This weekend was the Halo World Championship Qualifier in Las Vegas. With six HWC spots up for grabs and $50,000 on the line, this was a major event for every top team, yearning to earn a spot at Worlds. Here are the results.
First: OpTic Gaming / $20,000
OpTic absolutely dominated the winners bracket, sweeping Splyce in round eight and Str8 in the semifinals. OpTic entered their winners finals match against Liquid with nothing but complete confidence that they would win; and they delivered a 4-2 victory. The Green Wall faced Liquid once again in the grand finals, but OpTic defeated them 4-1 to win the Las Vegas championship.
Second: Team Liquid / $10,000
This was an extremely surprising performance from Liquid at this event. With a bit of uncertainty from those outside of the team on how well they would do, Liquid upset several teams, including Pnda in round eight and Team EnVyUs in the semifinals, but they were sent down to the losers bracket by OpTic. Despite their loss, TL defeated Team EnVyUs once again in the losers finals 4-2 win, sending them to the grand finals against OpTic. However, OpTic defeated them once again 4-1, ending their run with a second place finish.
Third: Team EnVyUs / $6,000
Making a strong run in the losers bracket, EnVyUs was determined to not go down without a fight. Defeating LG 4-3 in quarterfinals, the boys in blue were confident in their semifinals match against Pnda, in which they won relatively swiftly 4-1. However, in their loser finals match against Team Liquid, they fell short, losing 4-2 to end their tournament run with a disappointing third place finish. Everyone on that club strongly believes that they could have played much better, but all they can do now is focus on Worlds.
Fourth: Pnda Gaming / $4,000
With so much on the line, Pnda came to this event with a strong desire to prove all the haters wrong. A lot of tension that goes beyond the game itself has been impacting the emotions of some of their players, making their goal of qualifying for Worlds a necessity. Pnda played very well in the quarterfinals match against Str8 with a 4-2 win, and gained a lot of momentum heading into their semifinals match against EnVyUs. Unfortunately for Pnda, they fell short, losing 4-1, despite their relentlessness throughout the entire series. Obviously, Pnda has a lot to improve on heading into Worlds, but qualifying has certainly taken a great weight off of their shoulders.
Fifth: Str8 Rippin / $3,000
After defeating LG 4-2, Str8 got knocked down into the losers bracket by OpTic, followed up with a 4-2 loss against Pnda in the losers quarterfinals. This was not the way Str8 wanted to go out, but they will take their qualification for Worlds and reevaluate their performance at this event to see what they can improve on.
Sixth: Luminosity Gaming / $3,000
Despite their online struggles, LG came into this event hoping to show up when it truly mattered most. Getting knocked down into the losers bracket by Str8, they defeated Splyce 401 in losers round three, but fell against EnVyUs in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss. LG certainly feels that their tournament life could have lasted a bit longer, but their ability to qualify for Worlds can certainly be perceived as a testament that this club is capable of doing great things in the future.
Seventh: Allegiance / $2,000
This was not the placing Allegiance wanted in the slightest. Making a strong run in the early stages of the losers bracket, ALG hoped that the early wins would help them power through their round three match against Pnda. Unfortunately for them, ALG lost 4-2, ending their tournament run with a seventh place finish, as they now have to compete in the Last Chance Qualifier to earn a spot at Worlds.
Eighth: Splyce / $2,000
Being one of the top teams predicted to clinch a Worlds spot, Splyce disappointed with their eighth place finish. After getting swept by OG in round eight, Splyce was sent down to the losers bracket, in which they won their first match against EG 4-1, but lost to LG in round three 4-1. Hopefully, Splyce can step up their game in the Last Chance Qualifier.
What did you think about HWC Las Vegas?
Zachery Chevere can be contacted on Twitter @EsportsZach and emailed at zachchevere@gmail.com
