Scump says he feels helpless over OpTic’s CDL slide: “How do you even fix it?”

OpTic Chicago’s Seth ‘Scump’ Abner has opened up on the “frustrating” 2021 Call of Duty League season, questioning how his team can “even fix” its issues after challenging Major losses.

There’s no denying it’s been a difficult year for the King and his teammates at OpTic. Despite constantly assuring fans the squad “doesn’t suck,” they’re still yet to realize their full potential. Following a rough Stage IV loss, Scump even took to social media to reveal his mental health struggles after yet another Top 4 finish.

“Really just lost at the moment,” he said back in June.

At the time, OpTic had ‘given up’ on streaming to focus solely on the CDL grind. Weeks later and all members of the team have been live on Twitch once again.

Whether it’s grinding Warzone tournaments or casually enjoying their free time in Cold War lobbies, the team has been far more active online.

Even though this balance has been restored, Scump still finds himself in a “tough scenario,” he admitted on July 2; he’s struggling with OpTic’s front-facing issues, and how hidden their real progress has been due to hidden scrims.

“All the time we put in every day, scrimming, playing off-stream, then we go to a tournament and we fall short,” he explained. “It feels like every loss we’ve had at a Major this year has been the exact same. That is what is mentally draining.”

Without streaming their practice for the world to see, Scump argues there’s “no validation for the work [OpTic is] putting in.”

Despite their losses at the highly anticipated LAN return, practice has been going “well” throughout the year, he stressed. In fact, scrims have been “pretty much perfect,” over the past few Stages.

• Read more: FaZe Clan x OpTic Gaming merch may have been leaked

“We do work hard and we keep losing, we keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” the CDL superstar continued. “How do you even fix it at that point? It’s really frustrating. Our year’s been pretty sh***y in the ways we’ve been losing.”

Moreover, Scump has grown tired of criticism aimed at him directly. While he’s been playing well and helping lead the Green Wall back to some degree of success, he still gets “hate” for his Black Ops Cold War gameplay.

The star said: “I get most hate for gameplay which is what pisses me off because I’ve been playing f***ing great and I still get hate. I’m not even playing bad and I’m still getting sh** on. What can I do?”

Currently fifth in the overall standings, OpTic has just one Stage left to turn things around before Champs. 

• Read more: Scump won’t sign new CDL deal until Vanguard reveals

While some may argue they’re already in need of a roster change, OpTic can prove the doubters wrong and prove themselves right in one fell swoop if their scrim results can soon translate in official games.