#3 Shotzzy: Top 20 Players of Black Ops 6

The #3 Player of the Black Ops 6 season is the three-time World Champion, Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro of OpTic Texas.

After winning the World Championship last season, Shotzzy was hungry for more. Having won in both 2020 & 2024, Shotzzy was racing to become the first active player to become a three-time World Champion. After a season of immense struggles & legendary highs, Shotzzy led the team to win both Champs & the Esports World Cup at the end of the season. Finishing Black Ops 6 with a 1.07 K/D, Ant had a 1.04 K/D or better in each of the three modes. His individual impact consistently rose in the biggest moments, showing why he is one of the best players to ever touch Call of Duty.

Season Review

OpTic Texas entered the Black Ops 6 season as the reigning World Champions and a clear preseason favorite to repeat. Keeping the roster of Brandon “Dashy” Otell, Kenneth “Kenny” Williams, and Amer “Pred” Zulbeari, the team was looking to make it back-to-back World Championships.

Stage 1 began with promise as they posted a 6-1 record in online qualifiers, locking in a top seed for Major I in Madrid. That success came with a twist, however, as star SMG Pred was benched mid-stage, with Cuyler “Huke” Garland stepping in to fill the role.

Unfavorable seeding dropped OpTic into Round 1 of the Minor, but they fought through Vegas Falcons and Boston Breach to reach the Semifinals. There, the Carolina Royal Ravens stunned them in a 3-2 upset, eliminating the defending champs in 4th place. Despite the early exit, the stage served as a trial run for the new roster ahead of the Major.

On LAN, the form didn’t hold. OpTic stumbled to a Top-8 finish at Major I after a narrow 3-2 loss to Miami Heretics in the opener and a 3-1 defeat to Carolina in the Lower Bracket. While Hardpoint and Control held steady in qualifiers, Search & Destroy inconsistencies were exploited by stronger teams, setting an uneasy tone for the start of the year. For the entire Stage, Shotzzy ended with a 1.14 K/D, 94.8 Slayer Rating, and 1.22 SND K/D.

📸 Photo by @OpTic

Stage 2 became one of the darkest periods in OpTic’s CDL history. Pred returned to the lineup in place of Huke, but the team never clicked, enduring a brutal 0–18 map run against all non-Falcons opponents. The skid led to swift changes. Kenneth “Kenny” Williams was benched for Cesar “Skyz” Bueno before the Major in a desperate bid to spark momentum.

The shake-up wasn’t enough. Starting in the Lower Bracket, OpTic swept Minnesota Rokkr 3-0 but were quickly bounced by Toronto Ultra 3-0. After another poor showing, Pred was released, and Huke returned to the starting lineup. Though online results still lagged, the roster moves were made with an eye toward a late-season resurgence.

Stage 3 showed mild improvement but no breakthrough. OpTic went 2-3 in qualifiers with a 9-11 map count, squeaking into the Upper Bracket for the Major. Once again, their run was cut short, Boston Breach handed them a 3-0 loss in Round 1, and after battling through the Lower Bracket, they fell 3-0 to Atlanta FaZe, settling for another Top-8 finish.

Shotzzy didn't have the best respawn stage, but in Search & Destroy, that wasn't the case. He had a 1.16 K/D in the mode while leading the League in kills per round (0.91) and opening duel win rate (76.5%). The back-to-back disappointing results left their Champs qualification in jeopardy, with doubts mounting over whether they could rediscover their championship form.

📸 Photo by @Spribs_

Stage 4 flipped the script. Mason “Mercules” Ramsey joined in place of Skyz, and the lineup immediately looked sharper, going 3-2 in qualifiers with a 13-6 map count to earn the #3 seed for the DreamHack Dallas Major. On LAN, OpTic’s teamwork and map pool looked rejuvenated. Consistency in Hardpoint and Control (both 3rd in W%) and a resurgent SND pushed them to a Top-4 finish, restoring belief ahead of the postseason.

At Champs 2025, OpTic’s season came full circle. They opened with a dominant 3-0 sweep over Atlanta FaZe, powered by standout performances from Mercules and Huke. They rolled through Toronto Ultra and Boston Breach without dropping a series, smothering opponents in respawn. The Grand Final brought another clash with Vancouver Surge, this time in a nine-map war. Trading blows throughout, OpTic emerged with a 5–3 victory, becoming the first team in CDL history to win back-to-back World Championships. Rookie Mercules claimed Champs MVP honors for his clutch play across all three modes.

