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Retired
Karma
Karma CDL 2020
Background Information
NameDamon Barlow
Country of Birth
Canada
BirthdayJuly 17, 1994 (age 29)
Residency
NA
North America
Competitive
TeamOpTic Texaslogo stdOpTic TEX
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic Gaming
Role
Content Creator
Previous Role(s)
SMG Support


Main AR


Slayer


Flex
Competitive IDsSallyNoNose
PSN IDOpTic-Karma-Stan
XBL GamertagOpTicKarma93
Social Media & Links
Infobox CDL Player Pagelogo std
Infobox redditlogo std
Infobox Twitchlogo std
Infobox Twitterlogo std
Infobox Youtubelogo std
Infobox GameBattleslogo std
Infobox UMGlogo std

Damon "Karma" Barlow is a former professional Call of Duty esports player. He is a 2013, 2014, and 2017 World Champion and X Games gold medalist. His most notable teams besides Seattle Surge are OpTic Gaming, Impact and compLexity/Evil Geniuses. He retired on June 3, 2020. He is often referred to by the community as "3 Rings" or "GOAT" due to him being the first player to have won 3 World Championships.

Team History

Combine Role Swaps:Yes|No
Dates:Approx|Exact
TeamStartEnd
Notes
NA
Logo stdyunGunZ≈Aug 2010≈2010-08-??Sep 20112011-09-14[1]≈1yr 1mo
ejel
NA
Xtravagantlogo stdXtravagantSep 20112011-09-14[2]≈Nov 2011≈2011-11-21≈2mo 7d
ejel
NA
ApeX.Collapselogo stdapeX.CollapseFeb 20122012-02-27[4]Apr 20122012-04-16[3]1mo 18d
ejel
NA
Collapselogo stdCollapseApr 20122012-04-16[5]≈May 2012≈2012-05-??≈23d
ejel
NA
Fariko Impactlogo stdFariko ImpactNov 20122012-11-15[7]Apr 20132013-04-23[6]5mo 8d
ejel
NA
Impactlogo stdImpactApr 20132013-04-23[10]Jul 20132013-07-15[8]2mo 22d
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam EnvyJul 20132013-07-15[12]Dec 20132013-12-10[11]4mo 26d
ejel
EU
TCM-Gaminglogo stdTCM-GamingJul 20132013-07-16[13]Jul 20132013-07-215dTemp Sub
ejel
NA
CompLexity Gaminglogo stdcompLexityDec 20132013-12-10[14]May 20142014-05-064mo 27d
ejel
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEvil GeniusesMay 20142014-05-06[16]Nov 20142014-11-14[15]6mo 8dInactive
ejel
NA
FaZe Clanlogo stdFaZe ClanSep 20142014-09-05[17]Oct 20142014-10-301mo 25dOn Loan
ejel
NA
OpTic Nationlogo stdOpTic NationNov 20142014-11-14Apr 20152015-04-054mo 21d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingApr 20152015-04-05[21]May 20182018-05-06[18]3yr 1mo
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingSep 20182018-09-27[23]Oct 20192019-10-21[22]1yr 24d
ejel
CDL
Seattle Surgelogo stdSEA SurgeOct 20192019-10-21[25]Jun 20202020-06-03[24]7mo 13d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic Gaming
Feb 20212021-02-11[26]Present3yr 1mo
ej
CDL
OpTic Texaslogo stdOpTic TEX
May 20232023-05-25[27]Present9mo 23d
ej
TeamStartEnd
Notes
NA
Logo stdyunGunZ≈Aug 2010≈2010-08-??Sep 20112011-09-14[1]≈1yr 1mo
ejel
NA
Xtravagantlogo stdXtravagantSep 20112011-09-14[2]≈Nov 2011≈2011-11-21≈2mo 7d
ejel
NA
ApeX.Collapselogo stdapeX.CollapseFeb 20122012-02-27[4]Apr 20122012-04-16[3]1mo 18d
ejel
NA
Collapselogo stdCollapseApr 20122012-04-16[5]≈May 2012≈2012-05-??≈23d
ejel
NA
Fariko Impactlogo stdFariko ImpactNov 20122012-11-15[7]Apr 20132013-04-23[6]5mo 8d
ejel
NA
Impactlogo stdImpactApr 20132013-04-23[10]Jul 20132013-07-15[8]2mo 22d
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam EnvyJul 20132013-07-15[12]Dec 20132013-12-10[11]4mo 26d
ejel
EU
TCM-Gaminglogo stdTCM-GamingJul 20132013-07-16[13]Jul 20132013-07-215dTemp Sub
ejel
NA
CompLexity Gaminglogo stdcompLexityDec 20132013-12-10[14]May 20142014-05-064mo 27d
ejel
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEvil GeniusesMay 20142014-05-06[16]Aug 20142014-08-273mo 21d
ejel
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEvil GeniusesAug 20142014-08-27Sep 20142014-09-05[28]9dInactive
ejel
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEvil GeniusesSep 20142014-09-05[28]Oct 20142014-10-301mo 25dLoaned Out
ejel
NA
FaZe Clanlogo stdFaZe ClanSep 20142014-09-05[17]Oct 20142014-10-301mo 25dOn Loan
ejel
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEvil GeniusesOct 20142014-10-30Nov 20142014-11-14[15]15dInactive
ejel
NA
OpTic Nationlogo stdOpTic NationNov 20142014-11-14Apr 20152015-04-054mo 21d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingApr 20152015-04-05[21]May 20182018-05-06[18]3yr 1mo
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingSep 20182018-09-27[23]Oct 20192019-10-21[22]1yr 24d
ejel
CDL
Seattle Surgelogo stdSEA SurgeOct 20192019-10-21[25]Jun 20202020-06-03[24]7mo 13d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic Gaming
Feb 20212021-02-11[26]Present3yr 1mo
ej
CDL
OpTic Texaslogo stdOpTic TEX
May 20232023-05-25[27]Present9mo 23d
ej

