Open Circuit teams worked all season to take a spot in the North American Halo Championship Series: Pro League from an underperforming professional squad, and Pro League teams fought to stay out of the Fall 2016 Relegation tournament.
Enigma 6 Group found themselves at the bottom of the HCS Pro League standings at the end of the season and after poor performances in the waning weeks, they were sent to Relegation where they chose to face off against 3sUP Enterprises. Team Allegiance fell victim to close Game 5 losses far too often and were forced to play TMMT in the first round of their do-or-die bracket.
Enigma 6 vs. 3sUP
Enigma 6 chose to play 3sUP in an attempt to redeem themselves after their previous meeting at HCS Las Vegas where 3sUP walked away the victor. Many considered the choice to play the stronger of the two teams a foolish one when a spot in the HCS Pro League was on the line. For the majority of the series, it seemed like their confidence and desire for redemption would cause them to implode.
Renegade led 3sUP to a 1-0 series lead after a win on Truth Capture The Flag and E6 managed to respond with a win on The Rig Slayer. The results of Game 3 left most players in shambles. 3sUP won Empire Strongholds to take a 2-1 series lead, dominating E6 in every facet of the game and winning 100-0. This crushing loss put a fire under E6, and Bubu Dubu put on a sniping clinic, leading E6 to a win on Coliseum Capture The Flag.
Game 5, Eden Slayer, required Overtime to find a winner. Both teams traded blows for 12 minutes and E6 held a slight lead before 3sUP mounted a relentless comeback in the closing moments to tie the game and extend the time. 3sUP rode that advantage and won the game 50-49 to take a 3-2 lead. E6’s risky move made a point as they won the next two games to win the series 4-3. Enigma 6 went on to face the winner of Team Allegiance and TMMT.
Team Allegiance vs. TMMT
Team Allegiance had a far less eventful first round match against TMMT. Team Allegiance won Coliseum Capture The Flag in Overtime and TMMT claimed a win of their own with a clutch play from Tripppey.
Clutch factor for @Tripppey: [ON] OFF https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX pic.twitter.com/HiIhyPp38m
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) December 10, 2016
Team Allegiance rattled off the next three wins to take the series 4-1 and advance to play Enigma 6 in the winners finals.
Team Allegiance vs. Enigma 6
The two Pro League teams clashed with one of two spots up for grabs and Enigma 6 were the first to secure their future. Team Allegiance and Enigma 6 traded wins for the first four games of the series. ALG won Eden Strongholds, and E6 won Eden Slayer. ALG won Fathom Capture The Flag, and E6 responded again with a win on Plaza Strongholds. Team Allegiance were unable to maintain serve on Coliseum Slayer as Cratos went 20-9 on the way to a Game 5 win. E6 closed out the series with a 3-2 win on Truth Capture The Flag to send Team Allegiance to the losers bracket where they played 3sUP with the final spot in the Pro League on the line.
Team Allegiance vs. 3sUP
Team Allegiance jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead with wins on Fathom Capture The Flag and Plaza Slayer. 3sUP saw their chance at the Pro League slipping away and responded with wins on Plaza Strongholds and Coliseum Capture The Flag. With the series tied 2-2, 3sUP were not able to capitalize on the reset. Team Allegiance won the next two games of The Rig Slayer and Empire Strongholds to win the series 4-2 and retain their place in the HCS Pro League next season.
Enigma 6 Group and Team Allegiance will be a part of the 2017 HCS Pro League! Keep up with everything on both Facebook and Twitter as we head into the next year of Halo esports.