Shotzzy's Champs performances were electric, ending the tournament with a League-High 1.24 overall K/D. Ant also ended with a 96.2 Slayer Rating and a 1.17 or better in each of the three modes.

📸 Photo by @OpTic

The momentum carried into the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, where OpTic, competing under the OpTic Gaming banner, stormed through pool play 6-0 in maps. Hard-fought wins over 100 Thieves and Team Heretics set up a rematch with Vancouver Surge in the Final. This time, OpTic left no doubt, sweeping Surge 4-0 to claim the EWC title and secure back-to-back tournament wins.

OpTic Texas’s 2025 campaign was a story of extremes, crushing lows in Stage 2, turbulent roster changes, and a late-season resurgence that built into one of the most dominant Champs runs ever seen. Their ability to retool midyear, restore chemistry, and peak when it mattered most reaffirmed their place among Call of Duty’s all-time great teams.

How Good Was Shotzzy in 2025?

Hardpoint

Finishing with a 1.08 K/D in the mode, Shotzzy had another great year in Hardpoint. His per-10-minute statistics included 26.2 kills, 3,060 damage, and 55.7 seconds of hill time. He was consistent on LAN, keeping all of these stats at a similar level. Looking at the Record Book, Ant holds two of the top five K/Ds in a single map (2.55 & 2.36). Between the consistency & high ceiling, Shotzzy was a menace in the mode.

OpTic’s Hardpoint campaign was a story of runs. When firing on all cylinders, they stood among the league’s most efficient respawn teams, closing the year with a Top-5 win rate and elite rotation control. They finished 45-32 overall, including a 20-12 mark on LAN (62.5%). Their metrics told the story of a powerhouse, 3rd in average margin of victory (+17.9), 3rd in hold percentage (75.0%), and 1st in break percentage (33.4%). On the two biggest stages of the season, they were flawless, going 6-0 at Champs and 6-1 at the Esports World Cup. That late-season Hardpoint surge became a cornerstone of their championship push.

Search & Destroy

Shotzzy’s best mode this year was Search & Destroy, finishing with a 1.10 K/D in the mode. He added in 0.80 kills per round (2nd highest in the CDL), 99.4 ADR, and an opening duel win rate of 58.1%. On LAN, those numbers got supercharged. Finishing with a 1.30 K/D on LAN, adding in 0.88 kills per round & 59.5% opening duel win rate, Shotzzy was one of the best LAN performers (if not the best) on the year. In pure output, Shotzzy led the League with 17 maps with double-digit kills and 10 maps with 4 or more opening duel wins. Very few players have this type of influence in the mode.

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Search & Destroy was both a liability and a lifeline for Texas. Midseason struggles defined their dip, with a brutal 2-9 record in Stage II and a 4-5 mark in Stage III. But the turnaround was undeniable; OpTic went 8-4 across the final two LANs. Overall, they placed 6th in the CDL at 32-31 (50.8%), improving to 15-11 (57.7%) on LAN. Their biggest weapon was the opening duel, winning 52.5% of first engagements (2nd in the league). Given more time to mesh with their final roster, their ceiling likely would have been well above that 6th-place finish

Control

The swing game mode has always favored Shotzzy’s playstyle, with him getting unaccounted for for just one moment can lead to a round loss. On the year, Shotzzy finished with a 1.04 K/D in the mode, dipping slightly to 1.00 on LAN. Champs is where Ant played his best, dropping a 1.17 K/D with 21.2 kills per 10 minutes.

Control proved to be OpTic’s steadiest mode from start to finish. They closed at 27-23 overall (54.0%) and an even stronger 13-8 on LAN (61.9%). Stage II was the lone blemish, where they slumped to just 2-9. From Stage IV onward, however, they were nearly unstoppable, going 14-4 overall and 8-1 combined at Champs and EWC. Their late-year defense was suffocating, producing a 13-2 record in the final two LANs. While SND is often credited with winning championships, for OpTic, Control was the engine that built momentum and set the tone in their biggest series.

A look ahead to Black Ops 7

Shotzzy heads into Black Ops 7 as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the CDL, ready to help lead OpTic Texas in their quest for a historic three-peat. With the team running back their championship roster, his relentless pace, unpredictable movement, and ability to create game-changing plays will remain central to OpTic’s identity. Having already proven himself as a difference-maker in back-to-back title runs, Shotzzy’s chemistry with his teammates and knack for swinging momentum in high-pressure moments position him to be a driving force in OpTic’s push for yet another championship.

📸 Photo by @OpTic