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Retired as Player
MerK
Merk Champs2018
Background Information
NameJoseph DeLuca
Country of Birth
United States
BirthdayJune 15, 1993 (age 30)
Residency
NA
North America
Competitive
TeamActivisionlogo stdActivision
Role
Caster
InputController
PlatformPC
PSN IDMerK_JJD
XBL GamertagMxrK nV
Social Media & Links
Infobox Instagramlogo std
Infobox redditlogo std
Infobox Twitchlogo std
Infobox Twitterlogo std
Infobox Youtubelogo std
Infobox GameBattleslogo std

Joseph "MerK" DeLuca is a retired Call of Duty esports player, currently a caster for Activision.

Team History

Combine Role Swaps:Yes|No
Dates:Approx|Exact
TeamStartEnd
Notes
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingAug 20102010-08-28[1]≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??≈1yr 6mo
ejel
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLeveraGe≈Nov 2010≈2010-11-??≈Nov 2010≈2010-11-??≈1mo
ejel
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLeveraGe≈Jan 2011≈2011-01-??≈Feb 2011≈2011-02-??≈1mo 9d
ejel
NA
ApeX eSports NAlogo stdapeX eSports NA≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??May 20122012-05-24[2]≈2mo 23d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingMay 20122012-05-24[5]Sep 20132013-09-01[3]1yr 3mo
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam Envy
Sep 20132013-09-04[6]≈Sep 2015≈2015-09-??≈2yr 27d
ejel
NA
Team JusTuslogo stdTeam JusTusApr 20152015-04-10[7]May 20152015-05-231mo 13dOn Loan
ejel
NA
Automatic Reloadlogo stdAutomatic ReloadMay 20152015-05-26[8]Jun 20152015-06-2227d
ejel
NA
Logo stdNationNov 20152015-11-26[10]Dec 20152015-12-10[9]14d
ejel
NA
Cloud9logo stdCloud9Dec 20152015-12-10[12]Jan 20162016-01-06[11]27d
ejel
NA
Team Liquidlogo stdTeam LiquidJan 20162016-01-06[14]Apr 20162016-04-29[13]3mo 23d
ejel
CDL
Activisionlogo stdActivision
Apr 20162016-04-29[15]≈Dec 2021≈2021-12-07≈5yr 7mo
ejel
CDL
Activisionlogo stdActivision
Mar 20222022-03-02[16]Present2yr 14d
ej
TeamStartEnd
Notes
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingAug 20102010-08-28[1]≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??≈1yr 6mo
ejel
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLeveraGe≈Nov 2010≈2010-11-??≈Nov 2010≈2010-11-??≈1mo
ejel
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLeveraGe≈Jan 2011≈2011-01-??≈Feb 2011≈2011-02-??≈1mo 9d
ejel
NA
ApeX eSports NAlogo stdapeX eSports NA≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??May 20122012-05-24[2]≈2mo 23d
ejel
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOpTic GamingMay 20122012-05-24[5]Sep 20132013-09-01[3]1yr 3mo
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam EnvySep 20132013-09-04[6]Apr 20152015-04-101yr 7mo
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam EnvyApr 20152015-04-10May 20152015-05-231mo 13dLoaned Out
ejel
NA
Team JusTuslogo stdTeam JusTusApr 20152015-04-10[7]May 20152015-05-231mo 13dOn Loan
ejel
NA
Team Envylogo stdTeam Envy
May 20152015-05-23≈Sep 2015≈2015-09-??≈3mo 9d
ejel
NA
Automatic Reloadlogo stdAutomatic ReloadMay 20152015-05-26[8]Jun 20152015-06-2227d
ejel
NA
Logo stdNationNov 20152015-11-26[10]Dec 20152015-12-10[9]14d
ejel
NA
Cloud9logo stdCloud9Dec 20152015-12-10[12]Jan 20162016-01-06[11]27d
ejel
NA
Team Liquidlogo stdTeam LiquidJan 20162016-01-06[14]Apr 20162016-04-29[13]3mo 23d
ejel
CDL
Activisionlogo stdActivision
Apr 20162016-04-29[15]≈Dec 2021≈2021-12-07≈5yr 7mo
ejel
CDL
Activisionlogo stdActivision
Mar 20222022-03-02[16]Present2yr 14d
ej

