OpTic Podcast - Breaking Down OpTic's First CDL Matches of 2026 | OpTic Podcast Ep. 259

Episode Date: January 16, 2026

Explore coverage at http://ASPCApetinsurance.com/optic The ASPCA® is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance OpTic Gaming Merch: https://shop.opticgaming.com/ Check out the OpTic SCUF collection and use code “OpTic” for a discount: https://scuf.co/OpTic Check out the OpTic Podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optic-podcast/id1542810047 https://open.spotify.com/show/25iPKftrl0akOZKqS0wHQG 00:00 - Intro 00:46 - Mercules Said This is Unacceptable 04:39 - OpTic vs Faze Loss 05:27 - What do LA Thieves Do? 07:08 - The Issue with Online COD 12:28 - People Are Overreacting to Thieves 23:48 - Back to OpTic vs Faze 27:34 - JoeDeceives Loves It 28:58 - ASPCA 30:27 - Carolina Ravens Bounce Back 33:47 - Miami Heretics 36:18 - Kremp Breaks the Kill Record 39:22 - We Need New Maps (Fringe, Meltdown) 43:58 - Major II and Major III Pro-Am 50:02 - OpTic Alpha Brain Invitational 51:56 - WEAR WHITE TO MAJOR 1 52:55 - Ideal CDL Event Cities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yeah, because after I'm like, I don't know, where do you fucking been over, though? Because I thought, like, I said something that I thought we fucked up in. And Kyler said something. But then in reality, I'm like, I looked at David and like, was it me? Was I faded? He was like, I'm going to be honest. You guys are all fucking faded except for Mace. And I'm like, bro, they haven't got favorites already, but this is G-G, bro.

It's fucking comedy. My fucker always plays favorites, bro. Welcome to the Optic Podcast, episode 259, brought to you by ASPCA. We'll tell you guys more about that a bit later. we got Bruce Pipe MoneyB and myself bringing you the pod today

What's up boys? Talk to me What's going on, man? We were just talking about the The clip Where Mason said Something for the first ever time He was like

Dude, that's unacceptable Yeah And then people obviously gas at a little bit They were like Oh my God like Were you guys just like not listening to him Of course you're listening I'm like I'm talking about it

In this situation Like, people I swear, just take stuff so serious. I'm talking to Matt. I'm obviously going to make, you know, I'm going to have a little bit. No one would ever know that that even happened if you didn't say. Exactly. Exactly. And the only reason I'm bringing it up is because I know that, you know, me and Matt, like, we have this thing, especially with Teage.

Like, me and Teage will talk about it too. It's very similar. Like, the joke we have is like, Mason is like everything. You know what I mean? You saved us. So like, we're like, whatever you do, Mason goes. You know what I mean? And I just think it's fucking hilarious.

So this is just a perfect situation to bring it up. And he was like, yo, why do we rap right here on this? Overlough. This was unacceptable. And I looked over and I was like, whoa. I said, yeah, that's unacceptable. I'm like, what are we doing? Like, yeah, Mason, yeah. I agree. That was my bad also. Yeah. Unacceptable. I agree. I'm like, I couldn't agree more, ma'am. I'm right there with you. I mean, that was terrible. Even Damon being like, yeah, everyone's faded besides Mason. I'm like, do no wrong.

Because after I'm like, I don't know, where do you fucking have been over, though? Because I thought, like, I said something that I thought we fucked up in. And Kyler said something. But then in reality, I'm like, I looked at David and was it me? Was I faded? He was like, I'm going to be honest. You guys are all fucking faded except for Mace. And I'm like, bro, they haven't got favorites already, but this is G.

It's fucking comedy. My fucker always plays favorites, bro. It's definitely Mace. Yeah. But to be fair, I mean, he's been, I mean, it's been, it's got the perma green light. He did fuck. up. He didn't. He doesn't fuck up often. But in this clip, what I actually said to him was like,

okay, I looked over, in my head, I said, what the fuck, okay, perk? Like, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, let's clean the shit up. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's right, he's right, he's right, I was like, yeah, yeah, should probably, yeah, wrap back right here. I was like, was it me? He's probably never said something like that, huh? Or it's like, he was like, he probably like he'll snap a little bit, but like, you guys just won 30 and shit.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he randomly says that, you're just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I love the word he used, though, unacceptable. Yeah. He's used other words like, we're trolling. Yeah, yeah. And then trawling basically means the same shit. But like, I think he meant more.

This was assertive. This was like, yo, this was un-fucking acceptable. This can't happen again. But you're like, okay. You know what he said it to? Everybody thought he was like, this is unacceptable. Like, nah, he said it like, you know, that's unacceptable. Like, you know what I'm saying?

So it was way like, everybody thought it was completely like. I think it hits harder because he sounds disappointed. Exactly. He was like, yeah, that's fucking unacceptable. It's like, yeah, we know. It's unacceptable. boys, you're like, fuck. Dan, Mason, we disappointed him.

We disappointed him. We apologize for that play. It'll never happen again. Yeah. We'll make sure we fix that up. Look at JP. JP. You make sure to know, tell him.

JP was like, this is what Mason was saying. Bro, JP just theory. This is the exact play right here. Now he's going on stream and making sure, like, Mason was bringing up how Brandon's got a rap right here. And I'm like, yeah. You're just going to talk green. If you guys saw the clip, this is what we were referring.

Oh shit. You're like, oh, melee, Tom Green. I shut on him, though. I'm like, oh, fuck. They just have it. Are you just got here? You want to watch it again? Okay, yeah, we'll run it back.

Yeah, so this is when he didn't wrap back. That is fucking good, man. That's so good. So anyways, just to play, guys, Merck was bringing up how Brandon's super scammed here. Just to touch up on what happened. Just to clean up right here. That's so good.

Do you guys want to pull him pitchfork to someone? It's this guy. It's him. Watch, watch, watch, watch, watch, watch. No one made a mistake. It was all. This started the snowball, I mean Should we talk about the phase match?

What happened there? Like, I know we're all giggles. Oh, yeah, yeah, you're right. I addressed the adept in the room. Yeah, it was a match yesterday. I thought it was a good loss. I'm not going to lie. I love that excuse.

I was so much from that too. I mean, good excuse. Like, I do, I do, too. Like, I love losing online or, like, losing something. I was like, we need to be humbled there. It's like such a go-to-you-old. It's like, it does work that way, though. No, it definitely does.

It's so easy to, like, bring up all the time, basically. But like anytime, especially a match like this, like you lose which phase, you know, it's not like the lost first like some random team like this is like the optic versus phase match Everyone's watching you know what I'm saying like first match back from like the break like I used to think like that but then I don't know these league matches it's like No Austin's been talking about it a lot like just he retired and he's going on this I guess when he put that in perspective for me I could like It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable. It's like it's unacceptable. There's no ever and you play maybe one match I'm gonna go off topic real quick, but I was talking about thieves right? I'm like thieves are obviously in a rough spot. Kenny's not playing well everyone's hard carpet on them. A BZ's also, like, the team just doesn't look right. Yeah. But like, they also don't have any chance to get any confidence or momentum. Like, there is no bounce back match. Like,

they get slammed and they have to wait a week to play. Yeah. Whereas, like, in a normal circumstance, at least the circumstance we all came up with, you'd play four matches. So if you got slammed in one, you either get slammed in all of them and you're like, oh, fuck, or you can bounce back or, like, build off something. There is, it's just like, you either ride a high for a whole week or you ride a low for the whole week and it just works in like a complete opposite way you just sit on that it's just terrible and just like marinate and all the hate all the comments like they're just piling up for a week and if you don't then you better not lose again yeah you don't insupert form again next Friday it's like dude I was I was telling my chat I'm like this is the first time where I think

practice actually does matter a lot more than it used to because practice is like your biggest sample size like if practice is going well you have like a foundation right like for example thieves I'm like if their practice is going well they have a leg to stand on if they're getting shit on in practice and matches I understand like the full blown panic you know maybe consider doing something before the major

but practice is like the majority of your of your game time now so it's like practice actually does matter weirdly unfortunately in this like current format there's just too many league matches there's just there's too many spread out across of like weeks bro it's insane we're still in stage one like this is unbelievable we still two more weeks of this shit

unacceptable really they do drag it out though can burke say something about it then i'm saying something but then i'm listening i love these awesome clues dude i love awesome man i wish they would just get away from this the league matches like you you see teams play once a weekend sometimes it's like bro i think challengers is no no BS like it's better than the cdl right now like yeah it actually is you can watch some scrim all the time they're playing two or three matches on wednesday or yeah wednesday thursday i think and then you Yeah, now on the league, yep. You guys have tournaments on weekends.

