MerK and Maven's Birdseye View: OpTic Texas, Paris Gentle Mates, and CDL Major 1

Stunning comebacks, last-second clutches, and dramatic 1v1s painted the road to Call of Duty League (CDL) Major One’s Grand Final, where a new champion was crowned at the end of Black Ops 7’s inaugural event. 

Paris Gentle Mates dethroned back-to-back champions OpTic Texas at Call of Duty League’s Major One. Absurd comeback after absurd comeback propelled the victors through the bracket. Despite losing 3-0 to the reigning World Champions earlier in the tournament, an MVP-level performance from Neptune sealed the deal for a team full of hungry veterans of the game. 

No one had a better view of the action than the iconic broadcasting duo, MerK and Maven, who sat down with Monster Gaming to discuss the fiery Grand Final. Including their predictions for the rest of the year, and a glorious look back at one of the CDL’s best events ever. 

OpTic Texas’ run to end Black Ops 6 was unlike anything I've seen in our esport. What was that like for you all, seeing them go from the crazy losing streak to all of the success, picking up Mercules, and everything that came with it?

Maven: It was wild. Toronto Ultra absolutely blessed them with Mercules. Jokes aside, the run was insane. That turnaround is why Joe (Merk) and I probably weren't that worried for the Major, even though they were in a rut online. They have my faith for now. Just when it matters, they can turn it on. They showed they can.

MerK: Yeah, I think they showed it even through the 0-18. We heard through the grapevine that they felt scrimmages were going really well. Obviously, they were one change away—but you could just tell they were close. They go on to win champs, go back-to-back, and then this year…I don't know. It seems like when they get on the stage, they turn into a different beast. The confidence is there, they sort of own the moment, and they did that all the way until Sunday, and they almost won another tournament.

Did you see anything to worry about with OpTic right now?

Maven: No, that result is almost the best-case scenario. I was worried if they went in and had a perfect tournament, didn't drop a map - that’s almost the worst thing to happen at Major One. Placing second like this reminded them they can turn it on; it also reminded them they still have to work and that they're not untouchable. 

Obviously, they would prefer to get a win, but I was worried they wouldn't drop a map. I don't know what that does to a team. It would be weird to start there and build upon that.

MerK: Especially after the Winner's Final on Sunday, they 3-0 Paris [Gentle Mates] right before they met up.

Maven: After that, I was like, uh-oh.

MerK: Yeah, it could have been them running away with it. In terms of their own gameplay, you lose three searches in [Grand Finals]. It seemed like Paris wasn't going to lose a Search & Destroy, no matter what, on Sunday. All the 2-5 comebacks they had, the Neptune clutches.

@teamgentlemates vs @FaZeVegas | Major I Tournament | Elimination Finals

I've gone on some crazy Search and Destroy runs in my career. Sometimes that game mode just comes to you. It seems everything goes your way, and that's not anything to take away from Paris. They did everything they needed to, not only against OpTic but also against FaZe Vegas in the series beforehand. For OpTic, you would say the three Search losses they had, but I mean, they were right there.

Maven: I still think about it. That was one of the craziest maps of all time, the map five between FaZe and Paris. Think how different the outcome could be. If FaZe wins that, they might win the tournament. Who knows.

Going back to the off-season with the release of Envoy and Ghosty, and the forming of this Paris Gentle Mates team. Can you give us your perspective on how that team came together,  what you thought of them before the season, versus what they did on LAN? 

Maven: “I think as soon as Joe and I saw the roster made, we thought it had a ton of talent. We were surprised about Neptune, especially with his year last year and how he turned [Vancouver Surge] around. I thought he'd be a target for FaZe or anybody, really. When that wasn't the case, and it all came together, I mean,  they looked frightening on paper for sure

MerK: For Thieves, it was how they ended their season, right? They go through roster changes. They were one round away, a very similar scenario [to] OpTic at Major One, right? If they won three Majors [in Black Ops 6], who knows what would happen with that team? Maybe they stick it out. 

