Biggest Reversal in CoD History: Esports World Cup Call of Duty Finals Recap

OpTic Gaming cemented themselves as the best team in Black Ops 6 and one of the best rosters in Call of Duty history Sunday night at the Esports World Cup as they swept through Vancouver Surge in a dominant fashion to take home back-to-back major championships. This is the first Call of Duty tournament victory under the OpTic Gaming branding since CWL Anaheim in 2019.

Going into the tournament, many doubted OpTic’s ability to keep pace with their dominant Champs run that led them to a back-to-back world championship title. The doubters were quickly silenced as OpTic continued their dominance, dominating the best teams in the world on their way to the $600,000 prize. With an undefeated run at both CDL Champs and EWC, this is clearly one of the most dominant performances in Call of Duty history. Let’s look at how this roster pulled off one of the greatest turnarounds in esports history.

OpTic Gaming started EWC just as hot as they left CDL Champs with a perfect Group Stage consisting of 3-0 wins over both Five Fears, and Cloud9. As the #1 seed in the tournament, many were disappointed to see 100 Thieves slated as their first-round matchup in bracket play. However, OpTic were able to send the Thieves home in a 3-1 fashion, sending home the only other team left in the tournament that had a Major victory during the year.

This was the second straight letdown performance for this 100 Thieves roster and they could not have come at a worse time. After winning Majors 3 and 4, many believed Thieves would close out the year as CDL Champions and carry their momentum into Black Ops 7. However, in just a few poor performances, this Thieves roster has crumbled leaving many certain that major roster changes are imminent.

Early Sunday morning, OpTic faced off against Team Heretics with a spot in the Grand Finals on the line. Team Heretics took a crushing 2-0 series lead over OpTic with a 250-249 Hardpoint and a 6-5 SnD. After falling down 0-1 in the Map 3 Control, OpTic regained the momentum and pulled off a gutty 3-2 victory in the Control.

With the momentum in hand and the crowd behind them, OpTic rallied to take maps 4 and 5 in dramatic fashion, securing the historic reverse sweep. To seal the series, Mercules pulled off this insane 1v3 in round 8 of the Map 5 SnD:

Team Heretics had a heartbreaking few hours after starting the day up 2-0 on OpTic. After blowing the series lead and dropping to the 3rd place match, Heretics blew a 5-2 lead in the Map 5 SnD vs Movistar KOI that cost them $80,000.

While the last two series of the year were frustrating, look for this Heretics squad to bounce back and continue their momentum into Black Ops 7.

If you blinked, you probably missed the EWC Grand Finals because OpTic blew the Surge out of the water. The Map 1 Hardpoint was competitive as Surge was able to mount a 100 point comeback that ultimately fell short. After stealing the life out from Surge, OpTic strung together three of the most dominant maps of the tournament. Here’s a full series recap:

The final map was a victory lap for OpTic Gaming who showcased their utter dominance over the Surge, dancing their way to a EWC championship:

Not only were the map outcomes lopsided, the stats were also heavily one-sided. Here’s the Grand Finals stats for each team:

OpTic Gaming

Vancouver Surge

Shotzzy was awarded the most valuable player of the Esports World Cup after OpTic’s dominating run through the Call of Duty bracket. With a 1.04 tournament KD and a masterclass performance in both matches Sunday, the MVP was well deserved.

The EWC Championship and MVP trophy complete Shotzzy’s trophy case for competitive Call of Duty. According to Brian Stats on X, Shotzzy “has quite literally won everything you possibly can in competitive Call of Duty.” Here are Shotzzy’s career Call of Duty accolades courtesy of Brian Stats:

Undoubtedly, Shotzzy is the greatest player of the CDL era and arguably the best controller player in esports history. This five year run in competitive Call of Duty is unprecedented in today’s league, and something we may never see again.

Mercules capped off his rookie season in a historic way on Sunday. With just four events as a professional, Mercules has put together one of the best rookie seasons in Call of Duty history, right up with Simp’s in Black Ops 4. Here are the career stats for Mercules after his first four pro events courtesy of Brian Stats:

It is safe to say that Mercules is the future of Call of Duty and his spot on OpTic’s roster is safe.

EWC was a major deciding factor for teams heading into CDL Rostermania. With FaZe and Thieves putting out horrible performances, many believe they are primed for a roster change. It is almost certain that Simp and aBeZy will break up for the first time in their careers. Will Scrap and Hydra leave Thieves after just one season under Nadeshot’s org?

The other major question everyone is asking: will OpTic make a roster change if they have the chance to sign Simp, Scrap, or Hydra. After winning EWC, I believe this answer is no. We saw how terrible the roster change turned out for NYSL after winning Champs in 2023, and OpTic don’t want to be in that same company.

This offseason may be the craziest in the history of the CDL. Stay tuned as the drama is just beginning ahead of the 2026 CDL season.