OpTic Gaming to release PUBG roster, citing uncertainty with the game as an esport
With the 2019 season of PUBG set to start in just a few months, the North American league just took a huge blow with the departure of one of the biggest organizations in esports.
OpTic Gaming entered PUBG esports in November 0f 2017 with the signing of Why Tempt Fate’s roster and went on to have a successful run with a handful of top finishes at various events throughout the year.
In the wake of the announcement of details for the National PUBG League (NPL), however, OpTic Gaming announced on November 30 that they would not field a PUBG team for the upcoming season.
In a statement posted to the official OpTic Gaming subreddit, the full reasoning behind the decision was laid out and it didn’t spell much hope for the future of PUBG esports.
With the recent news of the National PUBG League (NPL) kicking off in the coming months it has required us to really focus in on the title and where we see it moving in the future, causing us to question our belief not only in the game as a competitive esport but also the formatting and structure of the league itself. Because of these two reasons alone, following the GLL Finals December 6th-8th, we will no longer be fielding a PUBG team.
While PUBG has seemingly gone all in with the newest structure of its league for 2019, it looks like OpTic simply wasn’t impressed with what it saw.
The team stresses later in the statement that “this decision is strictly one about the game itself and a not a reflection of the team as a whole.”
This is perhaps one of the biggest blows to date for the state of PUBG esports as OpTic Gaming is one of the most well-known and popular organizations in all of esports.
Nonetheless, OpTic says they will “continue to keep an eye on the PUBG space,” keeping open the possibility that they might re-enter the esport if the league is successful.
In the meantime, the roster consisting of Ian ‘Bahawaka’ Crowe, Jonathan ‘Hetror’ Bent, Michael ‘hypoc’ Robins, and Keane ‘Valliate’ Alonso will compete at the GLL Finals on December 6-8 and will then look for a new sponsor heading into the 2019 season.
You can read OpTic’s full statement below:
OpTic Gaming’s future in PUBG
Greenwall,
It has been a bit over a year since OpTic entered PUBG esports by signing the Why Tempt Fate roster last November. In hopes of maintaining a clear narrative, we wanted to share some insight and news today regarding our plan for PUBG moving forward.
With the recent news of the National PUBG League (NPL) kicking off in the coming months it has required us to really focus in on the title and where we see it moving in the future, causing us to question our belief not only in the game as a competitive esport but also the formatting and structure of the league itself. Because of these two reasons alone, following the GLL Finals December 6th-8th, we will no longer be fielding a PUBG team.
We want to stress that this decision is strictly one about the game itself and not a reflection of the team as a whole or the individuals who make up the roster. From the very early days of signing this team it has been an absolute pleasure to work both with and for Mike and Ian, and over the course of adding John and Keane they have rounded out what we feel to be a great team. These are great competitors and more importantly great people, we were fortunate to have them represent OpTic.
Timing wise, we wanted to let the team move forward with competing in the NPL and not have their affiliation with OpTic stand in their way of finding a team or sponsor to help them achieve their goals. This is why we are going about the release as we are.
For you the fans, we will be sending a videographer with the team to Sweden next weekend to capture what we believe will be a great ending to the team’s time with us and should provide a full circle reflection on what it meant and does mean to represent OpTic over the last year. We are looking forward to seeing this piece in an upcoming episode of Vision. There might even be a surprise or two for you.
As for us, we will continue to keep an eye on the PUBG space and constantly be evaluating the game and league as it develops. Should our opinion and beliefs change, we very well could see OpTic once again fighting it out in Pochinki in the future.
Let us know below what sort of questions you have and hopefully we can answer those to the best of our ability. Keep in mind that we must respect the privacy of the NPL and the team, and there will most likely be many questions we cannot answer at this point.
Best,
Jacob and Kodiak
Source – Reddit