In Canada, OpTic Texas just lifted its second Call of Duty League Championship trophy in one year, going back-to-back and doing what no other organisation has ever done in Call of Duty esports. The win came after dealing Vancouver Surge a crushing defeat in Kitchener, putting an end to a dominant run through the lower bracket for the underdog side.
With a few records either having been broken or set this weekend, OpTic Texas stands tall as your Call of Duty League Championship winner in 2025.
Like Never Before
OpTic Texas is now the first organisation in Call of Duty esports history to secure back-to-back world championship titles. It also makes OpTic (depending on how you look at it historically) the first organisation to win three individual world titles in COD esports.
Additionally, Mercules set a stunning record by producing the highest COD Champs kill-death ratio ever, beating Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper’s 2017 Champs run, which was also with OpTic.
In Kitchener, OpTic Texas and Vancouver Surge came head-to-head after a stunning event. In the upper bracket, OpTic refused to drop a map, going on a perfect sprint that saw them decimate FaZe, Ultra, and Boston, before sitting pretty in the grand final awaiting a challenger.
Vancouver Surge emerged as that unlikely challenger, having been sent down in the first round by the Miami Heretics. From that lower bracket, Vancouver managed to eliminate LA Thieves (the top seed), Toronto Ultra, the Miami Heretics, and Boston Breach, all to earn qualification to the grandest stage in Call of Duty esports.
The final series was intense, with Vancouver handing OpTic the first map losses the team had seen all weekend. It was clear that OpTic was the crowd favourite (as always), but the underdog spirit in Vancouver never relented. The team managed to find defiance early in the first round of Search by sweeping OpTic, but the reigning champion was quick to fire back.
OpTic Texas was dominating the series in the respawns but struggled to close out those rounds of Search, but it didn’t matter when it all came down to the final map of the night. After hitting the formula perfectly on a round of Search on Hacienda, the team found match point and had Vancouver on the ropes.
It all came down to that last Hardpoint, which was unreal and a stress for those faint of heart. Vancouver tried but failed, and OpTic Texas was soon heading out to lift that trophy.
Congratulations to OpTic Texas, the first back-to-back world championship team in Call of Duty esports history.
Are you happy with the result from this year’s Call of Duty League Championship? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out how the first day of COD Champs shattered expectations
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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