PERSONAL ASIDE:
You probably had to pick this article out of your social media feeds in the middle of political posts, and if you follow my personal Twitter, it doesn’t help that I also do political reporting.
All I can say is this: Thank god we have this Halo Championship Series. Why? Because no matter what, we, as Halo fans, can all agree on two things:
1. We love watching esports, and it is one of our favorite ways to escape from a crazy world out there.
2. WE NEED TEAM LIQUID AND STR8 RIPPIN SKINS ALREADY. C’MON 343.
So let’s talk HCS, shall we?
In a crucial week that will decide the last three teams heading out to Burbank (two for the relegation tournament, one for the finals), some teams rose to the occassion to make Thursday’s games even more decisive for these spots.
The first fight was for the fourth Finals spot, where Luminosity and Str8 Rippin were battling it out. Meanwhile, three teams, Evil Geniuses, Enigma6 and Allegiance, all were fighting to not be one of the two teams heading for relegation.
Let’s look at how each match went:
Match One: Allegiance vs. Enigma6
Game One: CTF – Fathom
Despite a slow start from Enigma6, ALG wound up dropping this match in an aggressive, fast-paced game that saw E6 barely outslay Allegiance.
Game Final: E6 3 – 2 ALG
Match Score: E6 1 – 0 ALG
Game Two: Slayer – The Rig
Allegiance came out to a solid 28-18 run with six minutes left on the timer, but Enigma6 rallied back and tied things up at 49-49 in the final seconds.
For the last kill, Michael “Falcated” Garcia provided a stick that allowed ALG to tie the series up, and it was the exclamation point to his 15-7-12 game.
Game Final: ALG 50 – 49 E6
Match Score: ALG 1 – 1 E6
Game Three: Strongholds – Empire
A few back and forth moments, including a clean sweep of ALG, were seen at the start of game three, but Enigma6 looked like the team to win, despite being down 44-25.
Slaying power allowed them to get total control of this game, and Enigma6 rolled out of this one almost doubling up Allegiance.
Game Final: E6 100 – 54 ALG
Match Score: E6 2 – 1 ALG
Game Four: CTF – Coliseum
Yo dawg, I heard you like counter caps. So Allegiance decided to put an Enigma6 counter cap (1-1) inside of their own counter cap (2-1).
They then took the game winner swiftly, and we were heading to yet another Allegiance game five.
Game Final: ALG 3 – 1 E6
Match Score: ALG 2 – 2
Game Five: Slayer – Eden
Enigma6 led early, but with Allegiance getting power weapon control, we were all tied up several times, including at 41-41 in the final 20 seconds of play.
It was a ridiculous two for one kill trade that ended this off…
And Allegiance took home game five and the series.
This means that they still have a very SLIGHT chance of getting out of the relegation zone, meanwhile Enigma6 has to fight for its ife in its last game.
Game Final: ALG 43 – 42 E6
Match Final: ALG 3 – 2 E6
Match Two: Team EnVyUs vs. OpTic Gaming
Game One: CTF – Fathom
After OpTic answered nV’s first flag cap in the fifth minute, Cuyler “Huke” Garland gave nV the 2-1 lead, but was quickly countered by Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante.
The boys in blue then took down three members of the #GreenWall, en route to getting the golden flag to take game one.
Game Final: nV 3 – 2 OG
Match Score: nV 1 – 0 OG
Game Two: Slayer – The Rig
OpTic took a 10-3 run to start, and the lead quickly diminished as the game progressed.
This led to a phenominal 6-2 run for nV to take the lead 43-42, and despite OG taking it to the final kill, a well placed splinter nade by Eric “Snip3down“ Wrona gave nV the 2-0 series lead.
Game Final: nV 50 – 49 OG
Match Score: nV 2 – 0 OG
Game Three: Strongholds – The Rig
OG got out to a surprising 10-0 lead after taking a bullet to the heart in game two, but nV answered back and we were tied at 22 even after three minutes.
nV then got out to a 38-2 run, and OpTic came back to bring the score up to 80-73.
It was just that kind of night for EnVyUs though, as they were able to clutch up in the final moments and take down OpTic for the second time this season.
The match scoreline doesn’t do this series justice, but nV is your number one seed in the HCS Finals, on top of getting a cool $13,000 payday.
Game Final: nV 100 – 83 OG
Match Final: nV 3 – 0 OG
Match Three: Team Liquid vs. Str8 Rippin
Game One: CTF – Coliseum
A 9-1 slaying run within the first minute gave Team Liquid enough juice for the first capture, and the teams traded flags right at the end of the first minute mark.
