Just days after signing Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell to the Chicago Huntsmen, CEO and Call of Duty icon Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez has explained why the upcoming CDL season will be a “year of transformation” for the former OpTic Gaming star.
There’s no denying Dashy had a tumultuous start to his run in the league. Coming off of an exceptional year in Black Ops 4, he wound up as part of the OpTic Gaming LA roster. Despite being rotated off of the starting lineup partway through, Dashy’s first squad ended with a Top 6 finish in 2020.
However, it’s also no secret that Dashy never truly felt at home throughout the year. He tried to join the Huntsmen before the league kicked off and even threatened to bench himself after being locked to OGLA. With former teammates putting him on blast for his behavior during the year, it seemed obvious he’d be jumping ship.
Now officially back where he wanted to be all along, Dashy has rejoined former teammate Seth ‘Scump’ Abner for the 2021 season. Though before Black Ops Cold War arrives, H3CZ has laid out some rules for his latest signee, assuring that the upcoming season will be a ‘transformative’ experience.
I’m home 💚 #Huntsmen
— brandon (@DashySZN) September 14, 2020
Right out of the gate on the September 15 episode of The NRG Duo podcast, Dashy’s announcement was brought up. Without hesitation, H3CZ looked to address concerns in the community after hearing of Dashy’s behavioral issues throughout 2020. “This year is going to be a year of transformation for Dashy,” he said.
“With the rumors [in the 2020 season] of Dashy being late, I made it a point to speak to him and his mum at the same time and explain the situation. This is a franchise league in which tens of millions of dollars are going in as an investment. It’s a more professional league and we expect everyone to be professionals.”
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This implies that the Huntsmen won’t be accepting any tardiness in the upcoming season. A step in a more professional direction than Dashy’s first run with H3CZ back in 2018. “On the first go around, when it was Dashy, TJ, Crimsix, and Scump, the kids played a lot,” he said. “They were always late.”
Heading into the Black Ops Cold War season, now is the perfect time for Dashy to break the mold and “prove himself,” according to H3CZ. “Not just to the fans or his teammates, but more importantly, to me. I’m not gonna put up with no bulls***.”
The relevant topic begins at the 7:01 mark below.
“Even today when we were [filming] some content, if someone didn’t show up there would have been some cash missing from their paychecks. It’s time to grow up.” From showing up to practice on time, to general behavior, it’s clear that Dashy will need to give it his all in order to stay on the good side of H3CZ.
With 2021 reverting to 4v4 competition, Dashy is far from the only player finding a new home. Keep up with all the roster shuffles using our Rostermania hub.