Like, bro, what are we doing with this CDL format? I think ever since COVID hit, it became online. I mean, you guys know how I always was. I used to always roast online. And now we got fans gas. You know, it was. It was all about land. You already just said,

he just said, and now you got fans gas and people who are playing from their bedroom all the time. It definitely is funny, but he's definitely right. I wish I came up in this area. I would have been fucking, too. It's kind of crazy to think about it, right? Because Racine would actually be him

No bullshit Like I fuck the Blaseem would be God Dude I fuck dude I fuck the bro Like I fuck the recrink And this is like no hate Like Blastful was an insane I think he's the most like

Not like wasted talent But like most like what if talent player ever In Cod I think Blastful Online Like first Merk I might even yeah The way he was playing through

Even World War II And then going into Blackups 4 Dude this guy was him Like everyone in the pro athletes knew it Everyone knew it like every, this guy was him. He just struggled to find it on land. So obviously went down a different, you know,

butterfly effect sim that he has now. But that kid was gross, man. But if he came up now, it's like, dude, he'd be, if he was, if Racine was playing in Challenger today, like just randomly showed up and like was playing right now, bro, pros would be telling, you know what I'm saying? You know, like, yo, we gotta get, get this guy on our bench right now.

I'm kind of surprised he's not playing in challengers. I mean, dude. It's been through a lot, man, had a kid, I think. Yeah, yeah. Been in a war zone for a while. You know what I'm saying? That's a whole different life. Like, like,

I was playing the tournaments and I just figured Racine plays like war zone and shit. Yeah. I'm sure he like plays a little bit, but tournaments, but mainly war zone. And I chewed out for a team. I'm like, yeah, you want to run in three? He's like, yeah. I was watching him. Dude, he's gross.

Bro. He's gross. We lost in finals, but it's the road to get there. What he was doing versus people that like actually win. I'm like, he's like, Mark, I'm going to flag. I got him. Hold on. I see him.

I think he pulled the trigger I don't have to go to warzone way too early I think he pulled the trigger going to Wars and I'll wait too early because I think he did it right after MW 19 He's the same age as me So that's like you're 20 Yeah

I'm saying he went into it at a good time But like now Looking back I don't really follow Warzone much But just based on like common sense It just that feels super dead Like Warzone feels like Like they don't have a new big map

They're playing the same thing There's not a lot of meta changes Biffel retires they're just like I saw Hisoka tweeted for a Challenger's team I don't blame them dude if I'm a top war zone player

like for example Shifty Hisoka like the proven war zone players I don't see why you wouldn't try to give Challengers challengers right now is like the most hype it's ever been ever Like it is I agree with Austin

You're watching scrims every day You have elite matches You have cups Like you have constant personalities and matches to follow So I think I don't know because I saw like Huskers in them

they were like going to try the the battlefield Royale If they're running away from Warzone It can't be Yeah it's not They're doing it They're doing it can't be

If people like Huskers are like down To just actually drop it all together I hope war zone Because I actually do enjoy like Watching Warzone Like watching like a good war zone game Like what it's in a good spot It's a fun watch

Definitely can be I just like the community is better But yeah I mean yeah I mean back to what awesome I'm saying though It is just kind of nuts The Danianian do we live in

like you you like have these teams like so down to swap like pro teams they're down to swap players around and like probably side text and other teammates on the team you know that they like you know we got to do something because they're doing bad in this like online league like you're not even giving a chance to like see what your team's like on land like back on the day there's land team yeah yeah people that we're like we can get show online we don't care like we're gonna we're gonna get our like get back on that team on land shit talk you know what I'm saying like and nowadays it's like you you're like one and two in the league, it's like there's issues already. There's like super shit brewing and like, it's so weird. These went to what was two and one and the fucking whole community was making it seem like they were the worst team ever. Like they were Owens fucking, they were us, Owen 18, fucking, there's like, Kandis and that.

I was like, obviously now like they're fucking, they lost the phase, but this is before the break. And I was like, God damn, I've never seen this fucking VR in my life for any player, any team for three online league matches and two of them they won. The Koch community presses the panic button like super fast. Yeah. And there's such a small. There's such a small sample size.

Like even what you just said, you don't see how your team is on land. You don't even get to see what your team is like on a multiple match day. Like you don't even get to see how your team bounces back after a 3-0 loss on the same day. You wait a week to play. You play on a Sunday and then you don't play till the following Sunday. So you scrim all week where your fucking head down, team or ows probably shot because you're just thinking about this terrible loss. And now you have to wait a week to play. Yeah.

That is true. What's inside. All you really have is scrimms. And then obviously they're not streaming them. so we don't know what it's like. So now it's just like, like, dude, they started the season off the three over phase. Three-o, three-one, and then they lose one game.

And it's just because it was the ghosty. I know, I know. That is why it has, so then it's just, I'm telling you right now, it's just like, fuck it. That's a PR era. That's a super high-hry. That's a pure PR-3-0.

So that, you think that's just a 30? We're still two and one? No, that's a three-o. Your team needs a roster change. Why'd you drop this guy? He's the best part I've ever seen. Yeah, that's true. that probably honestly does have a lot to do with it too

it's because they lost the gentlemen mates it's a super hindsight thing like the ghosty thing's super hindsight like ghosty when thieves form this roster a Beazis everyone's like oh they should have kept envoy too it's like what bro no one said that they were all calling from to get drunk when everyone said

they got a Beasy everyone's like ohmg they got a Beasy no one's saying should keep envoy the ghosty thing I will say Ken there was a different reaction to Kenny they were kind of like we don't really understand why they probably didn't want ghosty for Ken like the fans, but they were probably like... But ghosty...

But they all wanted fucking... It wasn't a gameplay thing. Yeah. It was like a team cohesion out of game thing, wasn't it? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, what? They won two events.

No, he actually is. No, he is shitting. What the fuck? What did thieves get last year at EWC and champs? They got top eight at EWC and top... See, that's fucking insane, considering that them and Faze were kind of like, like, no offense to you guys.

They were one and two. But they were one and two, and like, you kind of expected one of those two teams would probably win champs at that time. Or play us at least in finals. Oh yeah, yeah, exactly. Or play Merck in finals.

Or play Merck in finals. But it is wild. Like, it obviously seems weird. Like, they dropped two players, but, like, there was probably a lot of shit going on behind the scenes, bro. You go from, like, a contender to top eight twice in the two big ones, bro. You fucking hate someone on the team. Holy shit, Dan.

And you're making, I was saying, I was like, chat, I don't know if you guys understand. Like, there is no top team that's placing top eight at the two, biggest tournaments and sticking together because they won a fucking major. Like, or because they played well. Like, if you're not top two that I would say champs and or EWC, you're making a change. That's just like the reality. Yeah, and I definitely think the thieves roster was fucking godlike when they announced it,

but I did, I was also on the fence. Like, I know Ken just had a really down year, but I was thinking like, I haven't really been around Codd for a few years. Maybe Ken just has insane stock from what he did in Vanguard, MW2. I don't really know how exactly that. He should, though. Yeah, I was like, he won at Vanguard, right? Like champs and shit?

