Give me your top storylines to watch heading into the HaloWC Finals!

[GrimBrother One]

Hey everyone, I'm busy putting together our official event preview for the HaloWC 2018 Finals and I'd love to get the Beyond community involved.

 

Here's what I'm looking for: reply to this thread with your thoughts on what storylines you are most excited to watch for heading into the event. For example, how deep of a run can an international team make? Can Splyce pull off a trifecta against the CLG/OpTic/TOX/TBD/ETC squad to keep the defending champs from completing one of their own? What players will be most exciting to watch? Will Renegades be well-practiced? Will Reciprocity continue to climb? How much does Ninja pay for rent? Okay not that one, but you get the idea. 

 

We'll be pulling several selects to include in our official preview blog due out next week, and I'll be specifically highlighting that these thoughts come from this community. Just something we've been wanting to do to get more folks feeling involved in the process and highlight awesome grassroots community outlets like this one in cool and positive ways. 

 

So, what say you?

[Wonderboy]

Did Walshy ever stop staring at that camera?

[GrimBrother One]

No, he's actually still there burning an eternal hole into a non-existent camera with his enrapturing steely gaze. 

[Bad Dub]

Can an EU team break top 6 and can Tox win it 3 times in a row are the two biggest things that Im looking out for.

[Silos]

I really like the NV/Reciprocity storyline. Pistola, a veteran in Halo who teamed with Snipedown, Mikwen, and Huke previously has parted ways and is now with three younger players.

Mikwen and Snipedown have also been around the scene for a long time, they split off from nV to join a new organization and play with Penguin and Spartan. Mikwen and Ola used to be a solid duo, they failed to qualify for worlds 2016 but managed to climb through the ranks and at their peak they took an event from Tox. Now the duo has split and Mikwen/Snipedown is the new duo.

While we don't know exact details of what happened, they both ended up on top four teams, but most people would agree they secure 3/4. How will that look coming into this event as they obviously want to outplace each other, but obviously they're looking at being in the grand finals. Ola, Mikwen, and Snipedown placed second together last year, how will the split and new rise of Splyce effect them this year.

Edit: I forgot that Spartan didn't make it last year. Trying to prove himself at worlds this year is interesting. As well as two of Penguin's old teammates, who all placed third last year, are now on the number one team. So you know he's aiming to take them down.

All of this while also on a new organization! I swear you could do a ton around Team Rec alone... Maybe I'm just biased for my favorite team though, go Rec.

[Infinity]

I love this thread idea, especially considering the scope of storylines we've seen throughout all of Halo 5. We've got some smart Halo historians on here so I hope everyone tosses in their thoughts because there are probably so many stories that have been lost to time.

 

For this World Championship, my eyes are set on Ryanoob. The man is one of the most intelligent Halo players, especially in terms of objective gameplay and game knowledge. In 2016, he got gipped out of a Worlds spot when Winterfox fell apart right before the final deadline for rosters. He's missed out on both World Championships so far and I'm so excited to see how much damage he can do now that he's finally on the big stage.

 

In terms of worldwide competition, I always cheer for the EU guys and other regions, and I really expected Infuse to do well, but Pool C is just brutal. For this year's storyline, Infused has that previous Top 6 placing for EU bragging rights, but they are going to have to fight to death against Mystro/Oxygen/Rec. With rumors of bad team chemistry/turmoil, I'm fearful for the international presence at Halo 5's final championship.

[Silos]

I love this thread idea, especially considering the scope of storylines we've seen throughout all of Halo 5. We've got some smart Halo historians on here so I hope everyone tosses in their thoughts because there are probably so many stories that have been lost to time.

 

For this World Championship, my eyes are set on Ryanoob. The man is one of the most intelligent Halo players, especially in terms of objective gameplay and game knowledge. In 2016, he got gipped out of a Worlds spot when Winterfox fell apart right before the final deadline for rosters. He's missed out on both World Championships so far and I'm so excited to see how much damage he can do now that he's finally on the big stage.

 

In terms of worldwide competition, I always cheer for the EU guys and other regions, and I really expected Infuse to do well, but Pool C is just brutal. For this year's storyline, Infused has that previous Top 6 placing for EU bragging rights, but they are going to have to fight to death against Mystro/Oxygen/Rec. With rumors of bad team chemistry/turmoil, I'm fearful for the international presence at Halo 5's final championship.

Good idea for Ryanoob, I'm glad to see him make worlds, incredibly underrated player.

[Sandman]

Definitely TOX attempting to go for their 3rd Halo World Championship win after losing to splyce at the past two events.

 

Even splyce winning is huge with such young guns on the team. The story of shotzzy is honestly incredible to me. Being not able to compete because of his age to winning 3 events with a strong chance of winning a world championship.

 

I think a lot of eyes are on Infused to see if they can make it out of groups. It’s going to be very tough but with them scrimming NA teams I hope we can see them thrive like we did in Denver to secure top 6 or higher.

 

I really want to see Reciprocity make some noise as well as Renegades. They’ve had some close scrims against top NA teams.

 

I personally just hope to see some upsets and close matches.

[TheSituJAKEtion]

Renegades - this is a fan favorite team given the veterans on the team. Also Lunchbox's first season without Roy. He hasn't been able to succeed in Halo outside of the first few months and EG disappointed its fans for the majority of Halo 5 over and over. However, this team has a different energy than all of the EG lineups, they do well in scrims and at tournaments look like the clear 5th best team. It's kind of an elephant in the room, but we all know Lunchbox is going to retire very soon if not right after Worlds. Whether he performs well here will determine whether he keeps playing and for how long. With how incredible Neptune is, all it takes is some consistency from the rest of the team for RNG to break into the top 4 and cap off Lunchbox's legendary career the way it deserves. Roy never got that opportunity unfortunately and it would be awesome to see his brother do it.

