A must win week for Allegiance, a fight between three other teams to avoid the relegation zone, and a fight between two of the best teams in the HCS, which may lead to one of them clinching a playoff spot.
Welcome to week six.
Tonight had a few game fives and the match of the week, so let’s see how the first day of matches went:
Match One: LOL vs. Allegiance Gaming
Game One: CTF – Truth
Cory “Str8 Sick” Sloss started out hotter than a Kyle “Elamite“ Elam and Tom “Tsquared” Taylor swimsuit calendar and got a solid three man spree, opening the door for Cody “ContrA” Szczodrowski.
From there, they did drop a flag and partially lost the fuel rod battle, but they still battled it out to get two caps within a minute to end the first game.
Game Final: ALG 3 – 1 LOL
Match Score: ALG 1 – 0 LOL
Game Two: Slayer – Eden
Allegiance steadily held their lead over LOL for most of the game, but it came down to the final 10 kills when LOL decided to creep back towards the lead.
It took a quick 4-2 run to win this one, as ALG was one game away from taking themselves out of the basement.
Game Final: ALG 50 – 48 LOL
Match Score: ALG 2 – 0 LOL
Game Three: Strongholds – Eden
LOL was able to get solid control to start the game, resetting Blue Bend and going out to a 41-0 run thanks to further total control.
ALG did get back some control, but LOL was able to shut down Allegiance’s attempt to try and sweep their way out of the cellar.
Game Final: LOL 100 – 13 ALG
Match Score: ALG 2 – 1 LOL
Game Four: CTF – Fathom
LOL got the first cap after the two teams struggled in the opening minutes, and followed it up with another one to further ice their lead.
Allegiance was unable to get back in the game, and just like that, ALG was forced into yet another game five.
Game Final: LOL 2 – 0 ALG
Match Score: LOL 2 – 2 ALG
Game Five: Slayer – The Rig
LOL got solid sniper control and started picking off ALG one by one, slowly but surely gaining a strong kill lead and picking up the reverse sweep.
Kevin “Eco” Smith pretty much turned things around for his team, performing as the top killer for games three and four, and having himself a ball with the sniper in game five. He had a triple kill with the sniper, and finished the game with a team leading 17 kills.
It’s a story written too many times this season: Allegiance loses a game five, and remains at the bottom of the table.
Game Final: LOL 50 – 27
Match Final: LOL 3 – 2 ALG
Match Two: Enigma6 vs. Luminosity Gaming
Game One: CTF – Coliseum
A few pulls and a standoff started this series between the current fourth and fifth seeds, with Luminosity getting the first cap by way of a Visal “eL TowN” Mohanan return.
Ryan “Shooter” Sondhi was able to equalize, and both teams took caps to make it a golden goal game.
Luminosity then organized a relay race with the last flag, sealing up game one for LG, despite getting outslayed.
Game Final: LG 3 – 2 E6
Match Score: LG 1 – 0 E6
Game Two: Slayer – Coliseum
A tightly contested early game spilled into the halfway point, where Luminosity pulled away with great map and power weapon control.
Ayden “Suspector” Hill was able to pull things back thanks to a killing spree with the help of his sniper. He would match a game high 15 kills, but it was too little, too late for Enigma6.
Game Final: LG 50 – 43 E6
Match Score: LG 2 – 0 E6
Game Three: Strongholds – Plaza
E6 started with a poor man’s set-up, but they were able to hold it and rotate well to get a 29-1 run going.
Enigma6 was then able to contain Luminosity enough to hold their lead, gain a crucial triple cap, and force an ugly spawn for LG to get some domination in game three.
Game Final: E6 100 – 8 LG
Match Score: LG 2 – 1 E6
Game Four: CTF – Fathom
With Dan “Danoxide” Terlizzi getting a ridiculous killing spree with the help of a railgun, Luminosity was able to capitalize on momentum to get the first cap of the game.
Brett “Naded” Leonard came up later with a solid stealth cap, but Enigma6 was able to get two clutch caps to breathe some life into this fourth game…
And Suspector got the counter-cap to force the second straight game five of the night.
