The Halo Championship Series’ Salt Lake City Major is here and the best teams in the world are fighting for the lion’s share of a $250,000 prize pool. It’s the final Major before the Halo World Championship takes place in Seattle, and some of the biggest names in gaming have taken to the stage.
As the Pool Play round unravels, the likes of Spacestation and Complexity are skyrocketing up the charts, closely followed by Shopify Rebellion and FaZe Clan. It’s the usual suspects, of course – but OpTic Gaming, ITB, and Pure aren’t far behind.
Underdog Spirit
Surprisingly, it isn’t just the big players that are aiming for the top spot in Salt Lake City. There’s an underdog force in the form of Alpha Esports, a South American squad with nothing but the most minor wins under its belt. The squad came up through the Open Bracket, which consisted of 64 teams whittled down to just four.
In Pool A, Alpha Esports has already beaten Ascending Baseline and Sentinels, losing only against a dominant Spacestation side. That’s enough to give the team qualification to the next stage.
This short-form tournament wraps up tomorrow, but there’s enough action being packed into that tight schedule to keep Halo fans the world over entertained.
At this point, the top eight teams remaining in the competition will land qualification for the Halo World Championship, and the top team will net 100,000 HCS points and the $100,000 grand prize.
In July, Spacestation claimed the win at the Atlanta Major, beating OpTic Gaming in a tense grand final, and before that, FaZe hit the top spot in London, again beating OpTic in the grand final. In March, Spacestation secured yet another trophy, beating… You guessed it – OpTic Gaming in the grand final.
OpTic Gaming hasn’t secured a win in the HCS since last September, so this event marks a year since the team picked up a victory. In October, it’ll be a year since FaZe Clan won the Halo World Championship, leaving OpTic Gaming in… Second place.
Will OpTic Gaming finally lift a trophy in Salt Lake City?
Will Alpha Esports defy the odds and produce a win?
Or will Spacestation continue a dominant spree and win for the third time this season?
Stay tuned to Insider Gaming for all the latest.
For more Insider Gaming Esports, check out the news about the FNCS Global Championship in Fort Worth
