Taking a look at this weeks action in the Halo Championship Series: Pro League we seen the teams finally settle down into the positions in which they will likely end the season. After two action packed days the league seems to be divided with a slim chance of any one below the half way mark, cracking the top 4 in week 7. Likewise Optic Gaming and Team Liquid have guaranteed themselves places in the relegation play off. So how did this all come about?
Day 1 proved to be a big one for mid table teams Renegades and Team Allegiance. Both teams began the day on level points sitting equally in the coveted 4th spot so both teams had everything to play for. Renegades looked to find their form with a barnstorming 3-0 win over Evil Geniuses bringing EGs own slim chances of the 4th spot to an end. Allegiance certainly had the harder game and despite an inspired performance they lost 3-2 against Team Envyus. On the same day both CLG and E6 took home 3-1 wins over Team Liquid and Optic Gaming respectively, and given these teams current form, nothing else was to be expected.
Day 2 saw Team Allegiance losing their second game of the week 3-1 against what seems to be an unstoppable E6. Renegades on the other hand pulled off a clutch win 3-2 against Envyus putting themselves firmly in 4th place ahead of Allegiance and also moving E6 into 2nd as Envyus dropped down to 3rd. Evil Geniuses pulled off a 3-0 win over the ever disappointing Team Liquid which guaranteed themselves safety from the relegation zone in week 7. CLG reminded everyone why they are sitting on top with the utter inhalation of Optic Gaming, taking the series 3-0 in a record 16.5 minutes, which is half the time of a regular match. During the first game (Eden, Strongholds) we saw our first goose of the Pro League as APG failed to register a single kill with team mates Str8 Sick and Maniac managing only 1 a peace. Fortunately for Optic Gaming, Ace managed an impressive 2 kills as the game ended 100-0 in only 3 minutes 20 seconds without OG managing a single capture and Counter Logic Gaming registering 30 kills to Optic Gaming’s 4.
Now what does all this mean? Well it is now likely that the league will finish more or less how it stands. The exceptions to this would be if Allegiance can pick up two 3-1 wins or better while Renegades suffer two 3-0 defeats then the teams will switch positions, putting Allegiance in 4th. I wouldn’t count on this however as TA would need to overcome CLG while Renegades have a match up with Team Liquid. The other position that may change is second place, as Enigma6 have two big games against 4th place Renegades and 3rd place Envyus. I think its likely that E6 will overcome renegades on day 1 while Envyus inevitably defeat Team Liquid. Setting up for the match of the week as Enigma 6 and Team Envyus battle it out for 2nd place.
When week 7 comes to a close what will happen? The top 4 teams will go into the season finals where they will compete in a knockout competition for a share of $225,000 USD and each of them gain automatic entry into the HCS: Pro League Fall season. The teams that finish in 5th and 6th place will also gain automatic entry into the HCS: Pro League Fall season, dates of which are yet to be announced. The bottom two teams which we know will be Optic Gaming and Team Liquid will go into a 4 team Knockout competition along with the two highest seeds from the ESL Open Circuit, which look likely to be Denial eSports and Team eLevate. Two teams that are no strangers to Pro Halo, however their places are not guaranteed with the Open Circuit Finals yet to take place. The two best teams from this tournament will be given entry into the Fall season. The Pro League season finals and the promotion event will take place on July 30th and 31st. Could this be the last we see of Team Liquid or Optic Gaming?
July is a big month for Pro Halo so be sure to keep up to date, as always all the information you could need is over at Halo.gg and don’t miss out on the epic conclusion to the HCS: Pro League on July 14th and 15th @ 5pm (PT).
Happy Gaming
RSS