GamingCall of Duty

Why OpTic’s CoD dynasty almost never happened

Shane King
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In the long and storied history of Call of Duty esports, there is perhaps no team as legendary as the ‘OpTic Dynasty,’ a team packed full of some of the greatest talents the franchise has ever seen who went on an incredible run of victories, backed by the organization’s rabid Green Wall fanbase. It all could have been so different though, as the core of the lineup almost signed for Team Envy before eventually joining OpTic.

The team originally formed in the middle of the Advanced Warfare season, with Damon ‘Karma’ Barlow replacing the retiring Matt ‘Nadeshot’ Haag to take his place alongside Seth ‘Scump’ Abner, Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper, and Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter. These four men went on to dominate the scene, culminating in the organization’s only CoD Championship victory, and cementing their place as one of the greatest teams of all time.

History could have been very different though, as FormaL and Crimsix were set to play for OpTic’s long-time rivals Envy, which could have led to a dramatic change in the Call of Duty landscape and a huge power switch in the scene.

Crimsix was known as one of, if not the best player in the world at the time, and with him being the top free agent going into ‘Rostermania’ he had the pick of the litter. FormaL was his first choice.

During ESWC 2014, rumors were spreading to say Jordan ‘JKap’ Kaplan and Anthony ‘NAMELESS’ Wheeler were replaced for the next season by Crim and Karma, leading to a huge social media dispute mid-tournament. Owner Mike “Hastr0” Rufail announced he would be loyal to his longstanding team members and FormaL would be the one leaving the team.

Eventually, Piper, Porter, and Barlow would find their way to OpTic Gaming as well to join Scump and this is what would spark a fabled run that would be remembered forever.

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