OpTic might not have confirmed it yet, but we all know that Dashy has been dropped and iLLey might soon be too. They've "blown it up", as Aches would say. But who is going to replace Dashy?
And you thought Rostermania was over? Oh, no. After dropping and then re-signing iLLey and Dashy last season, OpTic have once again "blown it up". So who has been dropped? Where are they going? And what will the OpTic roster look like going into the next split?
The State of OpTic
Since the end of the OpTic dynasty (the best team in comp-CoD history, which consisted of four out of the five greatest CoD players of all time) the org has struggled to find consistent success. They're always a competitive team, and they usually have one of the most talent-stacked rosters each season, but they follow an infuriating pattern of starting hot and then losing pace as each season progresses. Blame it on what you will, a lack of effort, a celebrity / "superstar" mentality, or too little practice, but OpTic's problems seem to revolve around their reliance on talent over effort. We saw OpTic suffer from this recurring problem last season; they won Major 1 at the start of the year, and they looked incredible, but when iLLey injured his hand they let their foot off the gas, and all the other elite teams caught up and overtook them in time for Champs.
So when Dashy announced he had been dropped on stream, it actually struck us as the risky, but probably necessary fix. He's ludicrously talented, but if rumor and gossip are to be believed, he isn't the most motivated player, and other members of the team wanted a more driven, teamwork-oriented replacement. There are no main-ARs of Dashy's skill-level available to buy right now, but there are players who can offer more from an IGL and team culture perspective. And that's more important for a team like OpTic, who can always afford the best talent, but come out looking so unorganized so often.
Dashy has definitely been dropped from the roster, but iLLey might be staying for now. We know they were planning to drop Dashy and iLLey, but so far iLLey hasn't said anything. Plus, making a two-person change midseason would be very difficult. Therefore, until we hear otherwise, we're assuming it's only Dashy who is being replaced.
Who Will Replace Dashy?
First we heard about Pred and Arcitys to OpTic, but that was revealed to be a pipe-dream, and then everyone started talking about Beans (the young substitute currently on Boston's bench). A Snapchat story leaked that seemed to show Beans' within 100ft of the OpTic facility in Dallas, but it turned out to be a fake. So, who the hell is it? Most likely, it's Huke from LAG.
We knew LAG were also making changes before Major 2, and when their new roster was leaked we could see that Huke had been dropped. But he also hasn't appeared on the LAG Academy team, which leads us to believe he's been traded to OpTic. Huke has history with Shotzzy and iLLey from their days together as the XEO trio. And Huke has also been coached by Rambo before, so it's only Scump who hasn't played with Huke. It also kind of works from a composition standpoint if you assume Scump is moving to flex, iLLey to main-AR, with Shotzzy and Huke on the SMGs.
Official confirmation is expected within the week.
Where Will Dashy Go Now?
One would assume that an MVP-calibre player such as Dashy would only be prepared to play for a handful of the best teams, and none of the top teams have indicated they're making changes, so for now we assume he's on the bench. But he won't be there long. We expect quite a few teams to make further changes after Major 2, so he will probably find a new spot then.
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