Preview: Counter Logic Gaming vs Team Allegiance at the Halo World Championship 2016 Finals

With two days and thirty matches of the Halo World Championship 2016 in the books, only two teams remain. Neither squad made it here without facing adversity, but after all was said and done, Team Allegiance and Counter Logic Gaming overcame all challengers and now await one final battle to be crowned the Halo World Champions. Here's how they made it to the Finals.

Epsilon eSport’s tournament run ended at the hands of eLevate Wildcats, but not before making history as the first European team to break into the Top 8. eLevate had been hot all weekend and they proved to be too much for Epsilon, taking them down 3-0. However, eLevate’s success was short lived as they faced Team Allegiance in the next round and lost by a score of 4-2.

Some would say that the second quarterfinal matchup between Renegades and Team Allegiance was the best of the weekend so far. Renegades got out to a 2-0 series lead and was in the driver’s seat for a go-ahead win in Game 3, Capture The Flag on Coliseum. They jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead in the game, and was one flag away from advancing to the semifinals and ending Allegiance’s tournament hopes. But Naded had other plans and Allegiance went on a rampage to cap three flags in a row, then completed the reverse sweep against Renegades. Team Allegiance moved ahead to play eLevate Wildcats in the semifinals, a stage which has proven to be a weak point for Naded in the past. Allegiance was able to improve from their mistakes and beat eLevate in order to punch their ticket to the Finals.

Counter Logic Gaming and Evil Geniuses were pitted against each other in the HaloWC quarterfinals, giving spectators an earlier than anticipated rematch between the two rival squads. Much to the dismay of EG fans, CLG made quick work of EG and swept them 3-0. This marked the second time in a row that CLG stopped Evil Geniuses from making it to the Finals.

Denial eSports faced the hot-handed Team Liquid in the first round of bracket play and much like Team Allegiance and Renegades, this was a back and forth series that went to Game 5. The final game of the series, Plaza Slayer, was just as close as the rest of the series and Denial emerged victorious, 50-46. Denial advanced to face Counter Logic Gaming in what ended out being another close series, but like the rematch of the HaloWC: Columbus Finals, CLG contined their dominance of the global scene by beating Denial 4-2 and securing their ticket to the Finals.

THE MILLION DOLLAR MATCH

Winning the Halo World Championship means more than lifting a trophy, and getting a championship ring. On top of winning the largest prize pool in console esports, the winning team will have their names recorded in the history books and their legacy cemented for years to come. This is the first time that Team Allegiance has made their way to the Finals at a live event this season, and the world wants to know if this will be the event where Naded finally records his first major tournament win. They have hit their stride in the latter half of this tournament, and will have to be at their best to in order to beat CLG and win the million dollar first place prize. But on the other side of the stage, Lethul wants to prove to the world that the move to Counter Logic Gaming was the right one. Even though they swept Evil Geniuses, CLG will not be satisfied until they win it all.

Allegiance and CLG are the only two teams left standing, and they will meet today in the Halo World Championship 2016 Finals for a Best of 7 series. Tune in to Twitch.tv/Halo or the XLEI app on Xbox One, and follow along on Twitter and Facebook for a first-hand look as everything plays out. Two teams are left, and with both fortune and glory to claim, the series should be nothing short of electrifying.

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