On the 6th of November 2014, RosterMania finally exploded into action, as James "Clayster" Eubanks and Jordan "ProoFy" Cannon both announced their departure from the ever popular OpTic Gaming organisation.
The Call of Duty community was seemingly stunned by this announcement, as two of the world’s most elite players found themselves in free agency, contemplating their future endeavours. However, for OpTic Gaming fans, the more pressing matter concentrated itself upon the unforeseen task of identifying two suitable members for the Green Wall.
As one of the highest calibre organisations within the competitive sphere, OpTic Gaming sets their sights upon securing only the most talented and professional individuals to represent their brand. However, replacing the likes of Clayster and Proofy is no menial task.
James Eubanks, known by the pseudonym ‘Clayster’, is one of the most successful players in recent Call of Duty history. As a member of the legendary CompLexity roster, Clayster played an integral role in dethroning the iconic Call of Duty Championship squad, Impact, while also securing an impressive seven championships of his own, alongside Patrick "ACHES" Price, Tyler "TeePee" Polchow and Ian "Crimsix" Porter. During his time under OpTic Gaming, Clayster also drove the organisation to Gold Medal success at the inaugural event between Major League Gaming and X Games. As a result, Clayster is arguably the most established Call of Duty player to date, having secured an MLG, UMG, Gfinity, ESWC and X Games Championship, only missing one title, the coveted Call of Duty Championship. An impressive resume, to say the least.
Jordan ‘Proofy’ Cannon is no slouch either. As one of the longest serving veterans in the scene, Proofy is renowned for his incredible accuracy with an Assault Rifle and his outstanding slaying ability. Although his placing’s have never been consistently excellent, Proofy played an instrumental role in Team EnVyUs’ run to the Grand Finals of the 2013 Call of Duty Championships, while contributing significantly to OpTic Gaming’s X Games glory.
So the question is, why drop these two?
The answer, it seems, is quite a simple one. Two better players became available. Matthew "FormaL" Piper and Ian "Crimsix" Porter have joined Matt "NaDeSHoT" Haag and Seth "Scump" Abner under OpTic Gaming for the upcoming Advanced Warfare season.
Matthew Piper, formerly of Team EnVyUs, is an incredibly talented player, who has achieved monumental success across the Halo franchise as well as Call of Duty. With his raw natural gun skill and his exceptional amount of ambition and professionalism, FormaL has received worldwide recognition as arguably the most gifted player to grace the First Person Shooter genre.
Having entered the Call of Duty scene at the start of Ghosts, FormaL has progressed to the highest level of competition at a pace previously unheard-of in our community. Beginning his career under Primal, FormaL consistently caught the attention of larger organisations, moving to Fear, Team Kaliber, Faze, Team EnVyUs and now OpTic Gaming within a measly 12 months.
During this period of time, FormaL has validated himself within the community, securing his first championship with nV at Gfinity 3, vanquishing those who doubted him. As well as this, FormaL consequently made eSports history, as he secured the iconic accolade of the first professional gamer to win a major LAN event upon both Halo and Call of Duty, and he’s not quite done yet.
As a perfectionist and opportunist, FormaL is renowned for making decisions solely based upon the interest of succeeding. Thus, when the opportunity arose to join OpTic Gaming, alongside World Champion Ian "Crimsix" Porter, FormaL did not hesitate to accept.
A slayer of the highest quality, Crimsix is widely considered to be the best player in the world right now, only rivalled by a handful of his peers. As a member of the ‘Core 3’ at Evil Geniuses, Crimsix played an integral role in the teams’ previous domination over the American scene. However, unfortunately, due to a multitude of complex reasons, Crimsix, Aches and TeePee all made their intentions clear to depart from one another while at the eSports World Cup.
Nevertheless, despite this end of an era, the stars have seemingly aligned for OpTic Gaming, as we welcome in a new chapter for the organisation and players. OpTic have secured two of the best slayers in the game, as Crimsix and FormaL join the formidable talents of Scump and Nadeshot. This star-studded lineup is arguably the most daunting OpTic roster in recent years, echoed by Seth’s statement “This is the most confident I have been” entering a new season.
Although they fell agonisingly short from acquiring their first tournament victory as a new team at MLG Columbus, narrowly losing to FaZe in one of the greatest Grand Finals to date, the question is no longer ‘if’ OpTic will win a championship, but rather, ‘when’.
Photo and Video credit: @OpTicGaming, @RiseRevitalize
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to follow me on Twitter: @thatmattyporter
Also be sure to follow our Editor: @esn_Nemesis
To keep updated with our news and content, follow Gfinity's official Twitter account: @Gfinity
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Modern Warfare