In the first international event since the Halo Championship Series (HCS) Kickoff Major in Raleigh, NC, top Halo teams from around the globe came together this past weekend to compete for their share of a $350k prize pool. Last December’s Raleigh Major was dominated by North American teams and this event proved to be much of the same throughout both pool and bracket play with enough tight series to keep things interesting.
Cloud9 had come into the event as favorites winning both the previously mentioned Raleigh Major and the NA Regional Major in Anaheim back in February, as well as dominating the competition in online qualifiers. The boys in sky blue didn’t enter the event unscathed though; dropping two series to OpTic Gaming just a couple weeks ago in FaZe Clan’s Halo Infinite Invitational. Heading into the event most HCS fans were expecting a rematch between the two powerhouse teams, but Sentinels had other plans in mind.
After a short stint on the ban list, Royal2 returned with a vengeance in Sentinels first International event as a full squad, eager to prove that he and his teammates belonged at the top of the HCS standings. While Sentinels had close calls against Quadrant and OpTic in their run through the bracket (both 3-2 wins), they seemed to have Cloud9’s number all event long. Sentinels sent the defending champs to the lower bracket with a 3-1 win over them in the semifinals before finishing them off in stellar, yet unexpected fashion with a 4-0 sweep in the Grand Finals.
Hometown heroes Pioneers also had a nice run, finishing in the top 6 and earning their share of the prize pool, along with the other Top 8 finishers. Alongside their new forerunner-esque trophy, Sentinels took home the lion’s share of the pool, netting them $140k in winnings for the event. Next up: Split 2 of the Pro Series kicks off on May 29th.
Image from: HCS
