Despite the problems caused by COVID-19, many esports functions continue. The norm is for events to move online, which presents hurdles, but rarely insurmountable ones. One of the more profitable endeavors, the Call of Duty League, continues to make changes. The most obvious includes the hiring of a new commissioner, but changes are occuring on a team level as well.
The Call of Duty League represents the official competitive scene of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and other COD games in the future. It is a recent invention, and conducted under the stewardship of several companies. These companies own the various teams, which in turn get their official license from Activision/Blizzard itself. Though relatively new, it has proven to be a profitable endeavor for all involved. However, it seems it may prove even more profitable for some, including one Hector Rodriguez, aka H3CZ.
Rodriguez has been part of the gaming scene for years. In fact, he was the original creator of COD League team OpTic Gaming. OpTic was originally involved in several esports scenes, but switched exclusively to Call of Duty down the line and is the official COD League team of Los Angeles. Although there is some controversy in the team’s history, like Crimsix’s forced departure, the team has a very good success record. To the surprise of many, it seems that Rodriguez is purchasing OpTic from its previous owner, Immortals, under his own name.
On one hand, this makes sense. Rodriguez has found success in the business side of the gaming world. He is currently the co-CEO of NRG Esports, which already owns a COD League team. It seems he has made enough money to personally purchase the OpTic brand. This is all he is purchasing from Immortals, rather than when Immortals purchased the company that previously owned OpTic. Considering OpTic signed pro players Hollow and Drazah earlier this year, and it was his company to begin with, it seems like a logical buy.
However, there are a couple problems. For one, although Rodriguez has requested the purchase in his own name, it has yet to be approved by the League itself. This is because no company can own two teams, and NRG owns one already. Whether purchasing it in his own name is a valid workaround is still up for debate. Considering teams’ revenues are down so much that Activision/Blizzard is deferring their yearly dues, the League may not want more shakeups right now.
Finally, despite high hopes, OpTic has not performed too well this year. Four players were released from OpTic’s roster recently, so Rodriguez needs to turn things around if he wants to see returns on buying back his old team.
Source: Dexerto
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