OpTic Texas completed their lower bracket run and made it all the way to the grand final in CDL Major 3 with a victory over the defending champions, a result that earned them a date with destiny and the Toronto Ultra.
For the second match in a row, OpTic started a series on Fortress Hardpoint, and for the second match in a row, they were simply incredible. Every single member of the team were positive in the slaying category en route to a 250-96 victory, introducing the defending major champions to the 100-point club. Shotzzy led the way for OpTic, dropping 25 kills with only 15 deaths, and continued to be one of the hardest kills in the entire league.
But after the drubbing FaZe took right on the chin in map one, they regrouped for map two. Coming into Sunday, the team had won 15 consecutive Search and Destroys. While that streak fell against the Toronto Ultra in the winner’s finals, they were back on their A game against Texas.
Related: Results for 2023 Call of Duty League Major 3
In the El Asilo Search and Destroy, FaZe came out swinging from the get-go, jumping out to a 3-0 lead they would never relinquish. Atlanta were plus-11 in the kills category, thanks to 15 combined from their AR duo, SlasheR and Cellium. FaZe would take map two by a count of 6-2 to level the series.
In the Hotel Control, both teams swapped defensive round wins to start the map off, with each team just needing the last segment at the B point. With the map tied 1-1, OpTic had a chance to get ahead an offensive round win, and that’s exactly what they did: Shotzzy continued to be a nuisance, and thanks to some big kills from Dashy and Huke, Texas managed to finally grab that last tick of progress at B to take a 2-1 lead.
Riding the wave of momentum, OpTic continued to outslay their opponents on defense with the chance to take a 2-1 lead with one last stand. They were dominant, picking up timely kills all over the place to take the map and give themselves the advantage in the series.
Heading to Mercado Hardpoint, a map that Texas have been dominant on this weekend, OpTic had a chance to close the series and advance to the grand finals of their home major for the second consecutive year. After dropping 38 kills in the Control to help his team notch the victory, Shotzzy continued his high level of play with 32 kills in the Hardpoint en route to OpTic’s 250-207 win that sent them to the finals. Newcomer Ghosty had a massive performance for Texas as well: the rookie dropped 25 kills with 17 deaths in the win.
OpTic will face off against the Toronto Ultra in the grand finals of the CDL’s OpTic Texas Major. The championship series can be viewed on the Call of Duty League’s Twitch channel.