News

  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • 2022
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGAugust 28, Merk joins.[1]
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLvGNovember (approx.), MerK joins.
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLvGNovember (approx.), MerK leaves.
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLvGJanuary (approx.), MerK joins.
NA
LeveraGelogo stdLvGFebruary (approx.), MerK leaves.
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGMarch (approx.), IntaKe, NaDeSHoT, SiDRoC, and Vengeance join. BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo, and Scump leave.
NA
ApeX eSports NAlogo stdapX.NAMarch (approx.), BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo, and Scump join.
NA
ApeX eSports NAlogo stdapX.NAMay 24, BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo, and Scump leave.[2]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGMay 24, BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo, and Scump rejoin.[5]
NA
OpTic Gaminglogo stdOGSeptember 1, JKap joins. MerK leaves.[3][4]
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYSeptember 4, MerK joins.[6]
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYApril 10, MerK is loaned to Team JusTus.
NA
Team JusTuslogo stdJusApril 10, StuDyy joins. MerK is loaned from Team Envy. Lawless and Methodz leave.[7]
NA
Team JusTuslogo stdJusMay 23, Octane, StuDyy, and TcM leave. MerK's loan from Team Envy ends.
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYMay 23,
MerK returns from loan to Team JusTus.
NA
Automatic Reloadlogo stdaRMay 26, Lawless and MerK join. Blfire and FeLonY rejoin.[8]
NA
Automatic Reloadlogo stdaRJune 22, Team disbands. Blfire, FeLo, Lawless, and MerK leave.
NA
Team Envylogo stdENVYSeptember (approx.),
MerK leaves.
NA
Logo stdNATINovember 26, KiLLa, MBoZe, MerK, and StuDyy join.[10]
NA
Logo stdNATIDecember 10, MerK leaves.[9]
NA
Cloud9logo stdC9December 10, Burns, MerK, Mochila, SiLLY, and stunna (Team Manager) join.[12]
NA
Cloud9logo stdC9January 6, Burns and MerK leave.[11]
NA
Team Liquidlogo stdTLJanuary 6, Apathy, Burns, MerK, and StuDyy join.[14]
NA
Team Liquidlogo stdTLApril 29, MerK retires.[13]
NA
Activisionlogo stdATVIApril 29, MerK (Caster) joins.[15]
CDL
Activisionlogo stdATVIJanuary 20, Maven (Caster) and MerK (Caster) will remain with the team.[17]
CDL
Activisionlogo stdATVIFebruary 2, LandO (Caster), Maven (Caster), MerK (Caster), and StuDyy (Caster) will remain with the team.[18]
CDL
Activisionlogo stdATVIDecember 7 (approx.), Maven (Caster) and MerK (Caster) leave.
CDL
Activisionlogo stdATVIMarch 2, Maven (Caster) and MerK (Caster) rejoin.[16]

Biography[]

Merk played on OpTic Gaming for 3 years and was at one point captain of the competitive team. He was dropped from OpTic Gaming on September 1, 2013. He then joined Team EnVyUs. MerK first joined OpTic Gaming in 2010 as part of their pro team. It wasn't until Black Ops where he would find success with the team. He would bring home 2 championships for OpTic at MLG Columbus and at MLG Orlando and placing in the top 5 at every other tournament.

Modern Warfare 3[]

Once Modern Warfare 3 came out, MerK saw tremendous success winning 6 championships in total, 3 with OpTic, 3 with apeX. The first tournament they won was CoD XP. A 1 million dollar prize pool tournament that saw some of the best teams around the country scratching and clawing their way to the top. But at the end of the battle, OpTic gaming got 1st place taking home $400,000. After CoD XP, MerK switched over to apeX and won 3 straight tournaments in a row before finally coming back on to OpTic Gaming to win 2 more in a row.

Black Ops 2[]

After Modern Warfare 3 ran its course, Black Ops 2 came out. Unfortunately, MerK and the rest of the OpTic squad didn't find the same amount of success that they did in Modern Warfare 3. After placing 7th at two online tournaments, they finally caught a break and took home first at UMG Chicago, the first major LAN tournament in Black Ops 2. From there however, they placed consistently 6th, 3rd,3rd and 3rd. Then, a major announcement happened, MerK was dropped from OpTic Gaming. The news stunned the whole CoD eSports scene. Soon after, JKap replaced MerK and MerK went to EnVyUs.

Ghosts[]

After MerK joined EnVy, the future looked very bright for the team. However, that was not the case. After a couple of disappointing finishes, EnVy got 2nd at CoD Champs falling behind to the juggernaut team compLexity. After a disappointing 10th place finish at UMG Philadelphia, EnVy managed to pick things back up again consistently placing in top 5. At Gfinity 3, EnVy finally managed to take home a 1st place finish. Everybody was excited to see where this new EnVy lineup consisting of MerK, JKap, Formal and NaMeLeSS would go. But at UMG Dallas, EnVy fell short of a 1st place finish after being defeated by Denial.

