OpTic Texas has announced that Australian Call of Duty esports player Amer ‘Pred’ Zulbeari has returned to the team’s starting line-up.
Pred replaces Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland who competed for the Call of Duty League (CDL) franchise during the opening Major of the season in Madrid, Spain.
Pred first joined OpTic Texas in July 2023, becoming the first Call of Duty player from the APAC region to win a CDL Major. In December 2024, he left the franchise to take a break to deal with an undisclosed personal situation.
The return marks the reformation of the OpTic Texas roster which achieved victory at the 2024 CDL Championship, defeating New York Subliners in the Grand Final.
OpTic Texas is the first CDL franchise to make a roster change following the conclusion of Major 1. After securing the top seed for the opening event of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 season, the franchise only scored a top-eight placement after losing to Miami Heretics and Carolina Royal Ravens.
CDL Major 2 2025 Qualifier Dates
Before the second Major of the 2025 CDL season takes place, the newly-formed OpTic Texas and 11 other franchises return to action for four weeks of qualifying matches.
Beginning on February 14th and concluding on March 16th, franchises compete for CDL Points to determine the seeding for the next LAN event taking place in Allen, Texas. Notably, OpTic Texas will operate the event.
Allen, Texas is no stranger to hosting Call of Duty esports events. In 2024, the season-ending CDL Championship took place at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center with OpTic Texas taking the win in front of a capacity crowd.
In addition to qualifying matches, the second stage of the season will host a Minor tournament. The Minor involves all 12 teams competing in a single-elimination bracket for $20,000 (~£16,064) and additional CDL Points.
