.0) and 4th in damage per 10 minutes (3143). While the team didn't reach their goals, Scrap should be highlighted for his play.

📸 Photo by @syrupfx

OPAL: Byron "Nastie" Plumridge - Vancouver Surge

The most underrated piece of the Neptune pickup by Vancouver? The level of growth that Nastie has enjoyed. The Englishman has played fantastically in the new-look Surge, continuing that run at the Major. Against Toronto in the Elimination Finals, Nastie went off with a 1.38 series K/D and 87 kills with a 1.40 HP K/D. During Winner's Round 2, Nastie led the team with a 1.24 series K/D, going 94-76 with 10k damage.

📸 Photo by @syrupfx

Honorable Mentions

Due to a limit of two players per team can earn an OPAL per event, which means that both Jovan "O4" Rodriguez and Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris fell just short. O4 improved on LAN, going off with 101 kills & a 1.13 series K/D in the 3-1 win over Boston. His Hardpoint play was a big factor, going from 21.4 Kp10m / 0.87 K/D / 2473 DMGp10m in online play during Stage II to 25.2 Kp10m / 1.06 K/D / 2999 DMGp10m. aBeZy was king in SND yet again, having a 1.62 K/D in the mode with 0.89 kills per round & 58% opening duel win percentage.

Another restriction for OPALs is a Top 6 placing, which meant that even though José "ReeaL" Castilla tried his best to carry Miami, he landed in the Honorable Mentions. The Spaniard had a 1.31 K/D with 117 kills in the 1-3 loss to LA Thieves. He performed at a superstar level across all three modes, giving confidence to Heretics fans for the future.

The Toronto Ultra finished in 3rd, and a major factor was Ben "Beans" McMellon. His top three performances of the weekend were a 1.57 series K/D in the 3-0 win over M8s, 1.29 series K/D in the sweep of OpTic, and a 1.20 series K/D against LAT to secure a Top 3 placement.

Even though the Boston Breach only finished Top 6, they had the upset of the weekend, beating LA Thieves 3-1 in Winners' Round 1. Joseph "Owakening" Conley had countless high-impact plays across all three series played, but Eric "Snoopy" Pérez was the driving force against the Thieves. Finishing with a 1.19 series K/D, 101 kills, and a 1.83 SND K/D, Snoopy was the Man of the Match and showcased his potential.