Call of Duty League Championship 2025 team preview: OpTic Texas

Following four Majors and 12 weeks of online qualifiers, the 2025 Call of Duty League (CDL) Championship is on the horizon.

The season-ending event of the Call of Duty esports circuit marks five years since it switched to a geo-located franchise model following the conclusion of the 2018/19 season.

Throughout the regular season, 12 franchises have competed for CDL Points, which determine which franchises book a place at Champs for an opportunity to compete for the biggest prize the CDL has to offer.

Ahead of this year’s event, Esports Insider takes a closer look at the eight franchises competing in Kitchener, Canada, starting with defending Call of Duty League champions OpTic Texas.

Below is the roster representing OpTic Texas at Call of Duty League 2025 Championship Weekend: 

The pairing of Dashy and Shotzzy have represented OpTic Texas since 2021, notably winning the 2024 CDL Championship alongside finishing in the top six in 2023, and second in 2022. Shotzzy is a two-time CDL champion after achieving victory in 2020 under the Dallas Empire banner. 

In 2020, Huke also won the highest accolade in Call of Duty esports and has since become a household name within the CDL, having represented several franchises, including the Los Angeles Thieves, Los Angeles Guerrillas and Vancouver Surge.

The most recent addition to the OpTic Texas roster is Mercules, a Challengers player who acted as a last-minute substitute at Major 3 before becoming a member of the Green Wall for the remainder of the season. 

The Black Ops 6 season for OpTic Texas has been filled with trials and tribulations. Heading into the season to build on its 2024 championship victory, Amer ‘Pred’ Zulbeari was benched in favour of Huke. 2025 began on the front foot, with OpTic Texas taking a top-four finish at the inaugural online Minor before securing the top seed for the first Major of the season.

Despite its impressive online form, the franchise was dumped out of the opening LAN Major in Madrid with a disappointing top-eight placement. Major one sparked the catalyst for one of the worst runs of form ever seen in Call of Duty esports. 

After a string of defeats in qualifiers for Major 2, Kenny ‘Kenny’ Williams left the team, opening the door for Pred’s return and the hope that the Green Wall could rekindle the magic found during the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 season.  

Despite the roster change, OpTic Texas recorded another top-eight finish at Major 2, resulting in yet another change to its starting lineup. Pred departed the roster for a second time, with former New York Subliner Cesar ‘Skyz’ Bueno joining for the Major 3 qualifiers. 

The struggles for OpTic Texas continued into Major 3, scoring another top-eight finish, putting the franchise at risk of missing Champs for the first time in its history. Following a standout performance at Major 3, Mercules caught the eye of OpTic Texas, dropping Skyz in favour of the substitute for Major 4. 

Adding Mercules into the mix enabled OpTic Texas to turn a corner. The franchise qualified for Major 4 with the third seed, alongside finishing fourth at the LAN event to round off a turbulent season. Despite all the adversity, OpTic Texas had managed to scrape into the top eight with 220 CDL Points to its name.

After rediscovering some form at Major 4, OpTic Texas heads into Champs with a renewed belief that the Green Wall is capable of standing tall against the franchises that have cemented their position at the top of the Call of Duty esports pyramid.

Ahead of Champs, OpTic Texas has the newfound confidence that’s been missing throughout the majority of the regular season. Although the franchise heads into the event with the seventh seed and a tricky opening clash against Atlanta FaZe, there’s a chance of OpTic Texas ending the Black Ops 6 season on a high before focus turns to the launch of Black Ops 7.

OpTic Texas is a Call of Duty League franchise owned by North American esports organisation OpTic Gaming. Founded in 2006 by Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez, the organisation is one of the longest-standing esports organisations in the world and is known for competing in Call of Duty esports.

OpTic Gaming is one of the most successful organisations in Call of Duty esports. In 2017, it won the inaugural Call of Duty World Championship on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. During the Call of Duty League era, it has won the CDL Championship in 2024. Alongside the CDL Championship, the organisation has also won an X Games Gold Medal when Call of Duty was played at the event in 2014.

The Call of Duty League is a franchised esports league operated by Activision Blizzard. The league features 12 teams based across various locations in North America, which compete in a mixture of online and LAN competitions throughout a season.