OpTic Envy Merger – What Happens to the Chicago Spot?

The Call of Duty League is currently in its off-season, with a lot of roster changes going on. However, two teams are getting an even bigger change. OpTic Gaming are merging in with Team Envy. This will see both OpTic Chicago and Dallas Empire both disappearing from the Call of Duty League, with a new team (OpTic Texas) coming forward to take their place in the 2022 Season.

This is what’s happening with the OpTic Envy merger, and what we can expect to fill their slot in Chicago.

© COD League

CoD League Team Changes

OpTic and Envy gaming have both been operating their own teams throughout the Call of Duty League to date.  However, the league itself has only been running for two years, which is easy to forget when you consider its big success so far. It is natural that there is still some trial and error in the team rosters for the League. The CoD Leagues’ first iteration was followed by the first five teams that would be taking part. This included Envy Gaming right out of the gate, along with other big names in esports.

Eventually, a full list of 12 teams were announced for the circuit. These teams had to buy into the League and pay a hefty $25 million cost for the licensing. So, after the OpTic Envy merger a good amount of cash still need to change hands for whoever wants that Chicago slot.

The CoD League has so far shown only strength in how its teams have developed. It has added additional slots to the league, and despite the higher franchising deal it is viewed as an attractive prospect for esports organizations. So why exactly is there an OpTic Envy merger going on that will reduce their representation in the League?

The OpTic – Envy Merger

It has recently been announced that both OpTic Gaming and Envy are going to be merging their Call of Duty League teams, forming the new team OpTic Texas. The joint team now owns both slots for the Call of Duty league. They’ll be retaining their slot for Texas, becoming OpTic Texas. However, the slot for Chicago is going to be sold. Rather than the CDL downsizing, a new org is going to be getting their shot at the League starting in 2022.

Both teams had a rough seasons in 2021, with a lot of roster changes coming on in the post-season to reflect this. With quite a few roster changes, just how are the squads going to merge together?

OpTic Texas’ roster is going to be Scump, Dashy Shotzzy, and iLLeY. OpTic will be keeping a lot of the high-level talent in the league with this line up. They’re also probably going to be claiming OpTic’s previous League win as their own. This will show that the two teams have had a decent history in the League to date.

The two teams merging might mean a stronger team for the final squad. However, fans of individual teams might have mixed feelings on two teams with a big rivalry merging together. If you’re looking at Call of Duty betting, then make sure you’re factoring in big changes like this, it can make a big difference for how squads are put together.

Who gets the Chicago slot after OpTic/Envy Merger?

One of the biggest questions left by this merger is who exactly is going to be getting the Chicago slot? Things are pretty open at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped speculation from running rampant.

One source a lot of people are looking at is the OWL. This is run in much the same way as the CDL, with the same parent company developing the games. For a while, it looked like Washington Justice where the top rumour for who was taking over the Chicago slot after the merger. However, that initial speculation does seem to have faded. At this point, outside of Washington, there isn’t a clear prospect for who might want to enter into the CDL.

One thing that’s important to keep in mind is that Envy hasn’t been definitive that they will sell the slot. Or, not specifically before the next season starts. They can’t field two teams in the League, but can keep the slot. In fact, it seems like a real possibility that they will hold on to the slot. This allows the League to only have 11 teams, possibly to seek a better price for the slot in the future. Hastro has specifically claimed that an 11-team league next season is a likely possibility at moment, which might be what fans should be expecting.