During the holiday break, OpTic Texas was the centre of the Call of Duty League’s speculations, with numerous claims that Brandon “Dashy” Otell had departed the squad. Dashy, who has been working for OpTic Gaming since 2018, appeared to be departing the company, which stunned many fans. More whispers about prospective replacements for such a stellar talent started to circulate. Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, a former member of the Chicago Huntsmen, was the subject of one, while Amer “Pred” Zulbeari of the Seattle Surge was the subject of the other.
However, news broke last night that Pred would not be joining OpTic Texas, which the player subsequently confirmed when he revealed to his viewers that a deal between the two sides could not be completed.
Since joining the Seattle Surge in 2021 Pred has been a highlight for the roster. Not only was he elected rookie of the year, but he was also crowned the MVP of the Stage Three Major in Toronto. The 21-year-old Australian is the latest up-and-coming talent in the CoD scene and will be one of the hottest free agents in the league when his contract with Seattle expires, which made it a no-brainer for OpTic Texas to pursue him. Just a few short hours after CDLIntel stated that Pred would be staying in Seattle, Pred himself got on stream to address some of the rumors.
“Let’s just say that everything that could have possibly happened to make it [OpTic Texas move] happen was attempted,” said Pred. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
With only a week left until matches start again and no more rumors as to who could join OpTic Texas fans are now anxious to see who could be joining the team. According to Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, the team does in fact have a fourth player that he wishes he could leak, but no official announcements have been made.