Ghosty is the newest member of OpTic Texas. Read about this Challengers-to-CDL glow-up success story.
OpTic Texas have completed their roster for the Major 3 qualifiers in the 2023 Call of Duty League season. They have signed Dan "Ghosty" Rothe to the roster.
Ghosty has completed the come-up from Challengers, and in doing so, becomes the biggest Challengers-to-CDL story since the system's inception.
No move from the amateur system to the league will have as much exposure and pressure as this one, as it's the first of its kind to OpTic. The biggest organisation in Call of Duty esports putting their faith in a Challengers player is a landmark moment.
Ghosty is the latest member of the OpTic Texas roster that has changed many times this season. They have failed to settle on a roster after Scump's retirement. Dropping iLLeY for Ghosty is the latest move in this run of changes.
Who is Ghosty?
Many OpTic fans will be unfamiliar with Ghosty and the kind of player that he is. Ghosty has been studying for a law degree whilst also competing in the Challengers system. He has managed to balance the studying and competing aspects of his life incredibly well.
Ghosty even had to borrow a laptop during the Boston Open event at Major 2 to do some homework for his course. He will likely continue to study for his degree with the support of OpTic Texas. Being able to complete his degree alongside playing has been an important aspect of his early career.
That may not be the case much longer with being attributed to the OpTic branding seemingly helping people cultivate entire careers.
Studying at the University of Illinois, Dan took part in the College CoD League during his time studying. He placed top six at the 2021 College CoD playoffs alongside Kyle, Dave and Enurko.
Ghosty's Challengers journey
Cold War was the first season that Ghosty was allowed to compete in Challengers, and in large, it was uneventful. Dan got in some low-level LAN reps, taking home three LAN chips at Esports Zone and AGN events.
Vanguard was Ghosty's first full season competing, and after starting the year competing with Joseph "Destiny" DeLillo, Kade "Kade" Jones and Mike "MRuiz" Ruiz, he quickly became a very sought-after personality on a team.
Ghosty rattled through teammates in the revolving door that is NA Challengers. At different points he teamed with Carson "Brack" Newberry, James "Clayster" Eubanks and current ROKKR Academy stars Casey "Pandur" Romano and Adam "GODRX" Brown.
Things settled down for Dan when he found the team he ended the year on. He signed for the Boston Breach Academy, teaming alongside Doug "Censor" Martin.
Sean "Seany" O'Connor and Kyle "Kremp" Haworth rounded out the team and they finally started to put things together as a unit right at the end of the season.
They finished fourth at the first Boston Open, making a fantastic lower bracket run through the tournament. The team narrowly missed out on competing at Challengers Champs, finishing T8 in the Last Chance Qualifier.
MW2 season starts on fire
Ghosty started his Modern Warfare 2 season on a doomed Iron Blood Gaming roster. As soon as he found his team with FeLo, Ulisses and 2ReaL, things clicked immediately.
Together, under Decimate Gaming, they qualified for Elite Stage 1 and went all the way to the Grand Finals of the event.
Then they won Challengers Cup #5 and carried the momentum right into the Boston Open, taking the chip in the tournament. In doing so, they turned around the exact loss of the Stage 1 Grand Finals with a 4-3 win over ROKKR Academy.
Dropping a 1.35 in Grand Finals, Ghosty stood out as the man ready for the League. That led to OpTic giving him the call and him moving onto their roster.
Ghosty will play his first CDL match on Feb. 18. He will renew some old Challengers rivalries as he takes on the Los Angeles Guerrillas.
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