Advanced Warfare[]

Going into a new Call Of Duty game, Merk, captain of Team EnVyUs and leader of a veteran squad (Clayster, Nameless, Jkap, MerK) was ready to take this new team to victory. Facing high expectations, MerK and his teammates came confident at the first LAN event on CoD AW: MLG Columbus 2014. However, it did not turn how they wanted as the squad finished on a 5th place finish. But MerK stayed confident, practicing even more for his next tournament : UMG Orlando 2015. Sadly for him, the team placed below expected, 9th-12th, and the team had to make a change. This change did not turn as well as planned and MerK had to go through another disappointing placing at the MLG Pro League CoD AW Season Playoffs, where nV ended up 6th. The new squad, with MerK still playing as the objective player and captain, had to, despite the loss, focus again and prepare for the 2015's CoD Champs NA Regionals to hope for a qualification for the 2015's CoD Championship. MerK effectively lead his team to victory and qualification. With CoD Champs around the corner, mistakes were not allowed anymore as MerK and his team went on an intensive practice grind. However, it did not go as planned, and one more time, Team EnVyUs had to deal with what is to date, MerK's worst placing (and first placing out of the podium) at CoD Champs. After this harsh fail, MerK was benched in the MLG Pro League CoD AW Season 2. However, he announced that he will not retire and wants to keep playing Call Of Duty competitively, he also announcing he does not plan on quitting nV, but is open to any proposition concerning a team to play with. He found himself on JusTus alongside TcM, Octane, and StuDyy to compete in Season 2.

Black Ops 3[]

Merk was one of the top players left without an organization going into the Black Ops III season. He ended up teaming with StuDyy, KiLLa, and MBoZe under the name Nation to compete in the 2016 CWL NA Pro Division Qualifying Invitational Tournament. After being defeated by compLexity Gaming and Happy Hour, the team was eliminated from the event. Merk then joined the initial roster for Cloud9. His team once again failed to qualify for the 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Regular Season through the 2016 CWL NA Pro Division Online Qualifying Tournament. Following the loss, Merk changed teams again. This time he joined Team Liquid as Captain for their first foray into the scene. The team did well as they went through the UMG South Carolina 2016 Open Bracket and took first Place. They went on to place 3-4th Place at UMG South Carolina 2016 after Luminosity Gaming defeated them in the semifinals. Merk stayed with the team through the online Challenger Division events and qualified for 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Relegation. The team went up 3-0 only to get reverse swept in what would be the final event of Merk's storied career. On April 29, 2016, Merk announced that he was retiring from competitive Call of Duty to join Major League Gaming.

Notable Events Casted/Hosted[]

Trivia[]

  • MerK is the only player to achieve all podium placings at the first three million-dollar Call of Duty tournaments. He placed first, third and second respectively in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
  • MerK has a dog named Louie.
  • In 2012, MerK competed in a Halo 4 event alongside NaDeSHoT, Scump, and Saint. They competed under the OpTic Gaming name and placed in the top 64 (49th-64th).

Achievements[]

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

Minimum place
Tournament tier
MerK Tournament Results
GameDatePlPrizeEventTeamDisplayRoster
2023-11-2813 - 16 150K GGCS Kickoff FinalsOld Men of OpTiclogo stdOMoO Di3seL •  Hutch •  MerK •  Octane
2023-11-208 150K GGCS Kickoff TF-141 DivisionOld Men of OpTiclogo stdOMoO H3CZ •  Di3seL •  Hutch •  MerK
2022-10-164$ 2,000$ 2,000$ 2,000 The Off-Season Black Ops II InvitationalLogo stdRAMB Rambo •  MerK •  Temp •  Shotzzy
2021-05-259 - 12 HusKerrs Howl Top Dog Duos Day 2Logo stdTEEP TeeP •  MerK
2021-05-2413 - 16 HusKerrs Howl Top Dog Duos Day 1Logo stdTEEP TeeP •  MerK
2021-02-0813 - 16 Dallas Empire ChallengeLogo stdMERK MerK •  DougIsRaw
2021-01-3126 $11K Outbreak Nutrition InvitationalLogo stdTEEP TeeP •  MerK
2021-01-2140$ 1,500$ 1,500$ 1,500 Doritos Bowl 2020Team TeePeelogo stdTEEP TeeP •  MerK •  DougIsRaw
2021-01-157$ 450$ 450$ 450 London Royal Ravens Warzone RavenstormTeam TeePeelogo stdTEEP TeeP •  Carson Bohling •  MerK
2020-12-2011 New York Subliners $100K WarzoneMania 1Team TeePeelogo stdTEEP TeeP •  MerK •  SlasheR
Total Prize:USD 3,950

Media[]

  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2021

Post-Match Interviews

DateTournamentMatchLink
2014-10-26MLG CoD League 2014 Season 3 Playoffs
ENVYTeam Envylogo std
vs
Noble.VanQuishlogo stdNBL.vQ
Link

Gallery[]

Redirects

The following pages redirect here:

References

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