Like obviously Ken has one before Like he's fucking good But like now you put him on this roster Where he like if he doesn't perform immediately And it seems like the microscopes are like still on him From last year Everyone's ready to dissect everything he's doing the map And then you throw him into this fucking roster

With like three pretty much superstar players And like he's an odd man out bro And it sucks that he is actually playing Like you know kind of shit individually Like obviously Like he's not playing too good I think it's a combo of Fucking ghosty also just doing what he's doing bro

Like I swear if ghosty wasn't actually He's actually him this year. Yeah, no, he's his direct replacement. Yeah, no, for sure. And it's also like the play style wise, like, like Dan loves the hill, Dan loves to,

he has good comms, like he enables his teammates. Thieves look weird. Ken's not, can you bring up the hard point engagements, please, Riley? Because I saw something today. I want to make sure this is accurate before I just spew prop. That's always for Subree, by the way.

You're just going to always be in the last now. Like, what the fuck? He's not an elite. But like, just, like, just fucking get him out. Don't fuck his stock like that. He's got a hundred kills. Please. Yeah, we're looking for just, uh,

engagements and heart point because right there. What? Yeah, where is Abizi at? Interesting. Yeah, I mean... Wait, what is it 53? Yeah, it's pretty low. Considering it's Abee?

Considering it's Abisi? Yeah, considering it's Abezi. Abizi has to be like top 20. You think Abizi would be top five, top 10 of the game when it comes to like engagements? Like he's the one going first and I'm not... Bro. The reality with thieves is that Abizi's not movable. So like, the talk is about Ken because he's the only replacement.

You're not replacing scrap, Hydra, or Bezzi, no matter how any of them are playing. That's the reality. No matter who. Scrap and Hydra for sure. No matter what? Dude, the thing is... Abe's safe. Also, because of just like, it's too early for it.

It's a Bezzie, you know what I mean? They're going to give him way more time than they'll give Ken. Yeah, I mean, okay, and this is what I'll say about a Bezie too? Bro, if you look at their first fucking match they had this year against Faze, bro, do you guys not remember? Like, it was like him versus Simp 1B1-1-1. That whole series. That was insane.

That was so cool. They were going crazy. See, like, a Beasy was like, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's his first match. That's a Bezzy. Like, obviously he's fucking good at the game. It's a Bezzy. Like, dude, this guy's gross.

Now put him in a situation where he goes on a fucking month long Christmas break and he's probably getting, like, texted, fucking tweeted, fucking reading shit, like saying like your team's shit. You got to replace this guy, this guy. I don't know, Tyler, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I know Brandon, but like, I feel like he's a type of kid where he's really good in a confident setting, you know? Like, he's got his sim, his cell like on phase trio and shit.

They know they're them, like, forever. I see what you're saying. Yeah, and like, but they put in a situation where it's like a little weird now. Like, he's going to be playing Timon on the map. Like, he doesn't want to like, you know, he's not thinking the guy behind me is trading me for sure right now unless it's like scrap really. So he's like, fuck. And I know he doesn't got like sim hitting shit with them, right? Like if you look at their search shit, like, bro, that shit looks brain dead.

Like I'm like, what the fuck's going on? This guy's playing island and shit. I'm like, bro, that's not his bag. Like, like this is insane. Yeah, you need that guy flying. Yeah, I just don't understand it. Yeah. They're not using like their playstiles correctly.

I feel like that's just what it is. Well, yeah, exactly. Like, Abizi being the third lowest hard point damage per 10 minutes is just odd. Like, he's supposed to be like a facilitator at the very least make the opponent's week and you're the cleanup crew. Yeah, he's down to going and knock him out. Like, that's the type of player he is. The team looks weird. Like, they're not flowing.

I think when we talk about it like this, people are like, you're just defending Ken. Like, bro, no, we're not. No, we can. Kenny is playing like shit, obviously. But the team is also not flowing the way it should flow because it shouldn't, this team with all their, like, slang power shouldn't rely on Ken slaying every single map. You know what I'm saying? Like they should be able to win maps with Ken having a point nine if they're playing

the right way. Yeah, no, legit. I could agree. And I think there's two ways they can go about this, right? Like, this is a team that I think could be one of those land teams. I think that this team chose up on land on a stage. Who knows what the fuck happens? Like those four players, they could randomly do really well on land.

That is Kenny effect. Yeah, like, you know what I'm saying? And there also isn't, the other route is there's no results happening. I don't know what that room sounds like they-da-day-day. Obviously, it could be a lot of hate brewing. That's why practice matters for that team. Yeah, no, for sure it does. For sure does.

But think about what's going on with them right now. They just lose 3-0 to phase. They have to wait a week, and they have one match, and it's against us. Like, think about, like, they have so much pressure mounting up until this match. Yeah, the Sunday. Yeah, I mean, fuck. They have to play Burke. There's, like, so much tension on this way.

There's so much pressure on this match, like, when you really think about it. Because, like, now it's, like, you're coming off two, three-os against two other top four teams, right? Like, it can go real weird. Especially, now you're getting closer to the major, like, dude, shit can go real, real weird. This team is so weird to me, though, because whenever we scrimmed them, they actually play us really good.

So I'm always thinking, like, are they, is it just, like, clicking, like, today? They did run you guys, like, not too long ago, right? Yeah, like, run you. Like, when you say, like, there was one time, they didn't run us one time. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Yeah. Actually, that was twice. That was twice. Oh, shit. But we weren't trying, and I don't know if Merck was trying. I swear this team I agree with it actually about

I think this team could actually just randomly just show up to land and then they have one big series went on land and then it just And they're like oh yeah it's land What are we thinking? It's so long since we played on land Like we don't even realize

Yeah it's a different game Yeah like completely different game Exactly like never know And just that moment dude I mean we all know it takes It takes like one moment To like transform a team 100% literally one

It's like the Simp 1v4 Like where Faye The Damon clutch 9W Where Fays looked like shit Simp clutch is a 1V4 And out of nowhere phase looks like phase again. Like just that like spark that gives the team that energy. I mean this was fucked up. This was fucked up. This is why I always get it. I don't know why

he's even bringing this up again. This is fucked up. I feel like I've seen this everywhere. Can't lie. Yeah. And then Pat obviously his fixture on the flank was fucked up. That is fucking copy. He's hilarious. Pat's out of his mind. He is hilarious. He tweeted scrap of five-minute video of Usher song, Let It Burn. Let It Burn. It's gonna hurt when I say this. But it's coming from my heart. Let it burn. It is hilarious. I mean, I guess we'll see, like, how much these guys and the higher-ups of thieves really let the talk of the town really affect, you know, their actual roster and how much they're down to just make a change.

Either before the major or after the major, I think if they do bat the major, like, if they end up holding it out until then, what's in three weeks. That's a must. That's a must plus place top three. Top two. Top two. If they're not getting to the final and, you know, putting thieves on the board, like, you know, you. Yeah, there's obvious changes. That's an insane amount of pressure on, like, some of those players.

Yeah, there's a shit ton. Unless they play, like, really good the last two matches, and it's like, you could play. Actually, I don't know. Because it's land. I could just see that team going to land in, like, doing well. You know what I mean? I could see it. I could see it the opposite way, too, but it would be a huge what if.

I do want to address one thing. I think, like, everyone's talking about Niam because the situation, you know, our deal with thieves with Niam. The people are like, I don't think Niam fixes his team. I don't think this. I'm like, how do you know that, by the, like. You could have said the same thing about Merck with our team. You could say the same thing about Surge and Neptune. Like, there are multiple.

Like, I can see it go, like, sure, maybe you're right. And maybe he wouldn't fix it. Or maybe he would. Like, there's a certain energy and confidence boost in just life you get when you do make a change when things aren't going well. So I do think it's a bit, I'm not saying Thief should pull the trigger right now, but everyone's saying Niam wouldn't help. I'm like, how do you know that?

Like, why are you talking in such absolutes like, that's true? Yeah, I mean, yeah, I definitely feel you on that. But I think for thieves, they just stick it out to the major and just see what the fuck happens. And, you know, don't let everything. Obviously, there's a lot of shit being said. You know, so much shit being said. Yeah, they got double three-os, like, you know, in like the two back-to-back. And then if they lose to these guys, like, it's, yeah, it's going to be a lot.

