The time leading up to Week 2 of the North American Halo Championship Series: Pro League was marked by questions of whether or not OpTic Gaming would bounce back from their early season loss and the murky waters of roster complications. Enigma 6 was fined, LOL is still using substitutes, and Luminosity entered the week undefeated. Here’s what happened in Week 2 of the North American HCS Pro League.
DAY 1
Team Allegiance vs. LOL
Team Allegiance entered Week 2 of the Fall Season with a deceiving 0-2 record. Deceiving because their two losses came in heartbreaking Game 5’s that could have gone either way. Both matches last week came down to The Rig Slayer for ALG and both were losses (50-42 vs. EG, 45-44 vs. Luminosity). Team Allegiance needed a win on their record and came away with a 3-1 victory against the struggling LOL squad. Allegiance dominated on Empire Strongholds and won 100-34. Regret Slayer was a much closer contest that ended 50-45, but still went in favor of Team Allegiance. ALG gave up another Capture The Flag game, this time on Stasis, to bring the score to 2-1. LOL were not able to capitalize on the momentum shift, and ALG took the series with a Game 4 win on The Rig Strongholds 100-24.
LOL can't build on the momentum, and @TeamAllegiance win the series 3-1! #HCS pic.twitter.com/Q4kNJWnt6s
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 22, 2016
Evil Geniuses vs. Team EnVyUs
The Match of the Week came early this week as nV and EG faced off in the second match of the night. EG were on top of the world after upsetting OpTic Gaming, while nV were sent back to the drawing board after being swept by Team Liquid in their first series of the season. nV lost another map in Game 1, Plaza Strongholds 100-55 but quickly bounced back to tie up the series with a win on Plaza Slayer 50-41. Game 3, Coliseum Capture The Flag went down to the wire. With less than a minute left and the score tied at 2-2, Pistola was able to put in the last flag cap with Victory X in his face to take the lead 2-1. Team EnVyUs rode that momentum to take the series 3-1.
Game over! @TeamEnVyUs take Game 4 and defeat @EvilGeniuses! #HCS https://t.co/opjIeMTZTq pic.twitter.com/l6H79voxul
— HCS (@HCS) September 22, 2016
Luminosity vs. Enigma 6 Group
Luminosity stepped into their series against E6 as the only undefeated team in the HCS Pro League, but did not exit with the same status. After last week’s controversy, E6 were determined to prove their skill. Luminosity jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning Empire Strongholds 100-52, but a 15-9 stat line from Suspector in Game 2, Coliseum Slayer led to a 50-37 victory for E6 to tie the series 1-1. The dominance of Coliseum continued for E6 in Game 3, Coliseum Capture The Flag. A 3-0 win rolled into Game 4, Plaza Strongholds where E6 dominated and took the series with a 100-57 win.
The last of the undefeated falls! @Enigma6Group wins 3-1 and hands @luminosity their first loss of the season! #HCS pic.twitter.com/SPwOUCmXLp
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 22, 2016
OpTic Gaming vs. Team Liquid
It was not until Week 4 of the Summer Season that the lineup of Snakebite, Royal 2, Frosty, and Lethul took a loss to their record. This season the championship roster, now playing for OpTic Gaming, went down in Week 1. Their Week 2 series against Team Liquid was no walk in the park. OpTic came out strong in Game 1, Eden Strongholds, and netted a 100-19 victory. Game 2 went down to the wire as both teams clashed on Regret Slayer. Team Liquid were able to secure the final Overshield and after a tense moment they snagged the last kill to win 50-49.
WHAT A FINISH! @TeamLiquidPro win a nailbiter 50-49 to tie the series 1-1! #HCS pic.twitter.com/VwwpzUTErq
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 22, 2016
After a back and forth, the series was tied 2-2, but OpTic emerged victorious, winning Game 5 50-42.
DAY 2
Luminosity vs. Team EnVyUs
Team EnVyUs relinquished the first cap in Game 1, Coliseum Capture The Flag, but that was all the slack they would give. nV rattled off three captures in a row to take the game 3-1 and the series lead 1-0. Supreme map control in Game 2 Truth Slayer led to another victory, this time 50-37. Game 3, Empire Strongholds, was the final nail in the coffin as nV completed their 3-0 sweep over Luminosity.
Take out your brooms, ladies and gents. It's a sweep! @TeamEnVyUs with the swift 3-0! #HCS pic.twitter.com/pEhf9jfAPi
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 23, 2016
Team Liquid vs. Team Allegiance
Falcated secured Game 1 Coliseum Capture the Flag with 22 kills for Team Allegiance. They quickly won Eden Slayer 50-36 to gain a 2-0 lead. Liquid then took The Rig Strongholds 100-66 to stay in the series, but Game 4 Truth Capture The Flag was over in the blink of an eye as Team Liquid ferociously put together three flag caps in a little over three minutes to force a Game 5. In one of the closest games of the day, Team Liquid defeated Allegiance 50-49 to complete their reverse sweep.
ANOTHER WILD FINISH! @TeamLiquidpro win 50-49 to nail the reverse sweep! #HCS pic.twitter.com/oU8P9ynyEN
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 23, 2016
OpTic Gaming vs. LOL
LOL has struggled since the beginning of the season and this series was no different. They started off with a loss on Truth Capture The Flag that had flashes of promise but ultimately ended in a 3-1 loss. Game 2, The Rig Slayer, was another map that went in favor of the Green Wall by a final score of 50-40. OpTic took Game 3 Empire Strongholds 100-40 and swept LOL 3-0.
Swept! @OpTicGaming sweeps LOL! #HCS pic.twitter.com/GxTLyEFeCb
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 23, 2016
Enigma 6 Group vs Evil Geniuses
Game 1, Fathom Capture The Flag, was all EG in the beginning. They amassed a 2-0 lead, but then watched it slip away as E6 put together three quick flag caps to win 3-2. Game 2 went back and forth before E6 ran away with a 50-38 victory, setting the stage for another sweep. Evil Geniuses had no intentions of going down without a fight and won Plaza Strongholds 100-61 to extend the series. Game 4, Coliseum Capture The Flag was tied 2-2 before EG scored and pushed the series to a Game 5 that will likely go down as one of the most exciting games in Halo 5. EG and E6 went toe to toe until the very end, but it was Evil Geniuses who won the series.
The game-winning no scope! @Ninja_TB hits the shot to win the game and the series for @EvilGeniuses! #HCS pic.twitter.com/AlO2uTptpo
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) September 23, 2016
COMING UP
The Standings at the top of #HCS NA Pro League, @TeamEnVyUs barely ahead of @OpTicGaming for 1st, @EvilGeniuses in 3rd, all at 3-1 records. pic.twitter.com/V3yBuEIwNS
— HCS Live Tweets (@Halo_ESWLive) September 23, 2016
Above are the standings after two weeks of the HCS Pro League Fall 2016 Season. The competition heats up again on Wednesday at 4:30PM PT and you can watch it all on Twitch. Want more HCS news and updates? Follow along on both Twitter and Facebook.
