OpTic Gaming and Envy have yet to find a suitable candidate to take over the Chicago spot after their merger, and with rumors of what teams could take on that mantle, one organization has addressed concerns.
After months of rumors, the long-awaited merger of OpTic Gaming and Envy finally became true in November, creating OpTic Texas. This meant that the Dallas Empire was effectively retired from Call of Duty League competition.
OpTic and Envy acquired the Chicago CDL spot as a part of this merger, meaning that they would have to find a suitable buyer for the slot. This move also confirmed NRG’s official departure from the league after creating the Chicago Huntsmen as a part of the inaugural season.
It’s still unclear as to who will be the new owner of the 12th slot.
Cloud9 owner Jack responds to 12th CDL spot rumors
It was brought to attention in the official Cloud9 subreddit if Cloud9 Vegas could still happen. This was in response to a tweet that Co-Owner and Chief Gaming Officer of Envy and OpTic Gaming Mike Rufail’s brief update on the sale of the 12th slot.
“We are still discussing the transfer with multiple, interested ownership groups the earliest of which we are working toward closing with,” he said. “These things take time, but I’m optimistic we’ll have 12 teams in CDL in 2022.”
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Quick update on that 12th CDL team:
We are still discussing the transfer with multiple, interested ownership groups the earliest of which we are working toward closing with. These things take time, but I'm optimistic we'll have 12 teams in CDL in 2022. You all deserved an update
— Mike Rufail (@hastr0) December 3, 2021
This question was quickly shut down by Cloud9’s owner, Jack Etienne. He ended the rumors, replying to the Reddit post with a simple “No, it’s not going to happen.”
Cloud9 has been a part of Call of Duty esports in the past, most notably in the COD World League for both Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare but it seems like their return is not meant to be.
With one candidate to buy the final spot down, the chances of the CDL gaining their final spot get more difficult. But Rufail’s optimism comes as a silver lining that there will be 12 teams in the CDL in 2022.