Maven: If you win three Majors and make a change, that’s f***ing crazy.

MerK: Yeah. It would be a little wild. They want to be World Champions. They want to win EWC. So you never really know what a team's going to do, especially when a team like FaZe breaks up. That was the domino of the off-season, right? Is what's going to happen with the FaZe trio? ABeZy is on the market. Thieves go after that, and they give up Envoy and Ghosty, but I don't think anybody was questioning it. Now they are—100%. At the time, it was just like, Thieves is going for it.

On the Paris side, when people looked at this team, it was like: all four of these guys make sense in their role. You have a world champion on this squad. They could go far. 

What do you all see as the next step for Paris Gentle Mates or OpTic Texas?

Maven: I see Paris, FaZe, and OpTic battling for now until Thieves get stuff figured out. OpTic will catch up in Search and Destroy. They lost three searches. The same thing happened at Major One last year, FaZe won three and beat Thieves. OpTic is going to be the most well-rounded, but I don't know, man - this Neptune kid is different. 

MerK: Paris, they’re probably going to look at that tournament and know they clutched a lot of maps. They shouldn't have won…Their 2-3-5 still needs the most work, and when you have a close Final like that, everybody's going to be nipping at your heels. 

Stage two, you have a full round robin, right? You have 11 matches. So, there is a lot of buildup. But it's also a thing - when you win, everybody's going to be watching your gameplay, watching your VODs. What have you figured out that others don't? They’re copying from that, and you have to be able to adjust. 

How do you all feel about Black Ops 7 and how Call of Duty has changed in this fast(er) age? 

This game is great. At least it's a happy middle ground, with solid spawns and a Treyarch title. It was more than six years before that - I could write a thesis about the issues [those games ] had. But I don't mind the cracked gameplay, the twitch-type of stuff.  As long as the fundamentals are still there for the base game, with spawn logic and good map layout as we have. 

I don't remember the last time we had maps like this at launch. I wish a couple were bigger for sure, but they’re all solid maps. In MW3, we got to a really good place once Rio and 6 Star were added. But outside of that year, we're going back to Cold War—maybe even [Black Ops 4].

MerK: You could probably pick POVs. Like, some ARs aren't that. Just depends on who you want to watch and how you want to play. Even in the last couple of years, some of the past MW titles mimic the older [boots-on-the-ground] years. I think with the addition of Tac Sprint and slide canceling, the pace will be pushed forward. But it's not just COD. Every game has gotten quicker. 

Maven: Thanks, Fortnite.

MerK: Honestly, that generation of gamers, below us [in age], who are playing Fortnite and all these other titles. They're just quick. It’s sort of in their DNA. It's what they were taught at that age. We grew up playing Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty 2, which wasn't what it is today. Listen, COD can always change. We have had slower years where an AR can just sit on a heady and beam three to four people with one clip, you know. But this title, with the Omnimovement and wall-hopping, is very similar to jetpacks.

Has anything shocked you around the league? Have any teams underperformed or over-performed? 

Maven: Thieves is the obvious one. When that [roster] was formed, on paper, it looked incredible. But it seems Scrap and HyDra want to make a team where they could do whatever they want - just shoot straight and win, but that doesn't work in [Call of Duty]. They’ve got a lot to figure out; they are a disjointed bunch. I’m surprised they made a change already. I kind of want them to stick it out because I think once they start playing the right way, they're going to be disgusting, but we'll see. I think having some young blood come in will give them a shot in the ass, and they'll get stuff figured out.

MerK: We talked about it between the [Call of Duty League] Talent a lot - the league, it seems deep. I know there’s sort of like Paris and OpTic at the top right now, but everyone is very competitive, and I think that's a good thing. Even Cloud 9, who's obviously going through changes right now, they had four or five game five losses throughout stage one

Maven: You can say they had a lot of 3-0s on LAN, though.

MerK: True, but throughout the year, I think maybe it’s just how competitive all of our teams have been -  it's been good to watch.