News

  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • 2023
NA
Logo stdYUNGAugust (approx.), Brian, Karma, Minns, and Whte join.
NA
Logo stdYUNGSeptember 14, Karma leaves.[1]
NA
Xtravagantlogo stdIXISeptember 14, Bobby, Karma, and Revan join. Rambo rejoins.[2]
NA
Xtravagantlogo stdIXINovember 21 (approx.), Bobby, Karma, Rambo, and Revan leave.
NA
ApeX.Collapselogo stdapX.cSFebruary 27, Karma joins. Pikachu leaves.[4]
NA
ApeX.Collapselogo stdapX.cSApril 16, Apathy, Karma, Parasite, and TuQuick leave.[3]
NA
Collapselogo stdCsApril 16, Apathy, Karma, LyaR, and TuQuick join.[5]
NA
Collapselogo stdCsMay (approx.), Discoverable, KiLLa, and Revan join. Apathy, Karma, and TuQuick leave.
NA
Fariko Impactlogo stdFAR.INovember 15, John, Karma, KiLLa, and TuQuick join.[7]
NA
Fariko Impactlogo stdFAR.IApril 23, Karma, KiLLa, MiRx, and Parasite leave.[6]
NA
Impactlogo stdIMPApril 23, Karma, KiLLa, MiRx, and Parasite join.[10]
NA
Impactlogo stdIMPJuly 15, John joins. Karma leaves.[8][9]
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYJuly 15, Karma joins. StaiNViLLe leaves.[12]
EU
TCM-Gaminglogo stdTCMJuly 16, Karma joins as temporary substitute for DreamHack Valencia 2013, replacing Flux because he is on holiday.[13]
EU
TCM-Gaminglogo stdTCMJuly 21, Karma (temporary substitute) leaves.
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYDecember 10, Karma leaves.[11]
NA
CompLexity Gaminglogo stdcoLDecember 10, Karma joins. Clayster leaves.[14]
NA
CompLexity Gaminglogo stdcoLMay 6, ACHES, Crimsix, Karma, and TeePee leave.
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEGMay 6, Team signs former CompLexity Gaminglogo stdcompLexity Gaming roster. ACHES, Crimsix, Karma, and TeePee join.[16]
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEGAugust 27, Karma becomes inactive.
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEGSeptember 5, Dedo joins. Karma is loaned to FaZe Clan.[28]
NA
FaZe Clanlogo stdFaZeSeptember 5, Karma is loaned from Evil Geniuses. Dedo leaves.[17]
NA
FaZe Clanlogo stdFaZeOctober 30, Karma's loan from Evil Geniuses ends.
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEGOctober 30, Karma returns from loan to FaZe Clan.
NA
Evil Geniuseslogo stdEGNovember 14, Team disbands. ACHES, Crimsix, Dedo, Karma, and TeePee leave.[15]
NA
OpTic Nationlogo stdONNovember 14, Karma and TeePee join. Ricky leaves.
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGApril 5, Karma joins.[21]
NA
OpTic Nationlogo stdONApril 5, Karma leaves.
NA
July 2, Crimsix and Karma are suspended for one CWL Pro Division match for Disruptive Behavior and insults towards league officials.[29]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGMay 6, Methodz and Octane join. FormaL and Karma leave.[18][19][20]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGSeptember 27, Dashy and TJHaLy join. Karma rejoins.[23]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGSeptember 8, Karma becomes restricted free agent.[30]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGOctober 21, Karma leaves.[22]
CDL
Seattle Surgelogo stdSEAOctober 21, Apathy, Enable, Karma, Octane, Slacked, and Nubzy (Head Coach) join.[25]
CDL
Seattle Surgelogo stdSEAJune 3, Karma retires.[24]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGFebruary 11, Karma (Content Creator) rejoins.[26]
CDL
OpTic Texaslogo stdTEXMay 25, Karma (Coach) joins.[27]