But, I think that's what, depending on how their match goes against you guys, I think is just going to dictate how their mentals are as a team and team where it was kind of like reverse for us last year because I remember we were 0-win 12 at this point and we play thieves and then we were like if we win this series we're probably still losers but bro we three oh they were like 21 and two map count at the time

and we're like okay if we three oh these guys are like or not even three but if we just beat these guys at least we know that when it comes to like you know what I guess a top four team or like a match that you could potentially win the tournament if you beat this team or whatever like we're at least rise into the occasion and we got fucking smoke

It was our last team. It was our, I think, our last fucking series together. Jesus. It was so bad that we played one more series. We even won that series and still made a roster change. Yeah. That was like the nail on the coffin. Even though we were expected to lose, it was just more like, okay, we're just not up for the challenges.

Yeah, we don't have it. The rest won't matter if we come out here and play well against this one. Which I think is the way they're viewing the match coming up with you guys. It's like, if this goes well, none of that matters at all. Yeah, they're what, two and two right now? They're still in the winners. Yeah, exactly. They'll be so many winners that they beat them in tomorrow.

And it could change the complete narrative, right? Now, hopefully it doesn't, right? Like, I hope we slam them respectfully. But that's the reality. Yo, let's circle back to your phase match because I feel like we brushed over it. Did you do that on? Well, no, no, no, no.

Well, I think... Well, I think... I mean, you guys... What about getting shit on? Yeah, but anyways, what about thieves? They're scamming, right? But you guys are on a 12-game win streak. I think these things are good for teams.

Like, it is good to sometimes get a loss like this when you're riding such, like, an insane high, like a 12-match win streak, back-to-back champions, like it's all positive. Sometimes you do need like a little bit of this to like keep you grounded, at least in my opinion. I 100% agree. Then it was just more,

I was even saying this to the team after, but I was like we needed to just come back to Earth because even the way our, I don't want to say our practice was, it was good, but it wasn't as efficient as it was last year, especially the last two months. Like last year we were getting on with the purpose. We were not wasting a single, like scrim.

Even this year, like I don't want to say like, I don't want to say we had the we didn't have the same hunger but it was more like we needed a slap in a face like okay it's not gonna just we're not gonna run over everybody you know you can lose a map or two here in line you're like these guys are so exactly we could say that and then it is human nature a little bit bro you haven't lost series in eight months it is yeah and then fucking yeah like it's actual obviously the off season was like three or four months of it so no no no we'll count it but it sounds insane it does okay yeah eight months so but yeah but honestly

phase also played really it was a combo of us needed to get slapped in the face and in phase fucking giving it to us because you have to be also capable because even us playing with that mindset we could still beat everyone for the most part. But unless it was one of those top four teams that showed up on their good day and they actually

had a really good day. Draws had a good day. Dros looked great. Abusa had a good day. I remember talking you about it before that you guys played these guys like saying like just kind of trolling about it but kind of serious like the series. So say you guys didn't plan this is like two weeks ago. Yeah. And we were talking about how draws and Abuza have all this pressure on them and like

this match is actually so big for like a luke's future like if if you guys come out in three a phase a look who gets a text you know like just stay ready blah blah blah you know what you don't say like that but then a series like this comes out there's fucking it's crickets yeah he was just like this text of draza saying like you know what I'm saying he was like and if you look at the flip side too it's like kettings in a similar situation with thieves and like um the way these phase players handled it is it's kind of like tippy like they these two guys that are well not really a booza I think i think a lot of eyes were on draza really to be the guy that's kind of on the chopping block.

Yeah, it's probably Draws or maybe 04, I guess. Yeah, and to see him come out like this and have a series that's more draws I like, like, obviously, it sucks like it was against you guys. And, like, you know, I'd probably hate the whole CEO bullshit. But the fact that he came out and did it, it was kind of cool. Like, just saying, you know, like, and obviously you kind of have to touch on, like, phases improvement. It's just been looking their trajectory towards the major right now.

I think this is going to be a top three team, like, for sure. They're, they've kind of figured it out in all three modes and they're, they kind of put all the pieces together, right? Like you're putting all these like this weird little roster together at first. Like this is the phase trio split up for the first time. When I saw that roster, I was like, I was like, I can't really tell. I was like, it's ain't really tell. I was like, it's just didn't give me the vibe of like, that's Atlanta phase.

You know what I'm saying? Like how we used to see it. Like this is the red fucking the trio you always think about. Yeah, they're pink now and shit. Yeah, it's like pink. It's like a little vibe. It's just a little different. So like.

This series can make them delusional. For sure, yeah. I mean, honestly, you guys want to fuck up. You might have created a fucking monster. I guess we'll find out, but... I'm hoping they're delusional. Okay, yeah, I like that. Okay.

Can you find that. Yeah, Luca's like damn, bro. And Luca has to lie. After last year. I've been there. I saw something I shouldn't have saw last year. That's just there. Okay, that's fair.

Good shit, boys. Why are we zooming in on this? I don't know, dude. This is so weird. That's the watch party. You know, Toronto looked good, too. I'm really impressed by Insight so far this year. Because I feel like Insight is the odd man out.

Like, Real is their new pickup. Joe Deceives and Kleenex aren't movable. Jamie's playing with some pace. He's playing really well. Jamie played good in the Theve series. Yeah, that was a big series for him. So I've been impressed. I think Joe just seems like him. Joe was gross, dude. I think Joe just seems it's fucking gross. Joe's nasty, yeah. I can't lie, this motherfucker's gross.

He got some, he got some game to him, for sure. He's like a little flow bag. It's real good. He got a weird, he got a snappy fucking... I don't even know. Like, this kid plays for the love of the game. You could tell, like, when he didn't cost the 1 v2 and he fucking teabagued the guy and the one viz. Like, when he killed the first guy, like, this guy loves God. He's too troly and, like, jolly and it.

This guy loves God. Like, he's kind of like how Alec used to be. You know what I'm saying? Like, this guy fucking loves the shit. And this guy's just like gross. Like, it's definitely probably a good teammate to have. Yeah, I mean, Scrap's always fighting it. It seems like, like, dude.

Hydra had a good series, too. I mean, this was insane. This kid's a gamer, bro. Because, you know, even in Rock League, he's like a... Map 3 was over right there. Grand champ, I think. Yeah. The next map ended right there.

Bro. What did you just say? Grand chant. Bro. Because this kid grinds Rock League also. He's like a grand champ. That's like the level, because in Rock League,

Radiant is called the, no, it's Super Sonic Legend. That's the Radiant. It's what? Super Sonic legend. That sounds insane. But Grand Champ is like the rank that's like, you pretty much play with them. You're immortal. Yeah, exactly. Because like you're in there like MMR. Maybe there's only like a hundred. I don't know how much slots there is, but he's in that rank. And he's also pretty decent at CS. Like he's not crazy, but.

He's a gamer. Yeah. So he's basically, he's always in the toy. He's playing something. This podcast is also brought to you by ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program. These days, we insure just about everything. Cars that lose value the second we drive them, phones we trade in every two years, and trips we haven't even taken yet. But our pets, who are truly irreplaceable, often go unprotected. With ASPCA, pet health insurance, you can get help with unexpected vet bills and make sure your dog or cat gets the care they need when they need it. And when you're looking out for them, there's a little extra something in it for you too. When you enroll in an ASPCA pet health insurance plan, you could get a $25 Amazon gift card. It's a little treat for you while you're doing something great for

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The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. Carolina looked pretty good too. They pick up exceed. We had him playing here. I mean, they look like their pacing looks a lot different. They got. got a big win against Miami. Yep. They actually do. It's a resurgence of vibes, right? Yeah, I think vibes.

It's also like, I think, and I'm not sure how practice was, but I know Austin. And I do feel like this team will allow these young guys to make more mistakes than Austin would without criticism. You know what I mean? Like I think for players like craze and lurks, you need to be allowed to make mistakes in Rome freely. And maybe Austin was doing that. But knowing Austin, he's like, yo, we need to do this, this and this. Whereas now it's like, don't worry about it next time to do this. It's a different vibe.

