HCS New Orleans 2018 $250,000 Halo Tournament – Final Placements

The first open event following the Halo World Championship was set at the Ernest Morial Convention center, as the venue hosted both Halo and Gears of War tournaments for separate $250,000 prize pools.

As the first event of the 2018-19 season, 12 teams automatically qualified for pool play based on their World Championship placing combined with performances in recent online events.

There was also an open bracket which saw a number of amateur teams try their luck at advancing into pool play to get the new season off to a bright start.

Of course, coming off a dominant win at the World Championship Splyce were the heavy favorites, while TOX (formerly OpTic), Reciprocity and Renegades were also expected to finish in the top four.

It was the first event since the disbanding of Team Envy and roster changes on Reciprocity, so was their opportunity to prove the changes had paid off.

Former Reciprocity player Tyler “Spartan” Ganza looked to impress with his new Elevate lineup, while fomer nV players TriPPPeY and Pistola had moved over to Reciprocity.

Reciprocity just missed out on the top four, as the shock of the tournament came from open bracket team ‘Trifecta’, who secured the fourth spot after a run of upsets.

And it was to be a repeat of the World Championship Grand Final match up, as both TOX and Splyce continued to vie for the top spot in Halo.

TOX forced a second best of seven in the final with a big 4-0 sweep in the first, but Splyce showed composure beyond their years to secure another successive championship with a 4-2 series win.

MLG | HCS New Orleans 2018 Final Placements