What happens to Chicago’s CDL spot if Dallas Empire & OpTic merge?
Reports have been circulating about a merger between Dallas Empire and OpTic, leaving the future of Chicago’s Call of Duty League spot uncertain.
CDL Rostermaina was only heightened bybombshell reportsthat Dallas Empire & OpTic could be merging. The 2020 CDL champs could be in line to acquire the OpTic brand, leaving the Chicago slot owned by NRG Esports with an uncertain future.
This begs the question — what happens to the Chicago CDL spot if the merger goes through?
NRG keeps the spot
While reports suggest that the merger would lead to NRG selling theirCall of Duty Leaguespot to a third party, that is not confirmed and there is every possibility that NRG holds onto their spot in the league. If this was the case, the organization could do one of two things:
Rise Nation enters the CDL
Rise Nation is a household name in the world of Call of Duty, but they haven’t been seen on the pro scene since the CWL days. However, Rise owner and Tennessee Titans guard Rodger Saffold has been very vocal on the topic of joining the CDL. In an appearance on Barstool’s Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Saffoldconfirmedthat Rise had been approached by the CDL but expansion plans for the league had been delayed.
However, if NRG were to sell their spot in the league, it wouldn’t make sense for Rise, who are eager to join sooner rather than later, to continue waiting for a promised place in a future expansion.
If Rise bought the spot currently occupied by Chicago, relocation could be on the table. While there is every chance the team would stay in Chicago, Saffold could decide to take the team to Nashville, where his NFL career is based.
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A new org joins the league
There is every possibility that a new org purchases the spot from NRG and debuts a team in 2022. That org would then have the choice as to whether they stayed in Chicago or moved to pastures new.
Note: Any proposed moves are purely speculation and not confirmed.
What we do know is that the spot occupied by Chicago is going to look very different entering 2022, whether it’s a brand-new roster or a brand-new city.
But until more information emerges about the Empire-OpTic merger, Chicago’s future remains unwritten.
