OpTic Gaming stormed to the highest of the Halo charts this weekend to win the $1 million HCS World Championship. It was a monumental second for the organisation, and it got here simply weeks after the staff received large on the HCS Orlando Main. This has been a comparatively neck-and-neck season between the likes of OpTic, Sentinels, and Cloud9, however the staff in inexperienced managed to grab the last word prize in Halo esports.
Following a outstanding season, the proficient OpTic staff secured first place on the HCS World Championship in a near-flawless style. The staff dropped only one map in complete all through each the Pool Play and Championship phases – proper up till they got here head-to-head with Cloud9. In a tense Grand Remaining that featured a basic best-of-seven bracket reset, OpTic went 1 – 4 within the first section, earlier than bringing it again with an unbelievable kind that secured a 4 – 0 consequence within the second section.
OpTic Gaming Are Your HCS World Champions

Picture Credit score: OpTic Gaming
When the mud had settled across the Seattle Conference Middle, OpTic Gaming discovered themselves $400,000 higher off. It was a improbable consequence for OpTic, however the runners-up didn’t fare too badly. In second place, Cloud9 secured a $220,000 prize, and in third, Native Gaming Crimson picked up $110,000. It was a tricky season all-round, and for a lot of, Cloud9 gave the impression to be the favorite, significantly when it got here to Halo esports betting.
By the top of the HCS World Championship, OpTic Gaming had pulled collectively a mind-blowing report, refusing to drop some extent all through the occasion. It was solely within the Grand Remaining in opposition to Cloud9 that OpTic dropped maps, and even then, a reverse sweep ensured victory was shut at hand. For the OpTic squad of Lucid, TriPPPeY, FormaL, and aPG, success appeared virtually written in stone as the ultimate phases approached.
It was the second large win for OpTic Gaming this yr, as simply weeks in the past, the squad picked up the highest prize on the HCS Orlando Main. For the gamers themselves, some huge milestones had been achieved. As an example, Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper is now formally a member of a really unique membership, being a world champion in two completely different esports titles – Halo and Name of Responsibility.
With That, The Season Ends
It has been an fascinating yr for Halo esports. For some time, it appeared as if the scene was doomed, significantly when varied lower-tier organisations dropped out of the HCS. There was additionally the problem that arose in regards to the common recognition of Halo Infinite. By the top of the season, neither of those points proved to be an excessive amount of of a long-lasting concern, because the World Championship occasion performed out fairly positively with a excessive viewership rely.
Now, we glance to the HCS 2023 season, which already has one thing of a roadmap in place:

Picture Credit score: HCS
As we transfer into 2023, we’ll see the Kickoff Main happen in Charlotte, NC between the twenty fourth and the twenty sixth of February. Earlier than that, there are two tournaments being hosted by the organisations themselves, the primary being the OpTic Halo Invitational, attributable to start on the ninth of December. Then, in January, we’ll see Spacestation host an occasion, the Spartan Showdown.
There’s loads in retailer for the HCS within the subsequent few months, let’s simply hope that the platform is ready to stay secure within the low season forward.