OpTic Gaming claim CoD BO6 Esports World Cup title

OpTic Gaming have officially completed the greatest turnaround in Call of Duty history, sweeping Vancouver Surge 4-0 in the grand final of the CoD Black Ops 6 Esports World Cup on Sunday to secure their second world championship in just a matter of weeks.

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  Fast Payouts

Fresh off their Call of Duty League Championship win in Kitchener—where they also toppled Surge—OpTic now end the season as undisputed kings of CoD after lifting the EWC trophy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and pocketing the US$600,000 first-place prize. Vancouver Surge, who once again had to settle for second best, earned themselves US$320,000.

The campaign began with unanswered wins over Five Fears and Cloud9, with OpTic not dropping a map in the group stage. In playoffs, the squad of Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, Brandon “Dashy” Otell, Cuyler “Huke” Garland, and Byron “Mercules” Plumlee turned up the heat. They cruised past 100 Thieves before being pushed to the brink by Team Heretics in a dramatic winner’s final. After losing the opening Hardpoint 250-249 and falling behind 0-2 in the series, OpTic pulled off a sensational reverse sweep, clinching the final Control map on Hacienda in the dying seconds.

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  The bookies' bookie

In the grand final, OpTic left no doubt. Vancouver Surge looked disjointed and outgunned from the start, and OpTic capitalised in ruthless fashion. Dashy was immense, posting a near-1.5 K/D, while Huke’s mid-map control and flanking presence proved crucial. Mercules continued his incredible comeback arc, providing the consistency the team sorely lacked earlier in the year. Shotzzy was named tournament MVP, but in truth, any one of the four could have earned the honour.

Just a few months ago, OpTic Texas were in crisis, suffering an 0-18 map stretch that nearly derailed their season. The decision to drop Cesar “Skyz” Bueno in favour of Mercules sparked an unlikely run that will now be remembered as the stuff of legend.

Now, with back-to-back titles in BO6 and an undefeated EWC run, OpTic have etched their names into the history books—and possibly laid the foundation for a new Call of Duty dynasty.