After Day 1, every team had the night to rest up and prepare for the second day of the fight for global Halo dominance and a share of the $1,000,000 grand prize. There was immense pressure on all 12 teams as the Halo World Championship 2017 Finals moved on from groups into double elimination playoffs. Day 2 of the Halo World Championship continued yesterday’s streak of amazing sweeps and clutch plays as the battle for grand finals began. Let's take a look at the last three series of the day to see which four teams advanced in the Halo World Championship 2017 Finals.
EnVyUs V. Luminosity Gaming
Luminosity Gaming took down Splyce 4-3 in the winners bracket, but later fell to OpTic and ended up in the losers bracket against EnVyUs. EnVy were on an 8-game winning streak before the start to their matchup against LG, and they had no intention of letting LG break that streak in their mission to reach grand finals.
EnVy were thriving today, the whole team maintained clear communication with excellent callouts as they entered the series against LG. EnVy managed to maintain their winning streak, but not for a lack of effort on the part of LG. We saw some solid plays from Ninja and eL ToWn on the LG side, but EnVy were just unstoppable in Game 1 on Plaza Strongholds.
That was close! @TeamEnVyUs is able to hang on to take Game 1 vs. @Luminosity https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/fUOYGBJgBe
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 25, 2017
EnVy took a commanding lead in Game 2 on Rig Slayer and the crowd was screaming Huke’s name throughout the series. The young player had an amazing day today that reached its apex with a legendary kill streak in the second game of the series. Fans were in disbelief as Huke powered forward, landing aggressive shots and staying alive. You could hear screams and chants as Huke unleashed a vicious Killing Frenzy with the Needler in an awesome push before Snip3down finished Game 2 with a well-placed headshot.
It's @HukeFPS with the Needler for the Killing Frenzy vs @Luminosity at the @Halo World Championship in this @elgatogaming #ElgatoRewind. pic.twitter.com/Slh9SdlZTn
— Team EnVyUs (@TeamEnVyUs) March 25, 2017
Everyone on EnVy displayed impressive teamwork as they continued to work the LG roster and keep their winning streak going all the way to grand finals. Mikwen had a deadly performance in CTF for Game 3 and managed to close things out with 20 kills and just 9 deaths. EnVy ended the series with a huge win on Empire Strongholds to extend their streak to 12 games. There is a lot of anticipation to see if EnVy can maintain this momentum throughout Championship Sunday
Splyce vs. Str8 Rippin
Both teams in this matchup have had such a great journey to Worlds, which definitely showed in this series. Splyce had so much to prove after failing to qualify at Las Vegas and eventually earning the last NA spot at Finals after winning the Last Chance Qualifier. Throughout the weekend, we’ve definitely seen that Splyce can perform when they need to. Winning this series against Str8 would be the difference between stepping closer to the grand finals and going home without the title.
Str8 closed out the first day of Worlds with an unbelievable Bo7 series against rival team TMMT Crowd Pleasers that was arguably the highlight of Day 1. The incredible Game 7 win on Regret Slayer was still at the front of everyone’s minds when Str8 took a painful 4-0 loss to Liquid and fell to the losers bracket. Heading into the series against Splyce, Str8 had no plans to go home early after getting this far.
By the time Splyce and Str8 met in the losers bracket, Splyce’s Shotzzy was having a great day for kills, averaging over 16 kills on Slayer. Splyce started off the series strong with two big wins before Str8 came back with a 3-0 win in Game 3 on Truth CTF. Splyce responded to the loss with an aggressive push on Empire Strongholds in Game 4. Coming out of a 40 point deficit, Str8 had to regroup and fight back. Heinz made some clutch plays and racked up 11 assists to tie the series at 2-2.
The comeback from @Str8Rippin!
We've got a tied series, 2-2. #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/jhOAWf6rkz
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 25, 2017
In Game 5, both teams upped the intensity and Renegade was almost unstoppable in the last few minutes on Coliseum Slayer before Bubu Dubu stopped him in his tracks. Despite Splyce’s attempt to suppress Str8’s intensity, Str8 took a huge lead with APG taking the last kill to end the Game 5 at 50-35. Looking for redemption, Bubu Dubu executed some clutch moves and secured 22 kills in Game 6 on Fathom CTF to help Splyce tie the series again and force a Game 7.
It all came down to Game 7 on Eden Slayer, where Splyce took a lead in the end of the game, but it was not enough to stop Str8. After a boost from APG with the Rocket Launcher, Heinz came in clutch in the last 10 seconds of the game to end the series 4-3 in favor of Str8. After eliminating Splyce with this victory, Str8 will move on to face EnVy in Day 3.
What an ending!!! @Str8Rippin wins the series 4-3 vs. @Splyce! #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/RCRI4vEVqA
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
OpTic Gaming vs. Team Liquid
In the winners bracket, we saw a matchup that some may not have predicted before the start of Worlds. Though Liquid had played well throughout the qualifiers, some did not see the months-old roster being able to display the teamwork necessary to hold up against a veteran roster such as OpTic. The Liquid players have never won a tournament together and were the underdogs going into Worlds, especially against the proven OpTic roster. Still, Liquid proved they were one of the best at qualifiers and looked to keep playing well against OpTic.
OpTic were dominant on Plaza Strongholds where Frosty logged 21 kills to help OpTic close out Game 1 with an astonishing 100-35 scoreline. In Game 2 on Rig Slayer, OpTic had great communication with Lethul leading the pack. OpTic eventually secured two Sniper Rifles to start the second half of the game, ultimately picking up a lead and taking it all the way home to take Game 2 against Liquid.
And @OpTicGaming takes Game 1 Stronghold 100-35! #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/1DzKwPUpwz
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
In Game 3 on Truth CTF OpTic landed a flag in the first 50 seconds, but Liquid fought back to show OpTic why the fresh roster is one of the best in the world. In the last few seconds of the game, Rayne landed an insane ground pound to earn Liquid their first win of the series. OpTic responded by more than doubling Liquids points for a 100-44 win on Empire Strongholds to take a 3-1 lead, and then taking another win for Game 4 on Regret Slayer to move onto the Grand Finals.
A flag cap in the first 50 seconds for @OpTicGaming! #HaloWC pic.twitter.com/OvifdNTktO
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) March 26, 2017
OpTic, Liquid, EnVy, and Str8 will all advance to Championship Sunday, but only one team will leave as world champions. Who are you rooting for?
TUNE IN
Day 3 of the Halo World Championship 2017 Finals is just getting started! Tune into the Twitch stream and follow the ESL Halo Twitter and Facebook for more updates on the final day of the #HaloWC.