With this thing, you'll make the mistake where Austin, you're like triple guessing yourself like, well, I don't want to do this, he might get mad or I might cost. He might snap. Yeah, I feel like, uh, I actually talked to my stream by a little bit too, because I'm like 31 now and I was thinking about like how it'd be team with these like new pretty much like young ass 18 year old players like, you're Austin bro, like he runs a very strict camp.

Like it's like, it's kind of like, I mean, I've never played with him, but I could kind of tell what it's like. But if you combine to a system, he can obviously have championship winning rosters. He's done it before, right? Like you've seen him turn someone like John who's like very fucking trolly. You know what I'm saying? Like he turned that guy in like a system player apathy, you know. And like obviously you had Jacob to help him.

But like a team like that like real good. But then you put Austin with like three like new like I don't even know these kids that probably talk to Austin two years ago. You know what I mean? You throw them into like an Austin like setting of screaming. It's probably very weird for them. Like they go from challengers to like a fine like it probably feels very stressful. Yeah.

There's like fucking lashes being given out. You don't say. You don't rotate fucking boom five lashes. It's like there's just weird shit for. probably happening. And then having this kid come in, like, he's a little older too, but he ain't like slasher, you know? Like, he's kind of just a very different ship. Like, you block the wrong spawn? Austin's like, whatever. I'm up. I'm shit. Yeah, definitely a different vibe. And like, honestly, a new team coming in, a new year, actually, like, they definitely feel like a

fucking fresh-ass team. Like, they're coming into sinking, like, those first team match we played didn't even count. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, we're obviously here to play. Like, no one's really putting respect on them yet because they haven't beaten a top team. But their one top team went away from people being like it's pretty funny good. Yeah, he's pretty good. Yeah, we did like power rankings and Seth just placed Carolina five and I was like, all right.

I mean, they had a good weekend, but I was like... In front of the end? Yeah, we had thieves eight. We got to get to land. Which I do feel like was a bit harsh. We gotta get to land. I think that's weird. I do think that was a bit harsh. It was also fresh though. The issue was we had a month. We had a month break and it was like just like a super recency bias list.

Like nothing was at our heads besides what we just watched this past weekend. We were on a month break. So it was all like super recency bias. Right, yeah. That's natural. That was a bit harsh. But when Seth put them fifth, I was like, whoa.

I mean, okay, sure, let's fucking do it. But, yeah, I'm curious to see how they play against, like, one of the top three, top four teams. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the schedule's like, but it's got to be coming up soon. Yeah, it seems like their hard matches are on the way. Yeah, for sure. Like, they played what? Like, who did they even play? They played Miami?

In G2. Which I think that was a good series. That was a decent series. Miami's, like, kind of weird, dude. They're like, Miami, you don't know actually how to judge Miami because they could actually come out and play any top four team relatively close.

Yeah. Like, you get to land, those kids are screaming and shit. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I feel like the local crowd likes them too. Like, you get a little weird against a Miami series. Like a random winners round of one match. They just make every series weird. They just make it weird.

And I think they know that. I swear to God. They might buy into it. I'm not even joking. Like, people think I'm like joking whenever I talk about Miami. But I actually think they embrace that weird play style. They're like, we're going to fucking try to check you guys are we're not going to hit the hill for 40 seconds,

then it'll lay down behind you. Like, I swear to God, shit like, it's unreadable. Like, Super's like, I'm not going to touch the hill this whole entire fucking 60 seconds. And then before going into Map 5, I'm not going to hit the hill at EWC. We could go watch that rewind.

But like shit like that. They bring that checkout factor into the next map. I swear to God. They're just like the way cracked, better version of like what it used to be like playing like an Australian team back on the day. You're like, yeah, where are these guys? But like Miami's just.

They'll be down 50 to zero. Really good, too. And then the rain, like, really good at search. You're like, why. Why is he there? Like, why is he P5 when it's P2? Exactly. Like, you actually think this in your head while you're playing them, but I think they want

that. I think they actually talked about it. I swear to God, like, bro, let's just play off rhythm. It's kind of like basketball. Like, maybe some teams are like. I fuck with medals. I think medals has improved a lot. Like, dude, I team with Adrian and Toronto fucking MW19.

He was like crack but inconsistent. I feel like he's finding some consistency now and I'm impressed by him. Rancore I've been impressed by. Trakes, I still have no idea yet. I have not seen this guy enough. He's got a little more comfortable. I think he got slammed in the first series when they had their little like Real Sim and Trakes was the new guy, but it was kind of like Real versus Toronto or Real versus Miami.

I thought with Rangor heavy. Rencore is gross, I think. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I've been speaking on Frank Kor for a long time. That kid is disgusting, dude. I mean, like, Brandon, you can probably tell, like, just by the way, like, when you're playing against ARs, like, he's pretty good, yeah. He shoots. Like, you can tell he doesn't, you don't catch him slipping too often.

I was playing Blackop 6-8s and everyone's like gas in Rencore. Like, this guy's shit. I was just like playing him I was like he killed me like this guy's shit And I'd keep challenging him like okay he's not shit Yeah yeah yeah yeah I'm shit He talked to me in one map randomly In black up six eights where I was like he's on the bench

And I went on this big spiel about like he needs to be on the roster Like now And then like a couple weeks later he replaced a vehicle I think Or whoever the fuck was on it And then it's kind of turned into a fucking That was a model 6% body fat I never I never played like I mean I guess in this game is probably the first time

But I barely play pros and I spawned in verse nasty and I saw him in map and I saw his tag pop up I'm like let me try this split at him try to chow him rip me I said whoa I'm not doing that no more I'm playing corners not fucking with him no more actually yeah he's he got it he plays all day wait what the fuck Ross ring and jucily rung

well it sucks yeah you're gonna veto Colossus for us G2 right yeah why is the one flossus yeah you know what's funny is it every year by the he claims like maybe a couple of ramping map yeah he'll be like last year hacienda he was like crumpienda we want a game on I'm like, Krepienta? And then we even like, bro, for example, Skyline, he's like, Krepline game one, Krepline. And I'm like, and then by the way,

but you mind you, they're not fucking beating us in a single child on this map. We want Krepline game one and he's just 4 and 8. But then randomly Kremplossus for sure. And then he actually claimed it at the monster attorney. You know, he manifests the fuck out of that. He did. And now it's a cramp losses now. And of course it's a map that it's like, Krem's good at. Like, he comes to my child all the time.

No, it's weird though. Like, because I'm like, dude, but like, he's getting, he's getting three. pieces that shouldn't be possible. How do he get that kill? I was the only one that had G2 when we were on the watch party a couple days ago talking about like they all had the other team winning and I was like just give it till cramped losses and like kind of like

trolling about it like let's see if we can actually do it again. This motherfucker was going crazy and he drops the kill record. Like way better than I thought he was going to do and I was like this is insane. And then I'm just thinking like if teams vetoes against them that I don't think G2's winning on a series. They're not fucking like doing much on any other map right now that I'm like

these guys are actually gross. He's auto veto Colossus Check Crempt. If you just video... What do they... Like, if you guys scrimmed you too a lot? Yeah. What are the map they good at?

Like, Blackheart? I swear to God. We beat him in every map but the Colossus. And then Crempton have a good map, but the end. It was 2.30, 240.

Of course. We were winning the P4. He comes through Siderpops of four piece and bucks a back. I swear to God. I swear to God. And then I'm like, Krempt lost this all again.

That's just go out to the next map. That's so good. And then he would just happen anytime. I'm a bit of... I'm in a script like this. Like, fuck, yeah. Yeah, I think that was honestly,

last time we'll see G2 play that shit for a little bit. Just off, and it's going to be AIDS, too, because Chris is going to actually think he's him. But, like, people are going to be able to. I think the map's also going to get taken out. I think it's the first one. Oh, that'd be so easy. And then he's just, fuck.

