After OpTic Gaming dropped aPG from its Halo roster following their second-place finish heartbreak at Worlds, predictions as to who could replace him on the lineup all pointed to the same player. A month later, those predictions have been confirmed officially.
On Dec. 7, OpTic announced Zane “Deadzone” Hearon, formerly known as Penguin, was joining its Halo Infinite roster for year three of the HCS alongside FormaL, Lucid, and Trippy. It’s OpTic’s first roster move in almost two years, and Deadzone’s first since Cloud9 signed his previous lineup back in 2020. In many ways, it’s a fresh start for both parties—one that is sorely needed if any team is going to compete against FaZe Clan, who put on an impressive display of dominance at the World Championships.
When Deadzone left Spacestation on Nov. 2 and aPG departed from OpTic two weeks later, the writing was on the wall that OpTic intended to pick up the star. Deadzone’s talent is no secret; he was awarded support player of the year in 2023 despite the difficulties Spacestation faced in returning to the top step at a major tournament. While they did manage to lift one trophy at the Salt Lake City Major, a lackluster third-place finish at Worlds felt like a foreshadowing to the changes the team would undergo in this offseason.
OpTic had a similarly tumultuous season in 2023 as they tried to stick it out with the same lineup that won them a World Championship victory back in 2022. In the pursuit of regaining their position as the top team next year, Deadzone is an ideal swap to make in place of aPG. Not only does he fulfil a similar role within the team, but his statistics across overall kills and assists at Worlds outmatch aPG’s in a head-to-head comparison indicative of their respective seasons.
Deadzone’s new teammate Lucid claimed the “man has been on a mission in the off-season” in response to the announcement, and it’s hard to argue such a stacked lineup of stars won’t be the team to watch come the first tournament of year three. However, we’re still awaiting details about when exactly the HCS will return, with 343’s esports lead Tashi stating information is expected to come toward the end of January.