Biography[]

Beginnings[]

Damon "Karma" Barlow first started playing Call of Duty during Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He started showcasing what he was truly capable of with the release of Call of Duty: World at War, however, his skill went largely unnoticed due to the lack of support in the community of the game.

His first real chance to shine came with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops. His first major event was MLG Columbus 2011 where he placed a decent 10th with his team yunGunZ. Going into the next event the team showed signs of improvement finishing 6th at MLG Anaheim 2011. However, looking for more than just an average showing, he joined forces with the legendary Rambo under the Xtravagant name. Expecting to replicate the success the IXI name saw in the past, Karma and his teammates went into the rest of the season confident. However, it turned out to be much of the same with another 6th place finish at MLG Orlando 2011 and a 5th place finish at the season end MLG National Championship 2011.

Achieving Greatness[]

Like many players, due to the lack of support he chose to not compete during Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, he joined the newly formed team Impact coming in with great expectations. Following solid performances at the first two events, but not what the team was expecting, the roster got reshuffled. Going into the MLG Winter Championship in Dallas, Impact's roster consisted of Karma, Parasite, KiLLa, and MiRx. This is where both the team and Karma himself started reaching new levels. They ran through the competition and took the tournament win. This success continued into the next 3 events with the highlight being the Call of Duty Championship 2013 where Impact won the grand prize of $400,000. During this streak of wins, Karma became known as the best player in the game. However, like all good things, the success came to a stop at the MLG Spring Championship where Impact finished 2nd. Hoping they could bring back the success they had previously seen, the team stuck together for another go during Gfinity 1. Unfortunately it got worse, as the team finished a disappointing 4th. Before the team arrived back in the states, Karma left Impact and joined Team EnVyUs. Expectations skyrocketed immediately for the team with people expecting them to be capable of knocking compLexity off of their historic run. Unfortunately, this never happened as Team EnVyUs never achieved even a top 3 finish the Black Ops 2 season.

New Game, New Team[]

Going into the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Team EnVyUs still had high expectations of winning championships. At the first event of the season at MLG Fall Championship, the team once again came up well short of what was expected, finishing 6th. This was the last straw for Karma as he decided to make another team change. He left Team EnVyUs and joined compLexity. The roster change by compLexity following a tournament win at the MLG Fall Championship was met with lots of criticism, however Karma quickly proved why he is still considered one of the best in the game as the team won their first two events together at UMG Philadelphia 2014 and Call of Duty Championship 2014. Following the win at the biggest championship of the year, Karma along with the rest of the team cemented themselves as the clear favorites going into every event. At the next major LAN event at UGC Niagara 2014, the team finally looked beatable falling to amateur team XGN in the first round of the Championship Bracket. However, the losers bracket didn't scare them, as they went 21-2 in map count on Sunday to go all the way through the losers bracket and win the tournament. Following the tournament, Karma and his teammates announced that they were joining Evil Geniuses.

Following the switch over to Evil Geniuses, the team hoped to continue the same success. Unfortunately, they came up short at their very first event which was the MLG X Games Invitational. They took home a disappointing bronze medal. Despite the loss, the team was able to bounce back and win the International Playoff at the MLG Championship Anaheim losing only a combined 5 maps the entire event. Karma and the rest of the team hoped this would be a sign of more success for the them. However, at Gfinity 3 the team lost to Team Kaliber in their group stage ensuring they can only have the 2nd seed. They were placed in the Championship Bracket against FaZe who they would end up losing to, 3-0. The team had their worst placing to date finishing in the 5th-8th category. The next event was UMG Dallas but EG would not be attending due to Karma's wife giving birth and him wanting to stay at home with her. After Dallas, Karma announced that he was no longer happy with EG and would be leaving. After some speculation it was announced that he was loaned to FaZe Clan for the remainder of the season but would remain on contract with Evil Geniuses.

Trivia[]

Achievements[]

This table shows up to the 10 most recent results. For complete results, click here.

