OpTic Gaming acquires Counter-Strike team ex-Conquest

One of the longest-standing Call of Duty organizations is finally expanding into the biggest first-person shooter esport in the world

One of the longest-standing Call of Duty organizations is finally expanding into the biggest first-person shooter esport in the world.

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Premier esports organization OpTic Gaming has picked up the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team formerly known as ex-Conquest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RVWGIV2A1Y

The team left the Conquest organization on Dec. 23, and it seems they have found the perfect home with OpTic. The organization has been in both the Call of Duty and Halo scenes for many years—particularly Call of Duty, where it has had teams compete since 2010, beginning with Modern Warfare 2.

Prior to signing with OpTic, the team also reportedly negotiated with Team SoloMid (which lost its Counter-Strike squad last month), but ex-Conquest ultimately rejected that offer for unknown reasons, according to Breitbart’s Richard Lewis.

This will be OpTic’s first foray outside of Call of Duty and Halo, specifically into the larger esports viewership space (which includes games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike). OpTic was rumored to be in negotiations with Team Curse for its Team Curse Academy squad, however that roster eventually sold to Gravity Gaming in December 2014 instead.

Ex-Conquest recently won Turner and WME | IMG’s ELEAGUE Road to Vegas North American qualifier, as well as RGN’s Freedom Cup, with victories over compLexity Gaming, DOGMEN, Enemy, and Counter Logic Gaming.

Their lineup is a mixture of players from across North America, with notable players being AWPer Shahzeb “Shahzam” Khan, who was formerly a member of Cloud9, and rifler Will “RUSH” Wierzba.

The team will be competing in Vegas on Jan. 17 against some of world’s best Counter-Strike teams.

Image via Major League Gaming

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Jacob Wolf
Chief Reporter & Investigative Lead for Dot Esports. A lifelong gamer, Jacob worked at ESPN for four and half years as a staff writer in its esports section. In 2018, the Esports Awards named Jacob its Journalist of the Year.