He's got to claim another one. Yeah, this was awesome. That's going to be AIDS if it does. Look at Nero, 29 and 47. Like, what the hell? What is this? Oh, the captain's dropped 54? Oh, I'm bo-cage.

That was the bang-out map, right? That was the other kill record. Wow, that's far. But I don't think, yeah, that's the only, that's the only way to break that, that record, I think, is to get a colossus to get a, there's no other wrap in this game. You're doing that.

I don't think Blackheart's, you're not doing that on Black Heart. What if they had French? I feel like Blackheart's like a, it's not fake Mixie, but it's like, that's a fucking Money Hill. You run through a doorway on every break. Every single Hill is a money home.

Yeah, there's just sitting in a corner everywhere. It's too much bullshit around. You get away the kills, you take space, then you have two lives and they literally can't move. You're just like, this is impossible to break. You come through the P1 door, you're like, okay, where's this guy going to kill me from? Bro, let's just, I'll call out for you. Do I look left?

Can he come through the cut? Is he in the middle part? The window maybe? And then you're like, I'm going to try to hop in this window. The guy's just holding it laying down. Yeah, do I go jump and dub? It's like, uh, got one. Do you look at my back.

Hopefully this ain't gets one. I'm going. I don't know. Like, it's just such a weird. All right, he's not there. That's what I'm hoping we have two more good maps that come in. People talk about fringe. I'm down to play fringe.

I don't know why... Yeah, because of the fucking... There's like balloons and shit everywhere. Yeah, because it's the... It's like a celebration fringe. Like, I just don't know. Why do they do that shit? It's like someone just graduated.

Just make the map look good and make it the exact same. Like, why is right the exact same? Like, I hate when they change the... They change the height of headies and shit. I'm like, why are you doing that? Yeah, that's not... Just keep the map the exact same and just make it look good.

Horizontal or other. Yeah, like, that's flipped, right? Like on A bomb, on A guy I get picked off the bomb, I'm like, are you not behind it? I look at the kill cam, the bombs just straight. I'm like, what? Because on A bomb, like, you'd play that in B03 Chows. You'd play the hecklet.

She's like L-Walt or late into 10. Like, I'm top bar and I'm seeing that shit in my peripheral version. I'm like, what the fuck? I feel like Pennywise is just fucking hiding on the map. Yeah, it's just a weird vibe to friend, right? But honestly, like, this would be better than Krenplossus, to be honest.

No, this map should be played. And I think Utopia should be played also. And then people talk about like, oh, dude, Bro, I don't even care if we fucking, we haven't screamed it. I just know it's fucking better than Black Card and Colossus. I don't have to- Are they really that bad? Dude, those maps are awful.

I legit loved Utopia. No bullshit. And I think for search, I think it should 100% be in. For HP, then that's more of a debate, but, yeah, no, Colossus search is horrible. Coloss is horrible. That's horrible. I saw Skylines coming back to this game. Is it?

That's what my chat was telling me yesterday. I'm like, skyline's like a fun. Look at the balloons. How many there are. You guys see how many there are? Yeah. Look at that. Yeah, what is that?

Yeah, you're right, you're right. What is that? There's a lot, dude, I'm telling you. I was like, what the hell? And this one, there's like one set of balloons is okay, but then there's like, there's so many. They were saying yesterday there's some glitch on this map where if you diffuse, you go invisible. Nice, yeah. I don't know.

Oh, is that one they removed it? Yeah, they'd be like veto and shit now. Some guys had that fucking office. Like, I don't fucking know. I don't know the coding for that. He's like, holy shit. I'm going to fuck so much shit off if I try to mess with this. Yeah, I mean, I'm just hoping that after.

Because after major one, it's always like this MW3 last year, same thing with B06, but they always add a new map after season one. Let me ask you, like, now that you guys have had like a little bit of time with it, what do you think overload is better than control? I'm like a control fucking, I love control, but it depends on the game. Like last year, I didn't think it was that bad. I just needed better maps. But I just think it depends on the game. MW2 is dog shit. Overload this year is pretty decent, but I think it needs help with like certain rules.

Like, for example, overtime. It should be. They should be stopwatch. We all talked about it. Right, yeah. I mean, like... And first half, I should be able to, if I'm on good side, to get more than four points.

Because what if, like, we beat you guys four to one, and now you go on good side and you run up seven points on your good side? Right. But I was only able to get four because the game allowed to do. Okay, yeah, that's a good point. Because they had two minutes in, I'm frying you, but then it stops at four. But then two minutes in you're frying me,

it goes all the way to the end. That's a good point. So it's just... Third game modes, just like, in general, compared to hard point in search, they just have much more opportunity to be boring as fuck. Like hard points constant action And even if it's a blowout

You're like okay this map's gonna be done quick Whereas a boring overload or control Or even like a boring uplink or CTF It's just like a slow burn You're just like okay this map needs to end right now I love uplink though I think uplinked though I think uplinked Bro

That shit was vibey Oh you could actually do shit because like the wall bounce Yeah you could get created Or you could put like a little bounce path too You just put like a little like Trolly Cowing thing And you could just double jump on it

Yeah, I mean, I really didn't think about that. You actually probably could have played uplink in this game with all the double jump and wall bouncing capability. I think there was definitely potential for it. That's just a story of like Call of Duty's life. It's like, we know what works and we just decide to try a new thing, which I'm okay with. But at some point we need to be like, okay, let's play Uplink

and let's go back to pool play and open bracket. Like there are certain things that just need to be going back to that we don't do yet. It's just too much that. I mean, that's just such an insane problem to tackle. Me and Teach talk about it once every like two, three, three months. We're like, yeah, remember back in, you know, we played like three, four matches and pools and shit? And I'm like, brother. Yeah, that was the one good thing that the Halo scene had going for this past four years was every MLG event or every event or every event.

Or every event I felt like I was living in the past and everyone else was in the CDL-Aid's little online seminar. I was like kind of cool over here. I don't know one's watching, but it's kind of cool. I'm still in 2012 guys. Yeah, like it's fun. Like you get your pooling matches. You get the brigh, you play fucking eight times a weekend. You know how mad I'd be if I fly to Birmingham for Major 2?

I'm in losers. I'm in losers and I lose one and fly home. I would be fucking infuriated. You're in Birmingham? Those are the ones where you got to throw the cooks at the teammate. Like, bro, you're getting shit. I think it's worse. Wait, I think it's worse if you the bottom two teams.

Please get out of my ear, bro. I watch you get turned on. I think it's worse if you're the bottom two teams. I don't even think you go. Bro, I think major two. I think major two, the last two seats, 11. It's 10 team. It's a 10 team tournament.

It's not eight or 12. Actually. I thought it's a proam. Oh shit. Is Major 2 a proam? Aren't the Dream Hacks a proam? Why tripping? That could be Major 4 maybe or Atlanta.

I imagine major 3. But dude, one of them definitely did pro-am. I thought there was two this year, though. I don't know. How does the losers work? That is weird. Yeah, that is weird. Wait, so you're telling me we have, what,

six or five or six weeks of online qualifiers and then two teams don't even go to Birmingham? Yeah, and you play all 11 teams. We're going to play all 11 teams. Wait, I'm sorry? I'm going to play all 11 teams, Major 2. Qualified. All 11. Wait, hold on.

We hold on, Riley. How long is this qualifier? So it starts February 13th. When's the last qualifier? Oh my God. A lot of content. But to be fair, I think it's all packed in relatively. It's 3-4-3.

So it is like a lot more cod. Fuck me. Yeah, 3-4-3. Fuck me. A lot of cod. Yeah. Which I'm... Wait, like, for me.

I want to see February 13-14. I'm not to be coming fucking flat out for this. Like, I guess. What the fuck? What the hell? I don't mind this, bro. At least for playing, bro. Like, fuck it.

No, that's true. But I don't like how it's 11 league matches. God damn, but fucking... I think you should just try and get them... It should just be like half the time. Like, you should play like 11 matches in like three weeks. Like, they need to reintroduce teams playing multiple times a day. Is it...

