H3CZ responds to ROKKR’s controversial tweet after OpTic loss

A day after the Minnesota ROKKR posted a controversial, trash-talking tweet following their CDL Stage 2 Major win against OpTic Chicago, H3CZ has officially responded in defense of his team’s reactions.

OpTic Gaming’s CEO, Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez, is as established a figure as it gets in the gaming world. From trash talking as a player back in 2006 to navigating corporate drama as an executive in 2020, he has seen and been a part of all sorts of spice.

So things had to have gotten particularly heated for H3CZ to jump in and drop a 25-minute video on a Sunday. And things did, as Twitter boiled following an unbelievable OpTic loss to Minnesota the day prior — after which the ROKKR social media team posted a bit of trash talk.

Minnesota beat OpTic in Map 5, Round 11, on a 1v3 that many have already dubbed one of the wildest moments in CoD history. Immediately afterward, the ROKKR shared a controversial tweet that spurred backlash from players like Seth ‘Scump’ Abner. The tweet has since been deleted, so H3CZ has come out and cleared the air.

As seen in a screenshot from H3CZ’s video, the ROKKR’s tweet included face cams of OpTic’s players immediately following the loss with a caption that read “We are witnessing a breakdown” and OpTic’s hashtag “BrickByBrick.”

Considering how emotional the loss was, Scump called the social media post “disrespectful” and “classless.”

YouTube, HECZ

H3CZ shares the ROKKR’s controversial tweet.

H3CZ explains why in his video, sharing behind-the-scenes footage of the team’s pained reactions and calling it “the most heartbreaking loss that I have personally ever witnessed.”

Understanding of a social media manager’s role, H3CZ agrees that the tweet “banged,” but also explains that its timing was inappropriate: “After the game is lost, of course you’re going to break down … I don’t think that this tweet would have been that bad if he would have done it a round before.”

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Despite elaborating that this tweet was a “rookie” and “unseasoned” move, H3CZ continues on to squash the beef. Having spoken directly with friends on the ROKKR’s organizational side, H3CZ concludes that they are “good people” who mean well — they just had a social media manager go “rogue.”

The OpTic head honcho’s overall point appears to be that banter and trash talk should be between friends with prior relationships and that it becomes inappropriate when faceless organizations make light of others’ pain. 

• Read more: OpTic Scump slams Minnesota ROKKR for classless post-match tweets

Emphasizing that the ROKKR’s postgame content should have centered on their own team’s accomplishments, rather than their opponents’ distress, H3CZ reaffirms his mantra: “Treat others how you want to be treated.”