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00:00The Curse, and no, I'm not talking about the ON15 Curse that OpTic Call of Duty currently
00:06have, although I know those boys will recover from that, I'm talking about the OpTic Halo
00:11Curse of 2024, and how it forced a roster change that no one expected.
00:30OpTic Gaming's 2024 season was a season of hope, crushing heartbreak, and a curse that
00:36just wouldn't let go. 5 grand finals, 5 second places, and a world's collapse that left us all
00:44reeling. I was in the arena at the time, feeling that green wall collapse. But 2025,
00:51it's brewing something new. A squad that's already trading blows in the HCS Opens Online.
00:57But the question is, why was this roster created?
01:00Why did the previous one break up? Let's dive in to the 2024 season.
01:27Let's set the stage. HCS Arlington 2024 was the very first event of the season,
01:35and many team changes went into that event. One being the fact that Penguin was now in
01:40OpTic Gaming, and of course Legend being on SSG. While Penguin had some big shoes to fill,
01:47Legend also had the chance to make history, being the first international player to win a major.
01:57What a great thing for him as well to make history. That is so much pressure on your back,
02:01especially entering a squad that number two coming into this event, and probably one,
02:06obviously one of the best teams in the HCS. So having all that pressure, making history
02:11when it matters the most, that's what makes a superstar in my eyes.
02:14These two did face off previous in the winner's finals, and it went to a game five, which sent
02:20OpTic to that lower bracket. They had to get through phase to get back up here once again
02:25to the grand finals, so you know they're looking for their revenge.
02:48Not only do OpTic win that first game, but they also go on to lead the series three to one.
02:53One more game, and they will reset the grand finals. Due to the fact that they
02:57came from that lower side, they had to win two best of sevens in order to win the title.
03:24Caster curse anybody? No, but Onset once again on point. That's exactly what happened. It's SSG
03:29that reverse sweep and win the Arlington Major in OpTic's hometown. Little did OpTic know,
03:35this wasn't the end. This was just the beginning.
03:53Both London and Atlanta, the next two events, OpTic find themselves in the grand finals against
04:08two different opponents. It's SSG once again, and FaZe, of course, in London, and each time
04:14they're not able to find an answer. But now we find ourselves in Salt Lake City, where OpTic
04:19are actually on the winner's side of the grand finals, which means only one thing.
04:23It's one best of seven, and you break the curse.
04:49We go to the grand finals reset, and OpTic Gaming are not able to win a single map. It is a 4-0
04:56and a quick one at that. OpTic seem all but deflated. And the question on everyone's mind is,
05:03are they going to be able to perform at the most important tournament of the season, HCS Worlds?
05:18All of these things you don't see and you don't feel in the gameplay, but you certainly do feel
05:23as a player sat on that stage. And for fans of the green wall, I think they're maybe going to
05:27find a little bit of comfort in it. OpTic fans starting to feel a little bit of deja vu. Another
05:333-1 lead in the grand finals, and guess who it is? It's OpTic and SSG once again, but once again,
05:42OpTic are coming from the lower side. So they have to win two best of sevens in order to close
05:47this out. All they need is one more. That's it. A little bit of deja vu. SSG, of course,
06:13once again, in reverse sweep fashion, end up winning the most important tournament of the
06:17season, the HCS World Championships. And of course, five second places in a row,
06:21including the second place at the last Worlds as well. So six in a row, you're going to make some
06:27changes. And that's exactly what Formal did. Formal got three of the best players in the game
06:32and put them on his roster. Found in legend from SSG, that championship winning roster. And of
06:38course, Renegade, one of the best individual players in the game from FaZe. Took them all on
06:44his roster, and we saw what they were capable of in that very first open. But as this last life
06:49needs to be studied by analysts, you gotta love that play and being made by Formal and the rest
06:55of OpTic Gaming are one squad wipe away from ultimately taking down Shopify Rebellion.
07:01Bound trying to slide into their DMs real quick and chasing a one-shot World 2 away. And
07:07now he finds himself a little bit by himself. But Formal quickly there,
07:10don't worry, the cleanups are covered in. And OpTic Gaming are your champions.
07:17Now that was Open Series number one against a team of Shopify Rebellion. Frosty, Royal2,
07:22and then Last Shot and Cycle, the two young guns, have been running things all offseason long. And
07:28now OpTic finding their way into the mix once again, starting to put some practice in. And
07:34people are already shocked at the fact that they've already taken one tournament. Fast forward
07:39a couple of weeks and you go to HCS number two and number three, and now OpTic end up losing both of
07:46those to Shopify Rebellion. So I know this is going to be an incredible season. It's going to
07:51be a battle between Shopify Rebellion and OpTic. And of course, for me, the sleeper pick is going
07:57to be SSG. I think a lot of players are sleeping on that squad as well, but they're going to have
08:02to prove that come the first event. Next up on, of course, LVT Halo, you'll see the broadcast of
08:09the Last Chance Qualifier, where all of these teams get to play for their seating. Some teams
08:15get to play for pool play, but of course, SSG, OpTic, and Shopify are going to play for their
08:20pool play seat. That's going to be this weekend, and we're going to be able to see if OpTic are
08:24going to take it or if Shopify continue on their streak. I think that individually, this OpTic
08:30roster is phenomenal, and honestly, on paper, I was impressed, but I was always wondering,
08:36will there be a balance there? And there is. There's a massive balance. Everyone adapts and
08:41does what they need to do when it needs to be done, and you couldn't expect anything less from
08:46the legends on that roster. And Frosty is hunting him down, like you said, like a shark. Renegade
08:52has to hit a shot here. A player who I... Oh, there it is. Lots of damage goes in. Renegade gets two.
08:59How? Frosty, watch your face. It's a triple on a Renegade. He's been quiet, but for no longer,
09:07he will be loud, and OpTic will take the lead. So is the curse broken? Not just yet. We're going
09:14to have to wait till the very first event before we find out, but as of right now, it's been two
09:19second places in a row, if you count those online tournaments. Personally, for me, I put a lot more
09:24weight in the LAN tournaments, but again, this next one, the last chance qualifier this weekend
09:31is going to be big and going to be very important for all of these rosters to take seriously.
09:36I hope you enjoyed one of my first esports videos on this Halo channel. I want to get into more
09:42esports content. I hope you liked it, and if you did, let me know. Let me know down below in the
09:47comments. Hit it with a like. Share it to your friends. That's the biggest thing. Share it to
09:51people that want an update maybe on what's going on, and hopefully, I will see you on the stage,
09:57and of course, I'll see you in the next video.