Wait, okay. Like, I want to watch you guys win a match and then watch you play again that same day. I would love that. I think they should do something similar to the Monster tournament. Like, they should have one of those before every single major. Like, you get these league. matches, whatever, and everyone's kind of bored about the league matches. Like, bro,

if you put me a major three right now and watching league matches, I'm like, you know? Unless they're playing, like, what the fuck? Like, I'm sure you guys don't know the feeling all too well. You literally need, like, a team change or something. Not you guys, but I'm saying in general in the league to like have some kind of fucking spark.

Yeah, spark to watch. Make it seem like something feels like something. Major three is the pro amp. Okay. That'll be exciting. If they had that now, it'd be sick because there's so much hype around challengers as well. But, like, I just don't, man, it's just too much time, dude. There's so much time here. Okay, so major...

Those are the challenger scene looks like a few months from now. Well, every event should be a pro-am. And then I think we'll see, like, maybe even more pro teams try and field, like, an academy or... Like, Toronto used to have an academy team. We obviously have the huntsmen. But for a lot of these teams, it's like, why would we invest in something when these guys can't play on the big stage?

Like, there is no actual... Right. path to watch these guys on the big stage. So major three is like the old... Major three is just like the old days basically, but it's not going to be open bracket into pool play. You're going to qualify. So I think it's top two teams from the major two challengers land,

the winner of the stage two N-A elite, and then the winner of the stage two EMEA elite. You're losing them too, I think. But yeah, I feel you. That was a lot. It's not... Is it like the same as the Carolina. Line up pro M and MW2?

Yeah, I think so. Okay, so it's like... We get a real shot to see Am teams play against pro teams on land. Like L.AG Academy. Like L.A.G Academy was good at that rally event, remember? Yeah, yeah. And they kind of fell off after they all got to the Pro League. They had a good couple matches and they kind of just became flat.

But... Yeah, I remember that actually. I mean, yeah, I think, listen, I think we all agree it should go back to like, what, we used to have 16 pro teams, and then four teams would make it through the open bracket. So it would be five teams per pool. Yeah. You'd play the challenger teams on Friday after you play your pool match or Saturday morning.

Whatever it was. It was 20 teams in the pro bracket once it was all set and done. And it was cool because you got to see a real shot. You got to see the AM teams get like back to back to back to back matches against pro teams starting at 10 a.m. And like by 2 p.m and it's all done, there's like maybe a story that happened. You know, like the GOSU crew and IW that turned into E United, those kids were M kids. And then three events later, they're winning events. That's insane.

That's a cool story. That's something that'll never happen again as of right now. Like, and I guess possible in Major 3, but not really the same situation. Yeah. But kind of similar. You get, you get to see like pro teams play against Am teams. And I do agree with Zane. I think every event should have that.

There should be four fucking challengers teams that are in somehow. You know, we've done all the challengers shit for months now. Like, something should have maybe qualified them for this first one. I feel like, dude, there's so much hype around challenges right now and there's so much, like, everyone's kind of stale with the CDL. Like everyone's kind of. Challenger is better than the CDL right now. Yeah, for sure. I do too.

Like, this would be the perfect time to put this fucking thing in, dude. And like, let's see how fucking Aluka does against these pros. I want to see how fucking the huntsman do against these pro. You know what I'm saying? It would be the coolest shit ever right now. And I think they definitely missed the mark. But I guess it could still be lit around major three. Hopefully it is.

That's outdated, I think, is like, oh, well, these teams used to just get slammed by pro teams. And that could happen. But I think challenger teams are better than they used to be. There's pro teams getting slammed by pro teams today. Exactly. Why are we act like this is something new? Now you have a lot of former pros and challengers. These challengers are getting better practice.

Like they're getting pro scrims sometimes like the talent I think is just I think Challenger's teams nowadays would perform better than they would back in the day Oh yeah, probably like if they make it to the pro bracket. Oh yeah for sure probably I feel like they play with different purpose now for sure like It's like back in the day You could you could go to an event and have like a cool little story for a weekend beat a pro team and pool play and then you're like Okay, we're like top 12. You know that's a good event considering you played through him Now it's like you're playing against like there's so much shit that goes into it dude really and I'm not going to get too much into it,

but nowadays I think that people are very hungry to, like, take roster spots and there's a lot of tension just on these bottom, like, six teams in the league, and these challengers kids know that shit, you know? And then they're playing against one of those teams early on in, like, a tournament like that. Like, who knows what happens, bro?

Like, they could get on that team a week later just because they finally-changing. You know, like, it's... Especially on land? Yeah, it's just a lot different now. So, I don't know, I definitely do a grooves in, though, we should have probably had this every single event. It'd be cool, but...

Speaking of challengers, we actually have something pretty cool coming up. We are doing a little pre-land boot camp. It's the optic alpha brain invitational. We got four teams. It's the huntsman, tell you ride Bush, omit, and the stallions. So we got like a little four team pre-land. It's going to be essentially...

Is it here? It's just practice, right? So it's not really a tournament. It's just round robin scrimms. That's still fire, though. Two scrimms going out at the same time. Yeah, it's going to be perfect. That's the one is that?

That is the 27th. That's fire. And the event starts the 29th. I'm pretty sure. So they just get here a day earlier. Yeah, they come like two days earlier. I don't know. On challengers, do they start on Thursday?

Or they start on Friday, I think. They start Friday, I think. They start a couple of days. Oh, so they got a couple of days. Yeah, I was going to say. Start on Thursday, you win, you don't play till Saturday? That's another thing too. Like, what the hell?

I got used to it, though. Maybe they do play Thursday. I don't know. I kind of like it. It's like you bypass the attorney a little bit. You win Thursday, but when you get to Saturday, you're right, you're on the cusp, bro. I got to do is get to get to the Sunday.

You know what I mean? No. So like, the fact that you skip the Friday completely and then get to like the 6 p.m. on Saturday. What's the fuck?

So you win the 3 p.m. on Thursday and you don't play like till like 60 hours later basically. That's actually crazy, wow. I gotta fuck with it though because now I'm like I'm bypassing the turning.

One person is winners my nose. She's so cool. Except for champs. Champs is like you play every day. Fucking hilarious. That's crazy because I never really talk about from a play perspective. Like, yeah.

You get to go to like that match kind of look forward to the whole weekend. The Saturday night. You're almost like spawning in on Sunday. You're one match like you're spawning in on Sunday. Yeah. And there used always be like, boy,

doesn't matter what happens. We just have to get the Sunday. And I'd be like, bro, I got dope because I was like, then matter how our team was playing. If we got the Sunday, we have a winning chance.

Just at least as, you know, the competitors, that's always thankful. Yeah, I think that's gonna be dope. Little pre-lam. We got a bunch of good teams

coming. We'll have, you know, creators here and we'll be, we'll be shooting the shit. Also, two more things real quick. if you have one of the Optic champs replica rings and you're coming to the major,

wear it on Saturday. Wear your replica ring on Saturday and then Sunday we want to do a white out. So wear white on Sunday. I think that'll be crazy. That's so hard. That is so hard. It's like the fucking Miami Heat.

Yeah. It's like a playoffs. Yeah, that's kind of crazy. Man, I love playing it. Let's get more home crowd she's going. Let's just all be in point. You guys have a top deck. Or the optic.

dot link slash tickets join us it's gonna be it's gonna be fun i just tweeted the food spots the bars make sure people are eating eating good it's gonna be a i also love that in dallas because it's just like out of everywhere else we could have went it's just way warmer like imagine toronto major one you'd be fucking brick i wouldn't mind though i love toronto you get to wear the big jacket you're yeah i love toronto man there's ronora there isn't which is like a fucking scam it was the only time i'd actually be last year i think we actually have the perfect uh like cities to go to this year the only thing I would change is going to Toronto instead of Atlanta, I can't lie. And London instead of Birmingham.