TL ran out of gas later in the contest, and that opened the door for Str8 Rippin to come back down 2-1 and take the first game.
Game Final: STR8 3 – 2 TL
Match Score: STR8 1 – 0 TL
Game Two: Slayer – Regret
This was another back and forth slayer game tonight, as teams exchanged leads up until Str8 Rippin had a 6-1 run to take home game two.
Game Final: STR8 50 – 46 TL
Match Score: STR8 2 – 0 TL
Game Three: Strongholds – Plaza
For the first sign of a comeback from Team Liquid, they squashed down the hopes of Str8 even after several clutch resets and point controls.
It was too little, too late for STR8, who was also handedly outslayed 63-48.
Game Final: TL 100 – 51 STR8
Match Score: STR8 2 – 1 TL
Game Four: CTF – Truth
TL got the early 2-1 lead, but this one turned into a slugfest between both sides, as each team was close to 80 kills by the time this one was over.
A counter-cap from TL was the one that got Liquid into game five, as fuel rod control paved the way for the golden flag capture.
Game Final: TL 3 – 2 STR8
Match Score: TL 2 – 2 STR8
Game Five: Slayer – The Rig
It had to take just over 15 minutes for this one to be decided, as once again, an early bout of lead changes saw Str8 pull away towards the mid-game.
In the final seconds, a few slower plays allowed Str8 to get the 7-3 run they needed to win, and this series win set them up for a potential trip to Burbank.
Game Final: STR8 50 – 44 TL
Match Final: STR8 3 – 2 TL
Match Four: Evil Geniuses vs. Luminosity Gaming
Game One: CTF – Coliseum
The Geniuses came out with two flag captues in the first five minutes of play, only to be answered two minutes later by Luminosity.
After a few failed flag capture attempts from both sides, Jason “Lunchbox” Brown was able to put in the game winner with the help of his twin, Justin “Roy” Brown, who went off on a 21-8-12 game.
Game Final: EG 3 – 1 LG
Match Score: EG 1 – 0 LG
Game Two: Slayer – Truth
It was clear from the 8-0 start from Evil Geniuses that they had this game in the bag, and it was that consistent lead that kept Luminosity from trying to take this game back.
Game Final: EG 50 – 40 LG
Match Score: EG 2 – 1 LG
Game Three: Strongholds – Empire
Luminosity is really good at this Strongholds game, to say the least.
The slaying stats don’t say it, but with a few total controls and solid plays from rotations and distractions, LG was able to pump a bit of life into this series…
Game Final: LG 100 – 19 EG
Match Score: EG 2 – 1 LG
Game Four: CTF – Truth
… but it wasn’t enough to have them surge past the Geniuses.
A counter cap from Luminosity tied things up at one in the first three minutes, and LG was able to force a golden flag six minutes into the game, however a counter-cap from EG all but sealed this game.
The Geniuses are still alive in the fight out of relegation, and Luminosity’s spot in Burbank is clearly in danger.
Game Final: EG 3 – 2 LG
Match Final: EG 3 – 1 LG
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS:
nV/OpTic/Team Liquid: No matter what happens, these three teams will be your first, second, and third seeds in the HCS Finals.
Luminosity Gaming: Clinches fourth Finals spot with a win vs. OpTic OR a loss from Str8 Rippin to Enigma6
Str8 Rippin: Clinches fourth Finals spot with a win vs. Enigma6 AND Luminosity loss vs. OpTic.
Evil Geniuses: Will get out of relegation tournament with one of two scenarios:
1. EG defeats Team Liquid, Enigma6 loses to Str8 Rippin.
2. EG defeats Team Liquid 3-0 or 3-1, Enigma6 defeats Str8 Rippin 3-1 or 3-2.
Enigma6: Will get out of relegation tournament with one of two scenarios:
1. Enigma6 defeats Str8 Rippin, EG loses to Team Liquid.
2. Enigma6 defeats Str8 Rippin 3-0, EG defeats Team Liquid 3-2.
Allegiance: Will get out of relegation tournament in the following (insane) scenario:
1. Defeats nV 3-0.
2. Str8 Rippin defeats Enigma6 3-0.
3. Team Liquid defeats Evil Geniuses 3-0.
Who do you see as the last three teams heading to Burbank?
Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, and for all your Halo and esports updates, make sure you are following us on Twitter, @GAMURScom.
James Mattone is a journalist for GAMURS and can be contacted by email at jamestmattone@gmail.com or on Twitter –@TheJamesMattone.
