- According to sources Envy Gaming, Dallas Empire's owner, is in talks about buying OpTic Chicago
- H3CZ, CEO of OpTic, has been looking to cut his ties with NRG, OpTic's current owner, for a while
- If the deal goes live, the Call of Duty slot in Chicago will go on sale
OpTic may once again change cities and COD league slots as H3CZ, NRG and Envy are reportedly in talks about a merger between OpTic and Dallas Empire.
The Deal Would Free Up the Chicago COD Slot
Envy Gaming, NRG Esports, and Hector “H3CZ” Rodrigues are reportedly seeking a deal where OpTic Gaming merges with the Dallas Empire, and the Chicago Call of Duty League slot goes for sale. This was reported by trusted Dot Esports sources, but the first suggestion that H3CZ might be seeking such a deal came by Dexerto in May.
According to the report, the exact details of the deal are far from being finished. However, if such an agreement is signed, it is likely that Dallas Empire will cease to exist as a brand, and the team will take OpTic's name.
Even if the deal goes live, it wouldn't be the first time OpTic has been changing cities and slots. The brand used to be a part of the Immortals Gaming Club organization in Los Angeles. Immortals later sold both their slot and the OpTic brand.
The LA slot was picked up by 100 Thieves, who founded Los Angeles Thieves and OpTic found itself in the hands of NRG.
H3CZ is the CEO of OpTic and a co-CEO of NRG. Despite being a co-CEO of NRG for a while, H3CZ has allegedly become tired of the organization and had been reportedly looking to cut his ties starting autumn 2020. However, at that time, he failed to find an investor and reach an agreement to split from the organization, and NRG continued to sponsor the Chicago team. The talks had gone stagnant.
Forming a New Team
Now that Envy, Dallas Empire's owners, has entered the negotiations, things have started moving again.
This is a golden opportunity for H3CZ to strike a favorable deal and move his brand under the wing of the Texas-based organization.
Speculations were supported by the fact that OpTic and Dallas Empire both removed two players from their respective COD League rosters. Dexerto sources suggest that a hypothetical new team will be comprised of the following players:
- Seth “Scump” Abner (OpTic Chicago)
- Brandon “Dashy” Otell (OpTic Chicago)
- Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro (Dallas Empire)
- Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal (Dallas Empire)
The removed players were Matthew “FormaL” Piper and Dylan “Envoy” Hannon for OpTic Chicago and Ian “Crimsix” Porter and Reece “Vivid” Drost for Dallas Empire.
If the deal is indeed to go live, esports fans will learn of it soon.
