According to a report from CDL Intel, OpTic Texas are close to signing Challengers player Byron “Prolute” Vera to the starting roster. This comes after news that Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal might not be able to compete at the start of the Major III qualifiers due to a lingering thumb injury came to light. That same injury kept him out of competing for a majority of the recent CDL Pro-Am Classic.
In iLLeY’s place, Jordon “General” General filled in for OpTic. General has been a long-time substitute for the Chicago Huntsmen/OpTic Texas and played admirably in iLLeY’s place. Texas managed to get top four at the Pro-Am, even taking down Atlanta FaZe in the process.
However, it seems OpTic want to go another way at the start of the Major III qualifiers this weekend. CDL Intel reports that Prolute is expected to get the call.
If this happens, it would be Prolute’s debut in the CDL, as he’s only ever competed in Challengers prior to this. Currently, Prolute is competing on a team with former Subliners player Travis “Neptune” McCloud in Challengers. Before this season, Prolute was at the top of the Challengers scene. His team won the NA Challengers Finals in Black Ops Cold War, which many believed would be the catalyst that got him signed in the CDL.
That didn’t happen in the off-season, forcing Prolute to return to Challengers. He hasn’t had the same success in Vanguard as he did in Cold War, but he’s still been one of the top players in the scene.
As for General, it appears he will be moved back to the OpTic Texas bench. The reasons behind the team signing Prolute and not continuing with General are unknown.
OpTic Texas plays their first match of the qualifiers on Friday against the Major II champs, the LA Guerrillas. It’s unclear exactly how long iLLeY would be out for, but it seems likely Prolute would at least be on the roster for a couple of matches.