[Apoll0]

Can Tox 3-peat?

Will Splyce's lack of 4v4 practice come back to bite them or have they found a better practice regimen?

Will the EU bootcamping in NA allow them to play faster, or will it just serve to get NA teams used to their playstyle?

How does @@LethuL feel about losing the ESPNesports64 bracket this year to Ninja after coming in as a 1 seed?

 

 

 

[Brevity II]

I would love to see some time dedicated to Demon D and Gilky. Two old timers who have re-dedicated themselves to the grind trying to show they can still hang with the new breed. Honestly I would love to see a full video package of their journey from their time in H3 where Demon D was a national champion through Reach and H4 where the scene died down quite a bit and their re-emergence as high level players making waves once again.

[ChieftaiNZ]

ANZ SURPRISE BABBBBYYYYYY

[TiberiusAudley]

The biggest storyline:

Can Royal 2, Snakebite, Lethul, and Frosty 3-peat Worlds under their 3rd team name since forming?

• Conflict with the Plot: They've only won one LAN (Denver) since the last World Championship, finishing 2nd at 4 others (Daytona, Atlanta, Orlando, and Columbus)
• Conflict #2: SPLYCE 2 GUD

 

The Veterans:

The "Old Guard" of Halo have slowly fallen out of the top in Halo. (Someone can double check my list, but...) Pistola, Snipedown, Snakebite, Lunchbox, Ace, APG, Ryanoob, D3M0N D, and Gilkey are the only players who had top 8 finishes in Halo 3 who are competing at this World Championship.

 

 

 

 

I'll have to look for more later.

[TiberiusAudley]

The ANZ Storyline:

• Junior and Seduce split from Benno and Voltage this year after back-to-back Worlds appearances representing ANZ, and both pairs made it back to Worlds.  Which duo comes out ahead on the international stage?  Does either pair end up better off than when they were together, or was the sum of the parts better?

LATAM:

• The return of Atzo and Drift.  Last year, Psychotic Gaming ran into VISA issues and their star player (Tapping Buttons) was unable to attend, replaced by NA-resident MuNoZ.  This year, they're back with two new teammates who have not seen the Worlds stage yet.  Will Atzo and Drift be hungry to do better this year?

EU Returners:

• Third Worlds Appearance: TuFoxy, Ramirez, Jimbo, Lunny.
• Second Worlds Appearance (First was 2016): Snipedrone, Riotz, Kimbo, Snakey
• Second Worlds Appearance (First was 2017): Mose, Respectful, Qristola, SLG, Fragxr

EU First Timers:

• Batchford, Phlux, Quad

Other Storylines:

1. This is Ace and APG's third consecutive Worlds appearance as a duo.  This is their first year without Richie Heinz, but they've picked up a player who has historically been very similar in Lunchbox.  This is the third straight year their team has been rounded out by an up-and-coming rookie talent.
2. Bubu Dubu has been to Worlds with 9 different teammates.  Three ENTIRELY different rosters in three years.  Each of Bubu Dubu's appearances at Worlds has featured the year's top rising star: Huke, Shotzzy, and now Saiyan.  Rayne is close behind with 8, with the only repeat teammate being his former duo Penguin.  eL ToWn also has this achievement, this year repeating with his 2016 Worlds teammate, Suspector.

[Knighty Knight]

For this World Championship, my eyes are set on Ryanoob. The man is one of the most intelligent Halo players, especially in terms of objective gameplay and game knowledge. In 2016, he got gipped out of a Worlds spot when Winterfox fell apart right before the final deadline for rosters. He's missed out on both World Championships so far and I'm so excited to see how much damage he can do now that he's finally on the big stage.

[Rumpojec]

I think there's some good storylines possible with Wise Gaming and Oxygen Supremacy. Both teams have been underdogs the entire way, and both of them carry a bunch of Halo 3 vets that are still pushing the top 8 in Halo 5.

Also, the EU bootcamping angle is going to be exciting to see going into Worlds.

[Y3wish]

On the topic of Tox's potential 3-peat, Splyce is also looking for their third straight tournament win (Orlando, Columbus and now Seattle). If they face off in the finals, it will be a battle for the 3-peat.   

[HeadHunterZero]

I’m wondering who will be the next player that serves as a personality for the game. We had walshy and t2 back in the day and obviously Ninja more recently.

 

Seems like maybe shotzy or saiyan??? Would be nice to get to see more of their personalities.

[HeadHunterZero]

This is a little odd, but I’d like to know more about the orgs too. Splyce is a relatively new org with a lot of other games/players in esports, but I know nothing about most of the orgs outside of Halo. I also think stuff like that might attract more orgs in the future

[schrizzity]

Can you do any spotlights on the EU guys with them coming to town early?

 

Or have a look into what they are doing this week to prepare?

[schrizzity]

I'd also like to know more about the players. Who has part-time or full-time jobs along with Halo? Who is going to college and for what?

[GrimBrother One]

I've pulled selects from a few of the posts here, and edited for brevity and flow to include in our Preview due out in the next couple days. I've also put the names of the specific users with their respective posts; really appreciate folks chiming in here and helping be part of things!