OpTic Gaming spark controversy after mocking “rigged” Call of Duty League
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles[jwplayer si3gNM69]
Modern Warfare and the Call of Duty League’s inaugural season have both been criticized by players and fans alike, but OpTic Gaming Los Angeles may be the first organization to publicly join in on the fun.
The $4.6 million Call of Duty League Playoffs are finally here but the talk of the town took a totally different tone before the first matches were even played.
Ahead of their opening-round elimination match on the first day of the CDL Playoffs, OpTic Gaming set Twitter ablaze with a video mocking the CDL and Modern Warfare for conspiring to rig the league through issues like ping and sporadic spawns.
In the video, OGLA refers to the CDL as an “organization that seeks to break the dreams of all those in its path,” before elaborating that whether through the “issues with ping” or “spawns on the map,” the league will “decide which team should be in the lead.”
Ultimately, it feels like the Green Wall just wanted to know “what the f**k is going on?” Unsurprisingly, like the fallout from their last controversial Tweet about the Chicago Huntsmen, the team has now deleted the tweet and backtracked heavily.
The video, which they describe as “the last video in our satirical series,” was subject to unrelenting memes and controversy from fans, players, and other teams. In an effort to further clarify their intentions, they have given in and let everyone know that “it was meant to be a joke.”
In all seriousness, @CODLeague helped make 2020 feel more normal and all the matches, events, and content from all the teams has made the best of an unprecedented situation for all of us. Looking forward to a great playoffs, a great Champs and a great end to a great season. 2/2
— OpTic Gaming™ (@OpTic) August 19, 2020
As for community response, it has been…mixed, to say the least. While many continue to unleash frustration stemming from the original Immortals-OGLA buyout and compare this content to H3CZ’s OpTic standards, various professionals in the scene have simply chimed in to joke about a possible incoming fine.
The Seattle Surge’s Sam ‘Octane’ Larew, a player very familiar with lambasting the CDL, memed about a fine while caster, Chris ‘Puckett’ Puckett, joked that the team would both lose their first-round match and get fined, making them the only side to lose money this postseason.
https://t.co/8b8LNT9rdd pic.twitter.com/cCLL7CMefb
— Sam “Octane” Larew (@OctaneSam) August 19, 2020
OpTic about to be the only team losing money at the $4,600,000 tournament https://t.co/WPffy5vCKB
— Chris Puckett (@MLGPuckett) August 19, 2020
The Mutineers couldn’t resist poking fun at their LA counterparts either; as one of the league’s best-run social media accounts, it seemed only a matter of time until the Floridians also chimed in with a meme of their own.
CDL coming to collect the fine like pic.twitter.com/x9eviUEHEV
— Miami Heretics (@MiamiHeretics) August 19, 2020
Now that it’s deleted, a fine is likely unlikely, but the roasts still ran amok, and even under OpTic’s tweets explaining the joke and backtracking on their original post, many members of the community, including former member ‘Aaron Create,’ continue to express their frustrations about the org’s decision to post the video.
https://twitter.com/AARONCREATE/status/1296159475947233282
And just like that the OpTic Gaming social media manager no longer has a job. pic.twitter.com/XJMqNUSjPE
— Joshh (@BsportJoshh) August 19, 2020
Not recording this one today, feeling a bit too angry. Can't imagine what actual OG OpTic boys feel when they see this crap over and over. $100 million for that laugh.out.loud.
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) August 19, 2020
The Green Wall will hope that their performance at the CDL Playoffs will be a lot better than their meme game; OpTic kick off their postseason campaign facing elimination right away versus crosstown rivals LA Guerrillas in the first round.
You can watch that and all of the Champs matches live via our Call of Duty League Playoffs & Championship Weekend hub, which also includes live scores, brackets, and more.