OpTic Gaming stormed to the top of the Halo charts this weekend to win the $1 million HCS World Championship. It was a monumental moment for the organisation, and it came just weeks after the team won big at the HCS Orlando Major. This has been a relatively neck-and-neck season between the likes of OpTic, Sentinels, and Cloud9, but the team in green managed to snatch the ultimate prize in Halo esports.
Following a remarkable season, the talented OpTic team secured first place at the HCS World Championship in a near-flawless fashion. The team dropped just one map in total throughout both the Pool Play and Championship stages – right up until they came head-to-head with Cloud9. In a tense Grand Final that featured a classic best-of-seven bracket reset, OpTic went 1 – 4 in the first phase, before bringing it back with an incredible form that secured a 4 – 0 result in the second phase.
OpTic Gaming Are Your HCS World Champions
Image Credit: OpTic Gaming
When the dust had settled around the Seattle Convention Center, OpTic Gaming found themselves $400,000 better off. It was a fantastic result for OpTic, but the runners-up didn’t fare too badly. In second place, Cloud9 secured a $220,000 prize, and in third, Native Gaming Red picked up $110,000. It was a tough season all-round, and for many, Cloud9 seemed to be the favourite, particularly when it came to Halo esports betting.
By the end of the HCS World Championship, OpTic Gaming had pulled together a mind-blowing record, refusing to drop a point all the way through the event. It was only in the Grand Final against Cloud9 that OpTic dropped maps, and even then, a reverse sweep ensured victory was close at hand. For the OpTic squad of Lucid, TriPPPeY, FormaL, and aPG, success seemed almost written in stone as the final stages approached.
It was the second big win for OpTic Gaming this year, as just weeks ago, the squad picked up the top prize at the HCS Orlando Major. For the players themselves, some massive milestones were achieved. For instance, Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper is now officially a member of a very exclusive club, being a world champion in two different esports titles – Halo and Call of Duty.
With That, The Season Ends
It has been an interesting year for Halo esports. For a while, it seemed as though the scene was doomed, particularly when various lower-tier organisations dropped out of the HCS. There was also the difficulty that arose concerning the general popularity of Halo Infinite. By the end of the season, neither of these issues proved to be too much of a lasting concern, as the World Championship event played out quite positively with a high viewership count.
Now, we look to the HCS 2023 season, which already has something of a roadmap in place:
Image Credit: HCS
As we move into 2023, we’ll see the Kickoff Major take place in Charlotte, NC between the 24th and the 26th of February. Before that, there are two tournaments being hosted by the organisations themselves, the first being the OpTic Halo Invitational, due to commence on the 9th of December. Then, in January, we’ll see Spacestation host an event, the Spartan Showdown.
There’s plenty in store for the HCS in the next few months, let’s just hope that the platform is able to remain stable in the off-season ahead.
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