NAME: Renegades
REGION: North America
WEBSITE: renegades.gg
TWITTER:  renegades
FACEBOOK: TeamRNG
TEAM MEMBERS: 

• Spartan (Team Captain)
  Real Name: Tyler Ganza
• Ninja
  Real Name: Richard Tyler Blevins
• Stellur
  Real Name: Braedon Boettcher
• Victory X
  Real Name: Cameron Thorlakson
• Coach: Symbolic
  Real Name: Kory Arruda

The Los Angeles-based Renegades squad has had a strong inagural year, finishing fourth at the X Games and qualifying for the Halo World Championship with a top eight finish at the Halo World Championship Tour: Columbus. Their team captain Spartan answered some questions for us as the team prepares for the games.

ESL: What is your team's strongest/weakest map?
Spartan: Our team's strongest map would have to be Plaza. It really suits our chaotic playstyle and we seem to have just a genuine knowledge of what we want to do, and what we want to accomplish at all times. Whether we are in control of the map, or if we are getting overrun, it seem as if we know what to do when it comes to playing around that map. Our team's weakest map would have to be Eden. It's not that we hate the map, but it seems as if sometimes we play TOO chaotic and aren't able to pull ourselves together when the enemy has control. We are still trying to figure out how to make our playstyle work for that map specifically.

ESL: In your opinion, what is the best Spartan ability and what’s the best way to use it?
Spartan: In my opinion it would definitely be the Thruster Pack. It is hands down the most useful Spartan Ability in terms of dodging shots, avoiding death, and maneuvering around the map to it's fullest potential.

ESL: What was the greatest obstacle your team had to overcome in order to qualify for worlds?
Spartan: Well it was honestly the amount of team changes that I / the team had to undergo. I had teamed with about 5 or 6 different rosters before FINALLY getting this roster together. Me and Kory (Our Coach) are actually the only two remaining "Leftovers." We definitely didn't have enough practice for X Games which showed. After we got some practice we made several and vast improvements which showed at Regionals. Not that we did amazing, but we showed the potential that we have as a team and if we continue to improve, we can definitely make a bang at the Halo World Championship.

ESL: What part of your game does your team have to improve on most in order to win?
Spartan: Our communication is inconsistent. Some nights it will be great, and some nights it will not be. If it is on point, it shows. It if is not, it shows. Other small things such as power weapon control can definitely be improved on. If we can improve on that, we would definitely be able to close out more games than we do.

ESL: Which team are you most excited to play? Least excited to play?
Spartan: We are definitely MOST excited to play Liquid IF the opportunity is given to us. We showed what we could do against them at X Games. When we played them at Regionals the games were very close and could have gone either way. I wouldn't necessarily say that we aren't excited to play ANY team. However, if there is a team that we could play LATER in the tournament rather than SOONER, it would have to be CLG. They are continuously showing what a dominant team they are. Kind of like the EG of H2A. Anybody can lose on a given day, however in order to beat CLG our team would have to be on fire and playing at the top of our game.

The Halo World Championship will happen live in Hollywood, California on March 18-20 where 16 teams from around the world will compete for the title of Halo World Champion and a share of the $2,500,000 prize pool. Follow us for more #HaloWC news on Facebook and Twitter as we get closer to what promises to be the biggest Halo event the world has ever seen!