The FaZe Vegas COD Champs win did more than end a five-year wait for the organization. It stopped OpTic Texas from claiming a third consecutive world title, gave two roster newcomers their first rings and pushed Simp further into Call of Duty’s most exclusive company.
FaZe defeated OpTic 5-2 in the best-of-nine grand final in Las Vegas, completing an undefeated 4-0 tournament run. The result marked the organization’s first world championship since Atlanta FaZe won in 2021.
OpTic entered the eight-team, double-elimination event as the favorite after leading the 12-team regular season with a 40-12 record and 575 points. FaZe had finished third at 33-21 with 440 points, though its Major 2 victory had already shown that the rebuilt lineup could win under pressure.
How FaZe reached the grand final unbeaten
FaZe opened Championship weekend by beating Minnesota G2, then advanced past Riyadh Falcons. A close winners’ final victory over OpTic sent the defending champions into the lower bracket, where they eliminated the Falcons to secure a rematch.
The final brought FaZe and OpTic together for the first time in a CDL Championship title match. It also carried several personal milestones. Before the series, caster MerK described Champs as “a culmination of careers,” with both Shotzzy and Simp chasing a third world championship while OpTic pursued an unprecedented third straight title.
Los Angeles Thieves, another leading pre-event pick, left without winning a series. Prediction markets had favored OpTic throughout the weekend, but prediction markets do occasionally encounter the inconvenience of matches being played.
Playing in Las Vegas gave the newly branded FaZe roster a fitting setting. More importantly, the team arrived at the final without having lost a series and maintained that composure when three maps came down to the last possible Search and Destroy round.
What decided the 5-2 series
OpTic started well, taking the opening Hardpoint 250-216. FaZe responded in the first Search and Destroy, pushing the map to round 11 before winning 6-5 in the closing moments.
That pattern became the defining feature of the final. FaZe won all three Search and Destroy maps by identical 6-5 scores, repeatedly denying OpTic when a single round could have changed the series.
FaZe moved ahead by winning the first Overload, then extended its advantage on Scar Hardpoint. Drazah produced 39 kills on Scar, part of a final in which he led all players with 153 total eliminations and finished with a plus-23 kill/death differential.
Another 6-5 Search victory put OpTic close to elimination. The reigning champions recovered by taking the second Overload, narrowing the series to 4-2, but FaZe closed the final with one more round-11 Search win.
Field Level Media’s full-series statistics credited Abuzah with 151 kills and a final-best plus-40 differential across the seven maps. Every OpTic player ended the series with a negative differential, a blunt reflection of how consistently FaZe controlled the longer contest.
Why the rebuilt FaZe roster mattered
This championship followed a significant roster reset. Former FaZe mainstays aBeZy and Cellium were competing elsewhere, while 04 and Abuzah entered as relative newcomers to the league’s highest level.
Both had finished second four times during 2025. In Las Vegas, they became first-time world champions.
Earlier in the season, coach James “Crowder” Crowder told Monster Energy that 04 and Abuzah “work really hard” and “don’t doubt themselves for a second.” He also said Simp had taken on a larger leadership role, an important shift for a lineup balancing established winners with players still proving they belonged on the biggest stage.
That balance held throughout the final. Abuzah supplied sustained slaying power, while 04 remained steady against an OpTic squad accustomed to closing championship matches. Their performance turned FaZe’s rebuild from a promising experiment into an $800,000 title run. OpTic earned $480,000 as runner-up.
Simp adds a third world title and another MVP
Simp received tournament MVP honors after securing the third world championship of his career. He joined Crimsix, Clayster, Karma and Shotzzy among Call of Duty’s three-time champions.
The titles also span seven years, strengthening Simp’s case among the game’s all-time greats. His latest championship came with a different kind of responsibility than his earlier victories, including Atlanta FaZe’s dominant 2021 season. This time, he helped guide a reshaped lineup through an uneven year and past a defending champion seeking history.
For OpTic, the loss ended a remarkable run after world titles in 2024 and 2025. The team still produced the best regular-season record and fought back through the lower bracket, but FaZe won every decisive Search and Destroy moment in the final.
For FaZe, the trophy delivered both a return and a beginning: the organization reclaimed the championship after five years, while 04 and Abuzah reached the summit for the first time. That combination gave the victory its weight beyond the final score.
