The 12 best Halo teams in the world met up in southern California over the weekend for the premier tournament of the year: Halo World Championships. Defending champions OpTic Gaming were the squad to beat with teams like EnVyUs and Team Liquid also presenting challenges along the way.
In the end, the men of OpTic Gaming prevailed with a dominant win over Team EnVyUs in the Grand Final, making good on a promise made when they joined the organization unexpectedly after OpTic released its old Halo team in 2016. The World Champions are taking home $500,000 from the 1 million dollar prize pool. This is the second World Championship win for the team of Snakebite, Royal2, Frosty, and Lethul. The team won their first in 2016 as under the Counter Logic Gaming organization.
Highlights
Huke is still a monster when it comes to FPS titles and it showed during the match against Str8 Rippin in the Loser’s Bracket on Sunday:
?? @HukeFPS#HaloWCpic.twitter.com/mVjjk1rON8
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
Team EnVyUs take down Team Liquid in the Loser’s Bracket final to make to the Grand Finals
8 kills in a row from @TeamEnVyUs! #HaloWCpic.twitter.com/nojMLBEQ31
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
OpTic Gaming versus Team EnVyUs: the eClasico is back!
What an INSANE comeback from @OpTicGaming!! #HaloWCpic.twitter.com/XjEsmOalEu
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
OpTic Gaming win with a clean sweep over Team EnVyUs-
AND THAT’S IT!! @OpTicGaming are 2017 HALO WORLD CHAMPIONS! #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/v3o5Xcubhc
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
Final Placements
| Place | Prize (USD) | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $ 500,000 | OpTic Gaming |
| 2nd | $ 200,000 | Team EnVyUs |
| 3rd | $ 100,000 | Team Liquid |
| 4th | $ 50,000 | Str8 Rippin |
| 5th/6th | $ 35,000 | Splyce |
| Luminosity Gaming | ||
| 7th/8th | $ 20,000 | FAB Games eSports |
| TMNT Crowd Pleasers |
Aftermath
Did you watch the Halo World Championships? Send feedback about the event or the stream to the Team Beyond forums.
One of the few negative storylines surrounding the event was the surprisingly small venue and the reactions from the wider esports community.
OpTic Gaming owner Hector Rodriguez took to YouTube to share his feedback about the million dollar tournament and why he expressed his concerns about the venue publicly on Twitter on Saturday.
“It’s completely mind blowing to me that 343 and Halo would allow this to get to this point. …they would allow them to not have their champs be the jewel of the season.”
Rodriguez also stated that by holding the world championships in a studio with just three rows of seating and an overflow tent outside where spectators could watch the action on tvs, 343 and tournament runners ESL were underestimating their audience.
He says, “They didn’t give their community the chance to show up to support their team.”
What do you think? Is Hecz right? Is MLG the tournament runner that could save Halo next year? Comment below with your thoughts on the venue drama and the tournament in general.
