Ahead of the final Major of the 2023 Call of Duty League season, OpTic Texas today appointed three-time world champion Damon “Karma” Barlow as the team’s head coach. The position had been left vacant after Rambo, who had also been serving as general manager, dropped his coaching duties in January in the aftermath of a public spat over bowling with assault rifle player Dashy.
Karma abruptly retired from competitive CoD in June 2020 in the midst of a disappointing inaugural CDL season with the Seattle Surge. Before signing with Seattle in late 2019, Karma had been a part of OpTic Gaming for more than four years, during which he helped the team win numerous events, including the 2017 Call of Duty World League Championship, which made him the first player in CoD history to win three world titles.
Related: OpTic Texas and Rambo officially part ways, ending roller coaster relationship
Since retiring, Karma, who has been back with OpTic since February 2021 as a content creator, has largely stayed away from the competitive scene aside from occasionally taking part in Warzone or community tournaments with fellow OpTic members.
He had hinted at having an interest in coaching at various points, but until now, the CoD legend never seemed particularly serious about making it a career.
Despite officially not having a coach for the past four months and losing Scump, one of the greatest players of all time, to retirement shortly before Rambo’s clash with Dashy, OpTic have excelled. The team earned back-to-back second-place finishes at Major Three and Four, in addition to perfect qualifier records leading into Major Four and this weekend’s fifth Major in Toronto.
Due to their strong form over the second half of the season, OpTic are in second place in the CDL and well within striking distance to usurp Atlanta FaZe as the top seed for the CDL Championship, which will take place next month in Las Vegas.
