OpTic Gaming release Gears of War team

On the same day that they announced they would be taking on the Los Angeles Call of Duty franchise spot, OpTic Gaming officially released their Gears of War team, one of the most dominant teams esports has ever seen.

The team, consisting of Gilbert “Xplosive” Rojo, Alex “SuMuNs” Ascencion, Brian “SoLuRs” Valenzuela, Arody “Praized” Dipre, and Billy “MentaL” Putnam Jr, won 17 championships in Gears of War 4 whilst under the OpTic banner, only missing out on the top spot at two events. In those events, they placed second and fourth. This is a calibre of team you rarely come across in any form of competition.

https://twitter.com/OpTicGaming/status/1145837417842110466

Nonetheless, the OpTic team requested release from their contracts and were granted it, leaving them without an organisation to represent. It's been heavily rumoured that both Infinite Esports & Entertainment and Immortals Gaming Club had no interest in keeping the Gears team anyway, and whilst this may not be true, it seems odd that an org would not want to hold onto a team of this standard regardless of which esport it is in.

The team had played in an OpTic jersey for nearly three years, and are unlikely to struggle finding a new organisation to represent – the only question is, which lucky team will get them?

Though Halo's Final Boss team from 2003-08 was potentially the most dominant team ever seen in esports, with the Ogre twins becoming household names within the community, OpTic Gears have come closest to challenging them – but let's see if they can keep up.

If you want to hear more about OpTic Gears of War, make sure to read our interview with Nick "Ashes" Ridgeway.