OpTic Texas BO6 Season Preview

OpTic Texas Black Ops 6 Season Preview: The Hunters Become the Hunted

As the offseason comes to a close, the Call of Duty League gears up for another thrilling season. The CDL's landscape has changed drastically, with franchises joining and new super teams being formed. The World Champs won't be deterred though, as they surely will be looking to remind everyone who is the top dog in the CDL. In this season preview, we’ll dive into OpTic’s offseason moves, key players to watch, and what are their expectations compared to the competition within the CDL.

📸 Photo by @MediabyIsiah

Offseason Recap: Going for the Back-to-Back

Signings:
None
Releases:
None

OpTic Texas was the only team in the CDL to not make any moves this offseason, bringing back the entire starting roster & coaching staff for Black Ops 6. While their rivals all made moves with their respective franchises, OpTic will be coming into the season with the exact structure that proved fruitful last year.

The OpTic Texas roster heading into Black Ops 6:

○ Brandon "Dashy" Otell
○ Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro
○ Kenneth "Kenny" Williams
○ Amer "Pred" Zulbeari
○ Damon "Karma" Barlow [Coach]
○ JohnPaul "JP Krez" Krez [Coach]

Offseason Reactions

Ronnie: "The world champions had, as you would expect, a very quiet offseason with no changes. You do have to wonder if anyone on the team for even a 1-second thought about maybe picking up the available superstars in Thomas "Scrappy" Ernst and Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez."

Easy Mac: “After winning COD Champs last season, having a boring offseason was always inevitable, as it should've been. Only one team opted to change their roster after winning Champs that wasn't forced to. That was the New York Subliners after Modern Warfare 2, which ultimately didn't work out.

For OpTic, they have all the pieces to gun for a back-to-back World Championship. They could've been tempted by HyDra or Scrap but stayed steady. The team already has a pair of World Champion coaches that work perfectly together. Both are at the peak of the profession, so adding another coach to the mix wasn't a priority. Overall, boring is always best for World Champions."

Season Expectations

Ronnie: “Season expectations for OpTic should be a repeat of last season with winning an event and the world championship. Maybe without the embarrassing stage 4 performances this time around though. With most OpTic rosters in the past and especially this one, it's all going to come down to their performance in SND if they can improve on the record they had last year and just be more consistent in the mode in general."

Black Ops 6 Season Predictions

Best Placement: 1st
Team MVP: Shotzzy
Final Regular Season Seed: 3rd
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes

Easy Mac: “Just like for Atlanta & LAT, this team is only interested in winning Championships. Having peak motivation after winning Champs is always difficult, but they still have plenty of motivation due to FaZe's EWC win & LA making another superteam. They'll be hungry to prove that they are still the top dogs in the League.

The goal I'd set for the team is three championship victories this season, which of course they'll want one to be Champs. I think LAT actually matches up very well against them in Respawns, while Atlanta will have the edge in SNDs. This will make the potential matchups between the three interesting, but until further notice OpTic should be on top.

Finally, why did I put them in 3rd for the season seed? Atlanta is incredibly consistent every year & has been the 1st seed in all five CDL seasons. LAT will be incredibly hungry & motivated early since they have just formed their new team, so I'm giving them the edge in CDL points. That doesn't mean OpTic is the 3rd best team, just means that some of the small hiccups like Stage 4 last year could cost them a Top 2 seed."

Black Ops 6 Season Predictions

Best Placement: 1st
Team MVP: Kenny
Final Regular Season Seed: 3rd
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes

📸 Photo by @MediabyIsiah

Players to Watch in Black Ops 6

Ronnie: “Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro is coming off a Champs MVP and probably his best season on the organization. If that continues, they'll be winning a lot more championships. Nobody is more impactful than Shotzzy when he is at his best, and if OpTic gets that, the green will be enjoying themselves again for these upcoming seasons."

Easy Mac: “There is talent all over the roster, but that is the case for all three of the top teams. It's about how the players can build chemistry & have elite teamwork to have the edge. You're coaching staff & in-game leader is very important to this, which makes Kenny the player to watch this season. He was crucial in helping his teammates play at their best last season, which led to his second World Championship. With the competition closer in the top 3 this year, Kenny will have to have the team working like a well-oiled machine."

Stage 1 Matches

Qualifier Match 1: December 6th at 4:30 EST vs Boston Breach
Qualifier Match 2: December 8th at 6:00 EST vs Cloud9 New York
Qualifier Match 3: December 13th at 7:30 EST vs Vancouver Surge
Qualifier Match 4: December 14th at 4:30 EST vs LA Guerrillas M8s
Qualifier Match 5: January 17th at 4:30 EST vs Vegas Falcons
Qualifier Match 6: January 19th at 4:30 EST vs LA Thieves
Qualifier Match 7: January 26th at 6:00 EST vs Toronto Ultra

The first Minor begins on January 10th, while the first Major starts on January 30th.