What’s Going Wrong At OpTic Texas?

Republished By Plato

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After Major 1 it seemed as if OpTic Texas were at the top of Call of Duty once more. After years of struggle, it seemed all their woes had been answered when they merged with EnvyUs. This acquisition helped the organization make a dream roster and with a dominant first win in Major 1, nothing seemed to be going wrong.

However, with disappointing results in all LAN events since. Fans have been let down by the team and will be worried about going into champs. With the longevity of these struggles, it can not be put down to a blip anymore.

Despite OpTic only winning one event in three years, support for the team is at an all-time high. With everyone around the team expecting better, just what has gone wrong with OpTic Texas in the last few months?

Injury Issues

Optic’s biggest issue is through no fault of their own. When Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal, announced he had to take some time out due to a thumb injury, fans were devastated. With Inder being instrumental in Major 1 and being the vocal part of a team, it is understandable for the team to struggle without him.

OpTic used their substitute Jordan “General” General, to relative success in the pro-am. With limited practice, the team did well to fit a traditional main AR player into a FLEX role. With iLLeY requiring surgery it was clear OpTic would need a replacement who fit more, with Byron “Prolute” Vera coming in.

Prolute has done really well acquiring a 1.1K/D through the stage 3 qualifiers. He has fit the team much better and been a really good addition. His performances struggled at Major 3 however aidding to Optic’s struggles.

As this was Prolute’s first-ever CDL LAN tournament it is hard to put any blame onto him. But the OpTic team will be hoping that iLLeY will be back sooner rather than later.

LAN Struggles

The constant changes in the lineup have not helped but since Major 1 OpTic have struggled on LAN. Despite having a full roster at Major 2 they were still very disappointing and fell to a T6 finish, which they matched at Major 3.

Slow starts have cost them with surprise losses coming to Seattle Surge and Florida Mutineers in winners round one. This has left OpTic with a lot to do and despite winning two matches in both Major’s it is not enough to result in a good finish.

With the difference in teams beating them, it’s hard to pinpoint just where it has gone wrong at these Majors. It seems to be a lack of consistency with teams such as the Florida Mutineers and Los Angeles Thieves having their number on LAN regularly. Sadly, OpTic keeps drawing them, resulting in losses.

Map Problems

The big issue seems to be an overconfidence by the team that they are the best on every map. With Vanguard being an overall mix of a game, anyone can win on their given day, especially with the wacky spawn system in place. This often leads to good teams such as OpTic to play below their standard on some maps.

With OpTic’s Search and Destroy beginning to slip, they have a negative 4-6 record at the last two Major’s combined. This is the backbone of the team. Since Prolute has come in, their record has improved from an awful 1-4 record at Major 2. They have not locked down a comfortable search map and have been inconstant on all of them recently.

OpTic’s Control is the best in the game. They are 27-7 throughout the year and are 6-1 on Gavutu. Before Major 3, in order to get the control, the team just had to be higher seed or win the coin toss. With the addition of Berlin, OpTic often have Gavutu vetoed meaning they cannot choose to play this map.

Overall, OpTic is usually fine at control, but with the balance of Berlin it can be seen as a losable map if the opposing team outslays. However, if OpTic ensure their S&D improves, they will be back to a really good level.

What will happen next?

OpTic will be better with the return of iLLeY and have to wait for his recovery to happen. With a guaranteed spot at champs likely being a top 2 seed, it will be interesting to see if the team can recover this poor LAN form before champs.

With the team OpTic have and the style of Vanguard itself, they will be within every chance of capturing the successes of the world championship and bringing it back to the green wall.

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Time Stamp: June 15, 2022June 16, 2022