‘This is the start of something crazy’

OpTic Gaming have flexed their dominance in the Call of Duty esports scene once more, and in an absolutely remarkable fashion.

Spearheaded by star player Shotzzy, OpTic crushed Vancouver Surge 4-0 in the grand final to claim the Black Ops 6 Esports World Cup 2025 title. It was a fiery championship run that capped off a turbulent but ultimately triumphant season for the Green Wall.

“This win means everything, man,” Shotzzy said in the post-match interview. “The season we had at the beginning of the year was so, so dark, and the fact that we made a turnaround (is just great).”

OpTic’s year indeed got off to a rocky start, with the team struggling to string together solid playoff runs through the first three stages of the CoD League 2025 season. But a fourth-place finish in the Stage 4 Major gave them just enough points to sneak into the CDL Championship as the seventh seed, setting the stage for a massive bounce back.

At the CDL Championship Weekend 2025, OpTic went on a tear. Led by rising star Mercules, they tore through the upper bracket with 3-0 wins over Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra, and Boston Breach, then outlasted the resurgent Vancouver in a 5-3 thriller to secure back-to-back world titles.

Then came the BO6 EWC a few weeks after, and OpTic didn’t let up. They stormed through the entire tournament without dropping a single series and only losing three maps the whole way. They barely broke a sweat in beating FiveFears and Cloud9 3-0 in groups, took down 100 Thieves 3-1 in the quarterfinals, and pulled off a wild 3-2 reverse sweep against Team Heretics in the semis.

Facing Vancouver again in the EWC grand final, the Green Wall looked unstoppable. They opened with a nail-biting 250-236 win on Rewind Hardpoint, then dismantled the Surge across the next three maps: 6-1 on Protocol Search and Destroy, 3-1 on Protocol Control, and 250-118 on Hacienda Hardpoint.

When asked post-match if OpTic is the best team in the world right now, Shotzzy didn’t hesitate: “Undeniably.”

He also dropped a teaser that this could be just the beginning of a new era for OpTic. “I think this is the start of something crazy. The players on my team are all unbelievably talented. It feels like we’re cheating at times,” the 24-year-old pro said.

Shotzzy claimed the tournament MVP honors, posting standout numbers of 1.04 KD, 89.9 slayer rating, 1.01 in respawn KD, and 1.24 SnD KD. Meanwhile, OpTic bagged the $600,000 top prize and 1,000 club points, on top of a secured spot in next year’s Esports World Cup.

With Black Ops 7 as the new Call of Duty title on the horizon, all eyes are on Shotzzy and the Green Wall to see if they can keep standing tall amid the growing competition.