The former OpTic Gaming roster is back on top of the world of competitive Halo. TOX Gaming beat Splyce in an intense grand finals yesterday to capture the HCS London 2018 championship.
Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom, Tony “LethuL” Campbell Jr., Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte, and Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante had lost four-straight grand finals to Splyce over the past year. But yesterday, they flipped the script on the defending champs.
"It's been a long, long road… 🛣"
— Gfinity (@Gfinity) September 17, 2018
ALL THE GG's to @TOXGamingGG (@LxthuL @FrostyBB @SnakeBiteFPS @Royal2 @Chris_Royal1) for showing heart, grit & determination to get their hands on that @HCS London trophy 🏆#HCSLondon #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/RENjqIlSK4
TOX entered the grand finals with the winners bracket advantage. Splyce—Jonathan “Renegade” Willette, Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, Kevin “Eco” Smith, and Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher—were upset by Team Reciprocity in the winners bracket semifinals. But they went on a losers bracket run, defeating Elevate, Renegades, and Reciprocity to reach the grand finals.
The last time these two teams squared off in a grand final at HCS New Orleans 2018 in July, Splyce held the winners bracket advantage. TOX dominated the first best-of-seven before Splyce went on to take the second series and the championship. At HCS London, though, the exact opposite happened.
Related: Splyce defeat TOX Gaming to win their fourth-straight Halo title at HCS New Orleans 2018
Splyce carried their momentum from the losers bracket and swept TOX in the opening best-of-seven. TOX immediately responded, however, by sweeping Splyce in the second series to defeat the defending champions.
Not only did TOX dash Splyce’s hopes of a five-peat, but this also marks the first time that the former OpTic Gaming roster has won an event since DreamHack Denver in October 2017.
Here are the final placings for HCS London 2018.
| Placing | Team | Prize money |
| First | TOX Gaming | $60,000 |
| Second | Splyce | $30,000 |
| Third | Team Reciprocity | $20,000 |
| Fourth | Renegades | $10,000 |
| Fifth-sixth | Elevate | $5,000 |
| Fifth-sixth | Excelerate Gaming | $5,000 |
| Seventh-eighth | Trifecta | $2,500 |
| Seventh-eighth | Berserker Esports | $2,500 |
