Two major esports teams — OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs — are packing up their computer equipment and relocating to Dallas, according to news reports.

OpTic Gaming, a very successful Call of Duty sports team, is moving its headquarters to Dallas from Chicago, with the relocation planned for the third quarter of this year.

The team said on its website that it is working with Rogers Healy Real Estate and the Dallas Regional Chamber on relocating from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to a yet-to-be-named location in Dallas.

ESPN reported earlier this month that Team EnVyUs would relocate to Dallas from Charlotte, North Carolina after receiving a $35 million investment from Hersh Family Investments and its interactive group, led by Dallas oil and natural gas magnate Kenneth Hersh.

The Dallas Observer said that OpTic has been looking to relocate for nearly a year, before settling on Dallas as its new home.

The move comes as OpTic celebrates a big win recently at Major League Gaming’s Call of Duty World League tournament in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s already a tremendous market for traditional sports, so it made sense to be there.”
Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez

OpTic owner Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez told gaming website Dexerto that the move could possibly bring all of OpTic’s professional gaming teams to a centralized location in Dallas. He told the gaming website that the move might take several months.

“It’s already a tremendous market for traditional sports, so it made sense to be there,” Rodriguez said about Dallas on a team podcast.

Known as the “Green Wall” by its fans, the OpTic team has many followers in Texas.

Dexerto said Green Wall members in the Lone Star state have watched 7.6 million minutes of video content produced by OpTic in 2017. That’s a total watch time of about 14 years.

Stephen Hays, managing partner of Deep Space Ventures, said he believes Dallas-Fort Worth can become a major player in the esports arena.

Deep Space Ventures recently closed on a $500,000 investment in the sports startup Haste, which helps reduce lag time and optimize network performance for gamers.

He said Deep Space Ventures is closing on its fourth esports investment this week, “and, all our companies will benefit from our location in Dallas, a future hub for esports.”

Newzoo, a sports marketing firm, said that esports have an global audience of 191 million fans, most of whom watch their favorite teams and tournaments via internet platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, as well as cable networks such as TBS, NBC Sports, Disney XD, and ESPN.

The firm also said that esports have generated $656 million in revenue so far in 2017, and that revenue could top $1.5 billion by 2020.

And esports have taken hold in U.S. colleges, with 17 colleges offering competitive gaming scholarships, according to tech blog Starters.

In April, the UT Arlington Esports Club team bested a 64-team field in the three-week “Heroes of the Dorm” competition. Team members won free tuition for the rest of their collegiate years for their victory.

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