The Call of Duty League's inaugural season recently concluded with Dallas Empire's dominating victory in the finals, and teams are already making changes to their rosters. Los Angeles-based OpTic Gaming's Call of Duty team has announced it will be releasing four players, including one member of its starting line-up.
Succeeding in Call of Duty's fiercely competitive esports scene demands stellar performances, and OpTic had a rough start in the 2020 season. With the 2021 season fast approaching, team owners are making hard calls to determine who to keep to maximize their odds of success. Given the rumor that the Call of Duty League will not be expanding next season, competition for a spot on one of the league's 12 existing teams is fierce.
The four players who will be departing from OpTic are Chino, Goonjar, Hollow, and Dashy. OpTic broke the news on Twitter, where it gave a special shout-out to Brandon "Dashy" Otell. Dashy made a powerful impression in last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 season, but he was benched this July after a string of inconsistent performances. Competitive teams typically cannot afford to be indulgent with young talent given the cash stakes in the Call of Duty League are extremely high.
Another notable departure from OpTic is Darien "Hollow" Chverchko, who inherited Dashy's spot on the starting lineup. Though the switch-up helped OpTic turn things around late in the season, they were unable to make the "top eight" cut-off to remain in contention. While trimming a player who performed well may seem drastic, OpTic's cuts are mild compared to other cuts that have already been announced. Minnesota's ROKKR team revealed it will be dropping its entire roster, save for head coach Brian "Saintt" Baroska.
Players are not the only esports professionals who have been dismissed throughout the 2020 season. Activision Blizzard fired Call of Duty League caster Momo after sexual assault allegations came to light in early July.
Even putting aside these professional shakeups, it has been a tumultuous first season for the Call of Duty League, as competitions were forced to shift to an online-only format in light of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the league is in no danger of failing though given its multi-year sponsorships from Twitter and the US Army. YouTube also made an aggressive bid to secure exclusive streaming rights for the Call of Duty and Overwatch leagues.
OpTic Gaming has yet to announce who will be replacing the released players, or what their 2021 Call of Duty starting lineup will look like.
