On June 3rd 2020, Damon "Karma" Barlow announced that he would be retiring from professional Call of Duty after seven years of competing at the highest level.
Known for his ruthless slaying power, supreme mechanical understanding and ability to adapt regardless of game and team, Karma will go down in history as the first three-time world champion and one of the best players to ever compete.
As a tribute, we take a look at five memorable moments from a storied career.
5) The Fastest Ace In History?
The Crown Invitational tournament on Black Ops 3 saw OpTic Gaming head to Australia to participate in a small invitational tournament featuring a mix of domestic and international teams.
Against Tainted Minds, Karma quickly dispatched of two opponents before finishing off the other two in quick succession to end the round in under 20 seconds.
4) Doing It All
Known for his versatility, Karma demonstrated his mechanical skill with an 11 killstreak while taking on eUnited in the CWL Atlanta finals back on Infinite Warfare. Holding down the remaining Hardpoint time with ease along with slaying all opponents converging on his position was a prime example of what Karma could do on the big stage.
3) Making the Impossible Look Easy
Karma had a way of converting unwinnable situations into scenarios where the impossible looked like an actual possibility. Going against former Impact teammate Christopher "Parasite" Duarte, Karma used his mechanical superiority to his advantage to secure the round for his team.
2) Invincible
Gfinity 2 was one of the few tournaments where Karma represented Team Envy before joining Complexity in late 2013. The results with the team were far from spectacular but his tenure yielded moments that have transcended through the history of CoD esports. Taking on the European side of Team Enigma, Karma decimated the opposition with ease, scoring a total of 28 kills in a row, a feat that no other player has come close to beating.
1) The Greatest Ninja Defuse
Despite Donovan "Temp" Laroda performing an incredible ninja defuse at the Florida Home Series, Karma's sneaky defuse is still the best there has ever been in professional CoD. With some impeccable timing on his side and the last man standing on his team, Karma sneaks up behind the bomb planter and gives his team the lead in the final game of the series. To this day, this is still one of, if not, the greatest play in the history of CoD esports.
The Call of Duty League has announced that the Minnesota Home Series set to take place from June 5th-7th, has been postponed.
