OpTic Gaming Los Angeles has announced a roster change, with Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat switching to the main AR role and Brandon “Dashy” Otell to SMG instead. The Call of Duty League franchise launched with well-known players but has been struggling to find traction at recent events. With 0 wins and 4 losses, the team currently sits in last place.
SlasheR to main AR, Dashy to SMG
“Hey everyone! Muddawg here. Obviously, we are not performing up to the standards we expect right now. The first two events haven’t gone our way by any means. We’ve had two close losses and two complete blowouts,” stated Eric “Muddawg” Sanders, General Manager of Optic Gaming Los Angeles, in a Twitter video.
A Message from Muddawg.#OGLA // #CDL2020 pic.twitter.com/HJNHwUvLeZ
— OpTic Gamingâ„¢ (@OpTic) March 4, 2020
“To address that, we are going to move Dashy to an MP5 / SMG player. We think his aggressiveness will be able to help us get some more kills around the map while simultaneously letting SlasheR, who is another traditional main AR player, control those power positions.”
Muddawg goes on to mention that the main three issues are pure kills, problems in the search and destroy mode, and the role situation. As such, OpTic Gaming has chosen to switch the two players’ roles. He explains that the current meta in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare supports one assault rifle and four SMG players. Both Dashy and SlasheR are main AR players, so Muddawg hopes that switching the roles will make a difference.
OpTic Gaming to practice more
The team plans to put in more practice as they head into Week 4. The upcoming homestand is being hosted by the Los Angeles Guerrillas and OpTic Gaming Los Angeles at the Shrine Expo Hall, so performing well in front of a home crowd is desired. Nevertheless, Muddawg notes that the team will have about three weeks of free time after the homestand, which will be essential in getting the lineup back in shape.
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles will play their next matches at home, facing the Los Angeles Guerillas in Group A. Some of the other competitor teams attending include the Atlanta FaZe, Dallas Empire, Florida Mutineers, Minnesota RØKKR, New York Subliners, and Seattle Surge. While it is true that the opponents faced by OpTic so far are all in the upper half bracket, other fellow bottom half bracket teams have defeated them before.
