Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper was recently left devasted after a second-place finish at the Halo World Championship. The FPS esports legend was spitting distance from the grand prize yet again, as OpTic Gaming fell short against Spacestation in Seattle just days ago. It marked a year of second-place finishes, and while the prize money has remained substantial, lifting the trophies has been out of reach for Piper.
Weeks ago, the superstar competitor referenced a return to Call of Duty when Black Ops 6 arrives. His closest teammates and friends have stressed that nobody has a clue what he’s doing, but FormaL himself just revealed that a return might not be on the cards after all.
Run it Back
FormaL retired from Call of Duty esports in 2021, opting instead to fly the OpTic Gaming banner in the Halo scene, and by all accounts, he did very well for himself. Not too long after bursting back onto the Halo scene, FormaL secured a world championship title, becoming one of just two esports pro players to have earned a ring in two different games.
In the last few months, we’ve seen indications that he’s itching to make a return, but in his recent stream, the 29-year-old esports pro revealed that it might be too late to make a comeback:
I don’t want to retire and then regret retiring. It’s a tough spot to be in. The COD thing is kind of chalked because I didn’t join a roster when I had a chance. That ship has kind of sailed for now, until people start getting shit on in the League. That would be the next opening.
I would have had to make that decision and joined a team and signed a contract before this Worlds even happened.
He was then asked if he even could have managed a spot in the CDL:
Probably, but did I want to, probably not. It’s a pretty taxing experience as opposed to Halo, that’s what I’ve been used to for years. Like in Halo, you scrim like once a day at 5pm, it’s chill.
Here’s the full clip, courtesy of SpawnUp:
FormaL is a blessed competitor and any team would be lucky to have him, regardless of the game they’re playing. It’s clear in the video that Piper is feeling a little dejected since losing at Halo Worlds, and perhaps the optimism for the future isn’t there, but one thing is clear: he doesn’t want to completely retire just yet.
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