Minimum place
Tournament tier
Karma Tournament Results
GameDatePlPrizeEventTeamDisplayRoster
2024-01-283$ 60,000$ 60,000$ 60,000 Call of Duty League 2024 - Major 1OpTic Texaslogo stdTEX Shotzzy •  Dashy •  Kenny •  Pred Karma JP Krez
2024-01-215 Call of Duty League 2024 - Major 1 QualifiersOpTic Texaslogo stdTEX Shotzzy •  Dashy •  Kenny •  Pred Karma JP Krez
2023-11-285 - 6$ 5,000$ 5,000$ 5,000 150K GGCS Kickoff FinalsLogo stdBIG  Karma •  DrLupo •  Marksman •  Symfuhny
2023-11-201$ 20,000$ 20,000$ 20,000 150K GGCS Kickoff OpFor DivisionLogo stdBIG  Karma •  DrLupo •  Marksman •  Symfuhny
2023-11-189 - 16 Boston Breach Full Tilt Holiday ClassicATL Redlogo stdATL R Simp •  Drazah •  Karma •  Decemate
2023-11-177 - 8 Team Summertime ProSim Invitational 3Logo stdUNIT UnitedHayze •  Karma •  Strahfe •  Envoy •  Tea
2023-11-109 - 16 GameBattles $1000 4v4 S&D Kickoff 2023-11-10Logo stdOPTI Karma •  Methodz •  Parasite •  OPTIMUM
2023-11-105 - 8 GameBattles $1000 4v4 S&D 2023-11-10Team Summertimelogo stdTST Hitch •  Jorge •  Blake •  Karma
2023-10-011$ 10,000$ 10,000$ 10,000 OpTic Legacy MatchOpTic Legacylogo stdOL Scump •  Karma •  Crimsix •  MBoZe
2023-09-241 The Off-Season 2Scumplogo stdSCMP Scump •  Karma •  Pred •  Shotzzy
Total Prize:USD 95,000

Media[]

  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2021

Post-Match Interviews

DateTournamentMatchLink
2023-10-01OpTic Legacy Match
OLOpTic Legacylogo std
vs
OpTic Texaslogo stdTEX
Link
2019-05-15CWL Pro League 2019
FaZeFaZe Clanlogo std
vs
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOG
Link
2019-05-03CWL London 2019
100T100 Thieveslogo std
vs
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOG
Link
2019-02-07CWL Pro League 2019
OGOpTic Gaminglogo std
vs
Team Reciprocitylogo stdREC
Link
2017-07-30CWL Global Pro League 2017 Stage 2 Playoffs
eUEUnitedlogo std
vs
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOG
Link
2017-07-28CWL Global Pro League 2017 Stage 2 Playoffs
OGOpTic Gaminglogo std
vs
Fnaticlogo stdFNC
Link
2016-09-03Call of Duty World League Championship 2016
INFSTeam Infusedlogo std
vs
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOG
Link
2016-08-06MLG Orlando Open 2016
OGOpTic Gaminglogo std
vs
Kingsmenlogo stdKING$
Link
2016-05-08ESWC 2016
MILLMilleniumlogo std
vs
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOG
Link

Gallery[]

Redirects

The following pages redirect here:

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Karma's Tweet twitter.com
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Karma's Tweet twitter.com
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Karma's Tweet twitter.com
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 KiLLa's Tweet twitter.com
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Karma's Tweet twitter.com
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 TEAM IMPACT LEAVES FARIKO TO FORM PERSONAL BRAND web.archive.org
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Big thanks to @Fariko for taking us under their wing. twitter.com
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 I will be Karma nV. Waiting to get the twitter. @ImpactCoD does need one. twitter.com
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 impact twitter.com
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 TEAM IMPACT LEAVES FARIKO TO FORM PERSONAL BRAND web.archive.org
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 EsportsNation's Tweet twitter.com
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 EsportsNation's Tweet twitter.com
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 TCM's Tweet twitter.com
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 EsportsNation's Tweet twitter.com
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 We're transferring our player contracts to OpTic and passing the buyout compensation along to the players. reddit.com
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 compLexity Sells COD Squad to Evil Geniuses complexitygaming.com
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 FaZe Clan's Tweet twitter.com
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 OpTic Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 WELCOME FORMAL TO LG CALL OF DUTY! luminosity.gg
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 @OpTic_DKarma My side twitch.tv
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 OpTic Gaming's Reddit reddit.com
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 SeattleCOD's Tweet twitter.com
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 OpTic Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Seattle Surge's Tweet twitter.com
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 SeattleCOD's Tweet twitter.com
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 OpTic's Tweet twitter.com
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Optic Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 Dedo joins evilgeniuses.gg
  29. COD Players Reveal League Fines dexerto.com
  30. Karma's Tweet twitter.com
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