Rejoice, the Green Wall is back inn the form of OpTic Chicago. Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez re-acquired the OpTic Gaming brand today, first reported by Kevin Hitt of The Esports Observer. The Huntsmen CDL team, owned and operated by NRG Gaming, managed by H3CZ, will take the OpTic Gaming nametag for the CDL 2021 season, as the IP was sold back to H3CZ by Immortals Gaming Club in October.
IGC sold their spot to 100 Thieves, who have rebranded the former Optic Gaming Los Angeles spot to the LA Thieves brand. The Chicago Huntsmen will be known as OpTic Chicago now. Their roster of Seth “Scump” Abner, Matt “Formal” Piper, Dylan “Envoy” Hannon and Brandon “Dashy” Otell will compete together in the Cold War season.
“OpTic Gaming has always been a part of me, and I am glad that it has finally returned home to our fans,” H3CZ said in a press release.
Last season, the Huntsmen placed 3rd overall in the CDL, taking home $600,000 at CDL Champs with an overall 21-9 series count in the regular season. H3CZ is joined by NRG CEO Andy Miller at the helm of the CDL team. This was expected by the community, as H3CZ, the long-time owner of OpTic, purchased the OpTic Gaming brand back from IGC after his sale to them in 2019.
OpTic Gaming is one of if not the most iconic competitive Call of Duty brand. H3CZ, Scump and Formal are all names long-associated with the organization. The sale of the brand to IGC was controversial as most fans associated the OpTic brand with the people, and a lot of backlash was thrown towards IGC and Optic Gaming Los Angeles.
H3CZ took over OpTic Gaming in 2007, first fielding a competitive Call of Duty team in 2010. He stayed with the organization until 2019, where he sold his majority share to IGC. He purchased full ownership of OpTic Gaming, and is no longer in business with IGC, forgoing his minority ownership in IGC’s League of Legends team.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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