After weeks of anticipation, the first two days of the North American Halo Championship Series: Pro League are in the books. A total of eight matches were played across two days and after all was said and done, Counter Logic Gaming, Evil Geniuses, and Renegades stood above the rest, each with a strong 2-0 record.
That'll do it for #HCS Pro League action tonight. Here are the current standings in North America! pic.twitter.com/DTp6kCqDOJ
— HCS (@HCS) June 4, 2016
It was not an easy road for any of these teams, as none of them made it through the weekend without dropping a map. Here are some of the highlights from the weekend:
DAY 1
Team EnVyUs came roaring out of the gates in their first match of the week against Team Allegiance, showing the same strong performance that we saw from them at previous events leading up to the Summer Season. Although all three games were close, nV swept Allegiance with crazy moments like this play from The Wizard himself, Pistola:
The wizard @pistola_nV strikes again! #HCS pic.twitter.com/uDdnku0CPZ
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) June 3, 2016
nV looked strong on Day 1, but their Day 2 series was not as promising and ended in a reverse sweep in favor of Enigma 6. All eyes will be on how they can respond in Week 2 against Renegades and OpTic Gaming.
E6 were named strong candidates to challenge for the top spot in North America, but they struggled during their first appearance in the HCS Pro League. They lost their first series against Renegades, losing Capture The Flag on Fathom 3-0 and Truth Slayer 50-35. Although they took Game 3 of Strongholds on The Rig, Renegades came out on top with a convincing victory.
Returning champions Counter Logic Gaming stepped into their Week 1 matchup against OpTic Gaming. CLG clutched out a quick 2-0 series lead before dropping Strongholds on The Rig to the new OpTic roster. CLG’s performance showed that they really are the best in the world and with Frosty doing things like this, their ranking may not change any time soon:
A killtac from @FrostyBB! pic.twitter.com/wjfCC1VG3o
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) June 3, 2016
Evil Geniuses also faced a bit of adversity in their first matchup of the season against Team Liquid. TL dealt the first blow on Coliseum Capture The Flag, but that was their only win of the series, as EG bounced back and took the next three games to close out the series 3-1.
DAY 2
After a less than stellar first showing in the HCS Pro League, E6 found themselves with their backs against the ropes and down 2-0 against nV. Refusing to go down without a fight, E6 began to claw their way back into the series one game at a time. The match went to Game 5, Slayer on The Rig, and E6 played a clean game to complete the reverse sweep and showed that they are not to be taken lightly.
Won game 5 to complete the reverse sweep vs nV! pic.twitter.com/ByLG59RsGj
— Jesse E6 (@bubudubu) June 4, 2016
CLG continued their strong performance on Day 2 with a clean 3-0 sweep of Team Liquid. Although the series score was heavily lopsided, the games were very close and defeating TL was not a walk in the park.
Ninja and the rest of the Renegades roster stumbled into their series against Team Allegiance, and fought back to take a 2-1 series lead. Ninja played an incredible game of Slayer on The Rig to help Renegades fight their way back into the lead.
WHAT!!!! @Ninja_TB is on FIRE!!! #HCS pic.twitter.com/iqcsVMy2xo
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) June 4, 2016
Team Allegiance then tied the series up 2-2 and everything came down to a Game 5 Slayer on Truth. Renegades absolutely dominated the game, winning 50-18.
Great dominating gaming from @Renegades to take the series! @Ninja_TB 16-4! #HCS pic.twitter.com/0bdCIH0Jel
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) June 4, 2016
The final series of the weekend ended almost as quickly as it started. Evil Geniuses stepped into the ring against OpTic Gaming and swept them with a 3-1 score on Truth Capture The Flag, a 50-40 score on The Rig Slayer, and a 100-44 performance on Eden Strongholds. Superior control across the board ensured that EG ended the weekend 2-0. This certainly helped as well:
Boom! Big BOOM! #HCS pic.twitter.com/w7MvNComCH
— ESL Halo (@ESLHalo) June 4, 2016
The second week of the HCS Pro League begins Thursday, June 9 at 5PM PDT. Be sure to tune into the Halo Twitch channel to catch all the action, and follow along on both Facebook and Twitter!