Over the weekend, eight teams fought for the final spot in the Halo Championship Series: Pro League Summer 2017 season. Each team put forth their best effort to make it to the end, but in the final hours of the Last Chance Qualifier, only four teams remained: Oxygen Supremacy, Brownies, ABCDE, and Splyce.
The LCQ was marked with clutch plays, intense sweeps, the rise of surprising underdogs like ABC, who were underestimated by many but battled their way to the winners bracket. Oxygen Supremacy were another underdog roster until their performance at HCS Daytona, where they rose up from the Open Qualifiers to defeat Luminosity Gaming and Str8 Rippin. In the winners bracket, Splyce were a favorite of many to win the LCQ, especially after earning fourth place at HCS Daytona, but they would have to remain vigilant to stay on top of the competition.
With so much talent fighting for a place in the NA HCS Pro League this season, the LCQ was full of amazing Halo competition. To get a picture of how this epic day unfolded, let’s take a look at the final few matches.
Splyce v. ABCDE - Winners Bracket Finals
Splyce started off the Bo5 series with a 100-51 win on Eden Strongholds, where Renegade finished the game with 22 kills after making some exceptional plays. ABC managed to even the score in Game 2 on Rig Slayer by capitalizing on any mistakes Splyce made and were able to edge them out in the end to win by two kills.
Clutch plays from @Renegade_JW! #HCS https://t.co/YZkyPH8kG7
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 20, 2017
In Game 3 on Coliseum CTF, we saw an intense battle as both teams sought to take a lead in the series. In the last two minutes of game, Kaotic capped the second flag for ABC to tie the game as Splyce was frantically trying to pull their third. ABC managed to keep Splyce from taking a third flag cap to take Game 3 into overtime, but within 10 seconds of OT, bubu dubu scored the win for Splyce to bring the series to 2-1.
And now, @Splyce has a 2-1 series lead vs. ABCDE! https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS https://t.co/uMoRw7G1oG
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 20, 2017
Game 4 was on Plaza Strongholds where ABC took a solid lead at the start of the game. Splyce managed to keep it close for the first few minutes of Game 4 before ABC unleashed a ruthless campaign on Splyce to win the game 100-33 and take the series into a Game 5. In the final game of the series on Regret Slayer, where Splyce responded to their previous loss by maintaining a commanding lead throughout the game to win by 12 kills and take the series.
That's it! @Splyce advances to the #HCS NA LCQ Grand Finals! https://t.co/moehSumOqI
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 20, 2017
Oxygen Supremacy v. Brownies - Losers Bracket Finals Round 1
In Game 1 on Empire Strongholds, OS took an immediate lead all the way to the end to defeat Brownies 100-29 to start the series. Brownies responded by taking a solid lead in the first few minutes of Game 2 on Truth Slayer. They maintained the pressure for the entire game, and despite an impressive last minute push from OS, Brownies won Game 2 50-43 with eL ToWn taking the final kill
CTF on Coliseum heated up quickly as both teams upped the intensity for Game 3. Everything came down to the final minutes when both teams had pulled their flags and were looking to take the final cap to take the series lead. Despite Brownies’ impressive map control throughout the entire game, OS landed the final flag cap to bring the series to 2-1.
Clutch plays leads to @OxygenSupremacy winning CTF!https://t.co/9sFCrBPzkX #HCS https://t.co/z3JuVLQh5D
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 20, 2017
OS was looking to end the series in Game 4 on Eden Strongholds by taking a commanding lead. Brownies managed to narrow the gap early on and keep it close for the first few minutes of the game, but OS responded with a series of aggressive plays that won them the game 100-43 and win the series.
OS would go on to defeat ABC to take on Splyce in the Grand Finals Match.
Splyce v. Oxygen Supremacy - Grand Finals Match
Splyce began the Bo7 series by taking Game 1 on Fathom CTF and out-slaying OS by over 20 kills. OS responded by taking a 10-kill lead at the start of Game 2 on Rig Slayer. Splyce managed to narrow the gap and keep it close, but OS overcame them to win by four kills and tie the series. OS maintained their momentum in Game 3 on Plaza Strongholds as they took a 40 point lead in the second half and eventually won by 53 points to take the series 2-1.
Well played, @Nemassist! #HCS https://t.co/KIU1y8HsR1
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 21, 2017
Game 4 on Coliseum CTF was close as both teams kept the score 2-2 until OS found three of their team members dead. ContrA tried to run the third flag, but ultimately Shotzzy was able to cap the last flag for Splyce before him to win the game and tie the series 2-2. Now tied, Splyce wanted to keep the wins coming as they had an aggressive start in Game 5 on Truth Slayer. Despite all of OS playing well, Splyce managed to out-slay OS to win the game with an incredible 50-19.
No-scope! @RyaNoobHCS #HCS https://t.co/H614X9bkzc
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 21, 2017
Splyce had a chance to win it all in Game 6 on Empire Strongholds. They took the lead in the first few minutes of the game and were holding it down despite a resistance from OS. Within the first four minutes, Splyce had already scored 90 points while OS had less than 30. Splyce had control of the Power Weapons and refused to let OS even attempt to close the gap as they killed off OS members nearly as quickly as they spawned. With more than five minutes left on the clock, Splyce scored the final point to win the game 100-36 and earn the final spot in the North American HCS Pro League for the Summer 2017 season.
Congrats @Splyce on securing the final spot in the NA #HCS Pro League!! https://t.co/Zj8S6wGoCY
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) May 21, 2017
TUNE IN
Be sure to follow the ESL Halo Twitter and Facebook for updates as we approach the #HCS Pro League Summer 2017 Season. Be sure to stream the NA HCS Pro League Summer 2017 broadcasts from the Halo Twitch channel and ESL Halo Facebook page starting on May 24!
