Counter Logic Gaming emerged as the last team standing this weekend at the Halo World Championship 2016. For the latter half of the season, TJ “Lethul” Campbell was the subject of much criticism for his roster swap from Evil Geniuses to their rivals, CLG. We spoke with Lethul about his controversial season after CLG’s historic win.
ESL: Lethul, you just won the Halo World Championships! How are you feeling?
Lethul: I feel pretty amazing right now. It’s just kind of surreal, really. It is just starting to sink in right now, since it doesn’t usually sink in while in the moment for me when I win. I’m soaking it all in. I’m really proud of my team and that they are doing this well. I have no regrets.
ESL: Let’s talk about that for a bit. In changing teams from Evil Geniuses to CLG you single-handedly started rostermania. What was the season like for you leading up to today?
Lethul: The process of changing teams was pretty crazy. I got the offer pretty close to the roster lock period and after thinking about it for a long time I decided to do it. I knew it was going to cause somewhat of a mess, but I knew it was going to give me the best chance to win and I’m glad that I did it.
ESL: What was it like playing Allegiance? They dominated the online qualifiers and feature Naded who has been playing since 2005!
Lethul: Naded has gotten so close to winning so many times. I was actually on a team with him that finished in second and his story is just pretty crazy. To come so close so many times is incredible. Allegiance has gone under the radar for a lot of people I think because they have done really well, but they do not get as much respect as some of the other teams from the region. We had not played them at a live event so we didn’t know what to expect, but it was great for them to get second with the stakes so high.
ESL: Your team was struggling in Slayer game types all weekend. After an impressive 3-0 win in Game 1 of the series, Coliseum Capture The Flag, you slaughtered them by winning The Rig Slayer 50-22. What made that such a strong performance for your team?
Lethul: As far as Slayer game types go, The Rig is actually one of our stronger maps, so I was pretty happy about that. I knew that if we were able to win that one, we had a great chance of winning the series. I didn’t think it would be quite like that, but we went over our plan for Slayers the night before and I think it paid off.
ESL: You mentioned that you did not think the Slayer game would end that way. What were your expectations for the entire series?
Lethul: We have done really well playing Allegiance online this season. We beat them in the fifth online qualifier, our scrims against them usually went pretty well, but I didn’t really know what to expect. They play very uniquely and I knew we could not take them lightly. Especially after their wild reverse sweep against Renegades.
ESL: Here at the Halo World Championship 2016 we announced a partnership with 343 to continue the Halo Pro League in the future. How do you feel about that?
Lethul: I’m really excited about that, actually! I think that to have a structured, consistent league for people to watch—for everyone to know and follow—will give a big boost to Halo because we don’t have that structure right now. We have live and online tournaments, but nothing consistent for other people to watch. I follow other games that have a similar format and really enjoy it, so I look forward to it.
ESL: You guys just won a World Championship! What’s next for CLG?
Lethul: What’s next for us? We are probably getting right back to practice. I feel comfortable speaking for the rest of my team. We do not really do much besides game. Personally, I’m looking forward to celebrating my win in Hollywood.
ESL: You deserve it! Do you have any shoutouts or parting words before we go?
Lethul: Shoutout to CLG, the teammates and the organization, and the fans. The CLG reddit has been incredibly supportive of us and they have been amazing. I also want to thank my mom, who played a large role in my move to CLG, and all of the people who watched and competed this weekend. Lastly, thank you so much to ESL, 343, Xbox, Microsoft, and everyone involved in making this happen. I hope to see you guys again soon!
It has been a long time coming and now Counter Logic Gaming will get to celebrate their win in Hollywood, California. Thank you to everyone who followed along all season and and keep your eyes on both Facebook and Twitter for upcoming details about the Halo Pro League!
