Week 1 of the Halo Championship Series: Pro League Fall 2017 Season has come to a close, marking the end of an incredible first week of Halo esports. The newcomers of Naventic looked to prove themselves in the Pro League arena while OpTic sought to avenge their Summer Finals loss against Splyce. Each team came to their matches with the intention of demonstrating the improvements they made in the off-season. At the end of the week, OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs were the only teams that emerged undefeated.
DAY 1
The first day of the season started off with Ronin Esports up against the Summer Champions, Splyce. Fans were eagers to see if Splyce could maintain their momentum from the previous season, especially since Ronin had been playing so well after their addition of eL Town. Ronin looked to start a reverse sweep after winning Game 3 on CTF Fathom, but ultimately fell to the Summer 2017 Champions.
What a close ending!https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/SQBpANizPJ
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 23, 2017
The next three matches of the day ended with three hard fought sweeps. Evil Geniuses took a 3-0 series win against Naventic, the Dark Horse challenger who rose up from the Open Circuit to enter the Pro League. OpTic Gaming continued the trend by taking three wins in a row against Luminosity Gaming. In the final match of the day, Team EnVyUs demonstrated the improvements they made in the off-season by finishing the day with a fantastic 3-0 win against Team Liquid.
Oh no!!! https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/yXcJVmn52C
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 24, 2017
It's all @TeamEnVyUs in Game 2! nV now up 2-0 in the series.https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/Lg9Cmqhzog
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 24, 2017
DAY 2
Liquid were slated to face off against Ronin for the first match of the day. Both teams were looking to come back after their Day 1 losses, but Liquid came out on top with a final score of 3-1 to take the series and earn their first win of the season.
In one of the most anticipated match-ups of the season, Splyce took on OpTic in their first Pro League match since DreamHack Atlanta. Both teams had secured Day 1 wins and were looking to prove their dominance early on this season. Despite some major opposition from Splyce, OpTic managed to win their second match of the season with another sweep.
@LxthuL #HCS pic.twitter.com/Su98xS6sCD
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
What! @Shotzzy https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/86PddATS4l
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
Coming off their Day 1 loss to EG, Naventic wanted to take their first win of the season in their matchup against EnVy. However, EnVy were aiming to continue their win streak. After three games, EnVy won the series over Naventic to secure their second sweep of the season.
GGs! @TeamEnVyUs wins the series 3-0 vs. @Naventic. #HCS pic.twitter.com/hKRp8V6NP9
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
Evil Geniuses v. Luminosity Gaming
The Day 2 series between EG and LG was arguably the most epic match of the week. Both teams had been playing at such a high level in their previous matchups, and there was no telling who would come out on top.
EG came out strong in Game 1 on Coliseum CTF, with Tapping Buttons initiating objective plays. LG responded by tying the series at 2-2, and eventually took the game into overtime. Within the first minutes of OT, EG capped their final flag to take the first win of the series.
Tapping Buttons was still on fire during Plaza Slayer, starting Game 2 off with a Triple Kill. Throughout the game, LG continued to match EG’s aggression and slaying power. Rayne was deadly with the Sniper Rifle in Game 2, and briefly secured a lead for LG. With two minutes left, the score was tied 48-48 when EG made one final push to secure two Melee kills to win Game 2.
Big plays from @Jjosbe! #HCS pic.twitter.com/2AtPLwYXR0
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
WOW! @EvilGeniuses with another HUGE comeback!https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/ZHL1R1CObG
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
After two close games, LG were ready to make a comeback in Game 3. LG were aggressive on Rig Strongholds, making smart use of the Power Weapons and making strong offensive plays to stretch their lead to a solid 100-41 win. In Game 4, LG looked poised to take the reverse sweep, and after a 3-0 win on Truth CTF in under 3 minutes, it looked like LG was ready to make their comeback.
And @Luminosity is not out yet! They win Game 3.https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/ZU064CEmVQ
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
Um, wow! That was fast: GAME 5 incoming! @EvilGeniuses vs. @Luminosity: https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS pic.twitter.com/qTuOT8P8jf
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
The series was decided in Game 5 on Eden Slayer. Both teams wanted the final win, EG to continue their win streak and LG to get their first win of the season. LG took the lead to start the game, but EG managed to close the gap. As the clock ticked down to the last minutes, neither team was able to gain more than a two-kill lead over the other. EG were able to take a slim lead, but were unable to hold on after some vicious offense from TriPPPey. The game went into OT, where the score continued to remain tied as the kill count slowly climbed for each side. EG had control of both Sniper Rifles, but after a heated minute of OT, Saiyan was able to take the last kill and win the series for LG.
Game 5 goes to overtime!@Luminosity wins the series 3-2 vs. @EvilGeniuses. #HCS pic.twitter.com/iu0yUXxVDI
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) August 25, 2017
Here are the standings after the Week 1 matches in the #HCS Pro League Fall 2017 season!
Tune in next week on 8/30-8/31 for more action! pic.twitter.com/wwHKBvmPMc
— Halo Esports #HCS (@HCS) August 25, 2017
TUNE IN
Next week, who will remain undefeated when Evil Geniuses faces off against OpTic Gaming? Will Naventic be able to secure their first win against Ronin Esports? You can watch Week 2 of the NA HCS Pro League Fall 2017 broadcasts on the Halo Twitch channel and ESL Halo Facebook page on August 30! Be sure to follow the ESL Halo Twitter and Facebook for updates as we continue the #HCS Pro League Fall 2017 Season.