I don't mind the UK because I just look at the Birmingham, London. It's just the UK. They're going to show out regardless. I think they already sold like 5,000 tickets. That event is going to be fucking insane. I saw Adam tweet that he's like, and we're making sure the beer is appropriately placed in the venues where everyone has access. It's going to be crazy. Bro, I can't wait to watch that one.

I ain't going to lie. Adam, man. What a go. Yeah, this guy's him, dude. What a go. He's been him forever, dude. It's already sold out Wait, what's...

I think they've re-released new seats Like three or four different times Like they keep adding more inventory That's cool Because they keep Selling out Bro, is this the first event That they've had since the MW19 one

Right? And then before that was the London B04 The M1191 wasn't really real though But so was the B04 one The B04 one was a movie bro What do we think of shit? Yeah, that was awesome Oh jade!

I love the fans Yeah, I went in 2019 Oh wait yeah 2019 2018 Yeah, Jesus fuck, they were getting booed. The UK fans are just different. They're hammered at 10 a.m. It's like, fuck yeah. Yeah, their fan culture is different, man.

I think it's just a Europe thing. They're so fun to play in front of it every time. I realized that when we went to Italy for Juventus, I've never seen, like, fandom like that. Like, when I went to like an actual, we called soccer game, that was like a different, different level of fandom. I can imagine. That event is going to be so fun to play out.

For 10 teams. Because there's two teams that are just gonna get to send to the shadow of realm Even the Paris event man That one might get a little weird man There's been more gentlemen's fans In the crowd than the optic fans probably I would assume so

Paris is gonna go crazy Did you guys ever see the gentlemen mates I think it was Fortnite The World Cup that they just played It was like a couple months ago And it was fucking Dude they had like a 360 POV Of the fans

Because it was in Leon France And then bro the gentleman mates fans They're fucking screaming at that What's that one kid on Falcons That uh You've said some crazy shit Oh my god He's God

He's like their best player Peterbot? Peter Bot Oh yeah And then they were roasting him They're fucking saying crazy shit And who won Peter Bot? No he lost

That was that was that was a kid That was his first event That he like kind of broke at And then the fans were like just fucking going crazy They probably felt like the sixth man Yeah Yeah they were getting in his head a little bit They looked pretty cool

I think Paris You should knock on with right now No like I'm just Because I was like But like Peter Bob was challenging That me sticking the finger I'm like, bro, what? Yeah, you just gotta put your head down.

I'm just gonna just show my rings. I mean, I think that the Syria will be lit, man. I'm excited for this first line. I mean, I think even Atlanta. Like, we haven't had an Atlanta tournament since, what, 2020? That was 18. Which was like a home series? Oh, yeah, yeah.

Actual tournament was 2018, right? Or was there Black Cups 4? I think it was 2018. The absolute champion right here. I feel like Atlanta's random. I feel like Atlanta is kind of weird. Yeah, dude. I actually went to a Halo.

I went to a Halo Atlanta like two years ago, and it was in that venue we played in 2020. I was so, I was like, wait, last time I was here, wait, what the fuck? I kind of love that. I got reverse swept by fucking Frosty. I love that feeling of like familiarity of like, like, going to Anaheim used to feel like, there's comfortable.

If you fuck with the venue, yeah, if you fuck with the venue. It's like, you know your way around. Like that felt cool. Like, oh, I'm going to the food trucks. I'll meet you by the banners. That's why I felt about the whole city of Orlando. I'm going to take a shit. Yeah.

Yeah. I was undefeated in Orlando. I was like, I love going to Orlando's. Yeah, Orlando's like, that's a good city to claim. But there should be more events in like Florida, I feel like. Yeah, I mean, yeah, there probably should be, but whatever. Let's go to Birmingham. Okay, Birmingham's good.

No, Birmingham's going to be crazy. The actual event's going to be crazy. No, the event will be sick, yeah. London. I remember last time, I remember people getting robbed and shit outside the hotel. I remember Watson, Watson? What? Tree branches?

Remember Watson? Motherfucker got, like, beat up right in front of the hotel. I swear to God. And I was like, uh... Yeah, Birmingham, we got to watch out. I didn't leave my hotel. And he's from there, isn't he? Yeah, he's from there.

I was like, what's probably why, though. That's what happened to me. That's what happened to me. I was like, fuck. Yeah, exciting year, though, man. Stick you up with sharp and credit cards. The good thing about our game is you can say what you want. I do think the form of that in the league matches are a little bit dead.

Our major tournaments are always amazing and fun to watch. Like, once we get to land and the fans are there, say what you want. We have a great product once you comes down to it. That's the one thing we have at least in our e-sport is, bro, I swear the majors. They always hit. The fans show out. Unless you go to some obscure place like Kitchener, that was fucking crazy. And then obviously there's a couple events with no fans, but I swear, if we go to a, like a hot spot that we know, it always turns out, especially Dallas, UK, Paris is probably going to be insane.

Atlanta is my only. Atlanta is my only. Yeah, that's the one on my hand. I think Vegas is also Godlike because Atlanta is good for like. Champs in Vegas will be fucking insane. The good thing about Atlanta is it's like a hub airport. So there's straight flights to it. UK gets to fly in easily if you're on the East Coast.

Florida is it lit. And Vegas champs, I mean, that's, that's. Vegas champs is as good as a guest. I want my redemption in Vegas. I can just tell me some big shit. The only- talk community in Vegas for a weekend, bro. The only bad part about going to Vegas for a tournament

is being in Vegas for six days. I might show up for three days. Bro, last year I went for six days, and then Wheeler's Bachelor Party was in Vegas. Holy shit. Brother, I was there for like 12 days. I was at the Cosmo for like 12 days. The people would be cleaning and be like, hey.

Hey, you're starting to get rid of there. This is crazy. This is crazy. That's fucking insane. I want my redemption, though, in Vegas. Bro, I swear that shit was like a... Every dad gets to my room burger, order something, $100 a day on room service.

Shit was just falling out. No, you're a Vegas room service demon. Oh, bro. It's usually pretty good. The Vegas food, though, is unreal. It's unreal also. Why wouldn't it? You can get whatever you want to get...

It's 24 hours. And it's top of the line. It's like they're all competing against each other. You know what I'm saying? All the food spots there have to be good. There's so many options. At the aria, that shit was God, like there was a fucking, there's a catch. There was a, what's that, Javier's, Carbone.

The room service was fired. Yeah, oh my God, forget about it. And that little pastry shop. Forget about it. Yeah, the fucking Zinni's getting into me. That's good, man. But the little pastry shop too, oh my God. Yeah, now Vegas.

I love, I actually love food. Vegas, what's cool, yeah, like, no matter what resort or hotel you're at, there's like five or six great food options. Room service is usually good. Vegas has a good operation go, man. I love it there. I love it there. I'm not gambling though when I go there.

I have a superstition I just created. Because when I was in the V-O-4, I couldn't gamble. We won. And then last year... The whole weekend you get rewarded. Yeah, and then two years ago when I went... I remember I went up like six or seven bands the first night. Used up all the fucking juice, bro.

Got smoke in the town. It's actually a decent show, bro. I don't think we were destined to win that tour regardless, but that's just my theory. Were you standing with us when it was like... Who is? It was me, Hector, aunt, and set to the table. And everyone's winning but Seth and he's just pissed. He's like, it's like up fucking crazy and Seth's just sitting there pal and like fuck dude, of course I'm just drinking and he's like so rigged We're all hype. Yeah, and he was down like 300 bucks. He's acting like he's down for 10 grand

Yeah, playing table man the whole time. You're like what the fuck? It's like double right here, Seth. He's like, sure? He's like, I'm out here I'm out of the night. I'm out of the night. I'm like, what? He spends the rest of the line over my shoulder and roulette shouldn't have done that. I'm like what? You're still here? I'm like what the fuck? So it's you should have done that. He's like the devil or you're on your shoulder there. All right guys. Thank you guys for watching. It was a fun one today with the boys. Make sure to drop a like, comment, subscribe, the whole nine yards. Also, optic.comptych.com, check out with us. Major one here is going to be going to be a blast. So come join us. See you guys in the next one. Thanks, man. Later.