The last time Counter Logic Gaming were on the stage at a Halo Championship Series LAN event, they were surrounded by confetti as they took home first place at the Halo World Championships. Over the weekend, CLG joined Enigma 6, Team EnVyUs, and Cloud9 live in Los Angeles as the top four teams in North America fought for the title of Halo Championship Series: Pro League Summer Season Champions. CLG were heavily favored to win the event, while the other three teams looked to dethrone the reigning champs.
SUMMER SEASON FINALS
Freshly signed Cloud9 started off their weekend with the daunting task of playing CLG. They took the first two games off of CLG and were poised to continue their momentum to a victory, but CLG would not go down easily and regained their composure. It was then that CLG rattled off four straight wins to take the first series of the weekend 4-2 and send C9 to the losers bracket.
Cloud9 met Enigma 6 in the first round of the losers bracket and both teams had their tournament lives on the line. The impressive E6 roster overpowered C9 to move on to the next round of the losers bracket, while C9 concluded their HCS Pro League Summer Season run in fourth place.
What a series!! @Enigma6group eliminates @Cloud9 4-2! #HCS #kcon16LAhttps://t.co/7drnSmNLYE pic.twitter.com/w4ZHDkpQ5b
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) July 31, 2016
Team EnVyUs played their first series of the weekend against E6, who were favored to win the series, but Team EnVyUs had no intentions of simply rolling over. nV upset the higher-seeded E6 4-2, and advanced to the winners bracket finals for a meeting with none other than CLG. The momentum from the E6 series was not enough, and nV were handily swept 4-0 by the reigning champions on their way to the losers bracket.
In the losers bracket, nV met Enigma 6 once again and looked to repeat their previous success. To the dismay of nV, this meeting was far less favorable. nV and E6 traded blows throughout the series and it all came down to Game 7. Both teams were on the verge of elimination and needed the win in order to advance and play CLG in the grand finals. Enigma 6 took an early lead in Game 7 and never looked back, earning a big win to send Team EnVyUs packing.
Game 7 goes to @Enigma6Group! They're headed to the Grand Finals! #HCS #kcon16LAhttps://t.co/7drnSmNLYE pic.twitter.com/FHIL2RGVRD
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) July 31, 2016
GRAND FINALS
The last time E6 and CLG met, Enigma 6 were able to do something no team had been able to do since the X Games in Aspen - defeat CLG. In Week 4 of the HCS Pro League, Enigma 6 jumped out to a series lead that led to a 3-1 win. With the Summer Season championship title on the line, the rematch between these two rosters was set to be a close battle, but the world champions made sure that it wasn’t.
CLG took not only Game 1, but Game 2, 3, and 4. They dominated every step of the series and showed that they were still by and large the best team that North America has to offer. The sweep earned CLG their second consecutive major LAN win, and the title of Summer Season Champions.
Ladies and Gentlemen, @CLGaming are your #HCS Summer Finals Champions! pic.twitter.com/RFdlsX7lM9
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 1, 2016
Congratulations to North American HCS Pro League Summer Season Champions Counter Logic Gaming!
With the Summer Season coming to a close, the Fall Season is right around the corner. Stay tuned to the ESL Halo Facebook and Twitter for all the latest #HCS news. Thanks for spending your summer with us, and see you in the fall!
