The Halo World Championship descends upon The Century Link Field Event Center in Seattle, Washington on April 13-15 for what is poised to be the most competitive Halo 5 tournament to date. Sixteen teams from around the world have earned the right to play for a share of $1 million.
We polled seven Halo experts and analysts to rank all 16 teams. The panel consisted of:
Mike "Strongside" Cavanaugh
Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky
Kyle "Elamite" Elam
Dan Gaskin
Mark "Onset" