Reigning Call of Duty world champions OpTic Texas opened the new competitive season in style, capturing the title at the inaugural Black Ops 7 tournament with a narrow 4-3 win over Still Orgless in the intense grand final of the Monster Launch Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 24.
With the hard-earned victory, OpTic bagged the $25,000 top prize in the pre-Call of Duty League 2026 online event, which featured 16 teams and was backed by Monster Energy.
Huke stars as OpTic stave off Still Orgless in thrilling grand final
OpTic entered the grand final in dominant form, having swept Still Orgless 3-0 earlier in the upper bracket final. However, the squad of free agents led by Dylan “Envoy” Hannon bounced back, defeating G2 Minnesota 3-2 to arrange a rematch with Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro and the Green Wall.
The Esports World Cup 2025 winners struck first by winning the opening Hardpoint, but Still Orgless immediately responded with a narrow Search and Destroy win, setting the tone for a tense back-and-forth series that came down to a Game 7 S&D showdown on Scar.
With the final map tied 2-2, Cuyler “Huke” Garland delivered a 1v3 clutch on the defending side to put OpTic ahead and give his side the momentum.
Although Still Orgless rallied again to level the score at 3-3, OpTic pulled away in the final stretch, taking the last three rounds to close out the 6-3 deciding map victory for the championship title.
HuKe led the Green Wall in the decisive map with eight kills against just four deaths, while Shotzzy added eight kills of his own. Mason “Mercules” Ramsey and Brandon “Dashy” Otell each contributed seven kills.
Grand final scores:
- Game 1: OpTic Texas won 250-143 in Hardpoint on Den
- Game 2: Still Orgless won 6-5 in SnD on Colossus
- Game 3: OpTic Texas won 3-2 in Overload on Den
- Game 4: Still Orgless won 250-240 in Hardpoint on Colossus
- Game 5: OpTic Texas won 6-3 in SnD on Exposure
- Game 6: Still Orgless won 5-4 in Overload on Exposure
- Game 7: OpTic Texas won 6-3 in SnD on Scar
Before the finale, OpTic were streamrolling the competition as they posted four straight 3-0 sweeps over the Stallions Red, Carolina Royal Ravens, FaZe Vegas, and Still Orgless in the upper bracket.
On the other hand, Still Orgless delivered an impressive run of their own. The roster, composed of Envoy, Daniel “Ghosty” Rothe, Daunte “Sib” Gray, and Travis “Neptune” McCloud, took down Miami Heretics (3-1), LA Thieves (3-0), and Cloud9 New York (3-1) before their final three matches.
BO7 Monster Launch Invitational final rankings and prize pool distribution
Here are the final team placements, including their respective payouts from the $75,000 prize pool:
| Placement | Team | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | OpTic Texas | $25,000 |
| 2nd | Still Orgless | $16,000 |
| 3rd | G2 Minnesota | $10,000 |
| 4th | Cloud9 New York | $8,000 |
| 5th-6th | FaZe Vegas Toronto KOI |
$4,000 |
| 7th-8th | Los Angeles Thieves Carolina Royal Ravens |
$2,000 |
| 9th-12th | OMiT Brooklyn Team WaR Miami Heretics Vancouver Surge |
$1,000 |
| 13th-16th | Stallions Red Riyadh Falcons Telluride Bush Gaming Boston Breach |
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With the Monster Launch Invitational now wrapped up, the CDL Stage 1 will follow suit, kicking off on Dec. 5, 2025 and culminating with the Stage 1 Major set on Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, 2026.