Game Final: E6 3 – 2 LG
Match Score: E6 2 – 2 LG
Game Five: Slayer – Truth
LG took an early 10-7 lead, and was able to keep it steady to not give up a second straight reverse sweep during the first day of week six.
Game Final: LG 50 – 38 E6
Match Final: LG 3 – 2 E6
Match Three: Evil Geniuses vs. Team EnVyUs
Game One: CTF – Truth
Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher went coast-to-coast in 28 seconds, showing that he doesn’t belong in the relegation zone as one of his former teammates put it, and giving EG to a shocking 1-0 lead.
nV answered back quickly, and while EG got the lead back, the boys in blue were able to get two straight caps to make it business as usual in game one.
Game Final: nV 3 – 2 EG
Match Score: nV 1 – 0 EG
Game Two: Slayer – Coliseum
nV doesn’t like to give up an early lead, especially with Eric “Snip3down“ Wrona playing lights out with a six kill spree and Cuyler “Huke” Garland leading the way overall with a 17-6-5 clip.
With consistent sniper and rocket control, nV was able ride out a short comeback attempt from the Geniuses into game three.
Game Final: nV 50 – 43 EG
Match Score: nV 2 – 0 EG
Game Three: Strongholds – Plaza
Evil Geniuses took home a win on this exact game type against nV back in week two. After jumping out to a 44-0 lead, EG secured a solid victory despite a potential 99th point comeback.
Game Final: EG 100 – 63
Match Score: nV 2 – 1 EG
Game Four: Coliseum – CTF
nV was able to bounce back quick after dropping game three, taking the first cap three minutes in and getting the second with game two hero Huke bringing it home.
EG was able to get a return in nV’s base and had StelluR getting the counter-cap… And Tyler “Ninja” Blevins took in the equalizer.
The comeback effort was all for naught though, as nV threw in the final cap and we finally didn’t have a game five tonight. This does mark the fourth straight 3-2 CTF game of the night, which is not surprising given the talent level of these teams and the matchups.
Game Final: nV 3 – 2 EG
Match Final: nV 3 – 1 EG
Match Four: OpTic Gaming vs. Team Liquid
Game One: CTF – Truth
Team Liquid took away the first cap, with Zane “Penguin” Hearon honoring one of the greatest basketball players of all time with his new gamertag “Penguin Scalabrine.”
Anyways, OG got a cap back after a short standoff, and the teams once again traded flags to make it a one flag game.
But then, the Halo White Mamba got the final cap with authority, clutching it like the great Brian Scalabrine, and taking home game one.
Game Final: TL 3 – 2 OG
Match Score: TL 1 – 0 OG
Game Two: Slayer – Regret
A tight slayer match saw lead change after lead change, but OpTic was able to win on their best game type to tie the match up at one all, even with TL breathing down their necks.
Game Final: OG 50 – 48 TL
Match Score: OG 1 – 1 TL
Game Three: Strongholds – Eden
Team Liquid gained the early lead, but OG was stingy enough to rotate around to bounce back and take the lead at the 60 point mark.
From there, they held the lead with several total control points and ran away with game three, as Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante hit 22 kills in a short game.
Game Final: OG 100 – 65 TL
Match Score: OG 2 – 1 TL
Game Four: CTF – Fathom
Team Liquid proved that they were down, but not out by getting a capture early in the fourth game and having Penguin go on a railgun tear.
In similar fashion to game one, OG got the equalizer back. After another long standoff and no other captures, though, we headed into overtime. And somehow, even with four dead for Team Liquid, OpTic couldn’t close it out, which meant we had a full game reset.
With no rain delay in sight for this bout of extra innings, OpTic took cap number one with a simultaneous return and flag grab.
Another cap inside of five mintues looked to ice the match for OG, and the final cap from Royal2 made it a 3-0 shutout on the reset.
Game Final: OG 1 – 1 TL; OG 3 – 0 TL
Match Final: OG 3 – 1 TL
And that will do it for day one of week six. What was the better five game series: LG against E6, or ALG and LOL? Or, were either of the two four games series better to watch? Or, are you reading this recap because you watched the Cubs vs. Indians World Series game seven?
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.
