100 Thieves are purchasing the Call of Duty League slot formerly held by OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, according to a report Monday from Dexerto.
The OGLA franchise will reportedly be rebranded as the LA Thieves, while the OpTic brand will remain under the ownership of Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, the co-CEO of NRG Esports.
? BREAKING: 100 Thieves have purchased the Los Angeles CDL spot previously held by OpTic Gaming LA.
Sources say the team will be known as LA Thieves.
H3CZ will take back full control of the OpTic Gaming brand; future of the Chicago slot is uncertain.https://t.co/O1o648XSzo
— DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) October 26, 2020
The prominent move would be the latest domino to drop in recent weeks from 100 Thieves, famously founded by well-decorated former Call of Duty pro Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag.
On Aug. 29, 2019, Nadeshot announced 100 Thieves’ decision to sit out the inaugural season of the newly-franchised CDL.
Speculation surrounding 100 Thieves’ return to competitive Call of Duty had remained a hot topic around the scene, perhaps even more so after the organization announced it would be leaving CS:GO on Oct. 12.
An opportunity for the Thieves to return to CoD arose after news broke in early October that H3CZ had acquired both the OpTic Gaming IP and its LA CDL franchise slot from Immortals Gaming Club.
As per league rules, a company is unable to hold more than one CDL franchise slot. H3CZ and NRG hold the Chicago CDL slot, host to the Huntsman franchise, which finished third in the league last season.
It is unclear whether or not the CDL will allow a potential push by H3CZ and NRG to rebrand the Chicago Huntsman franchise to the storied OpTic Gaming name.
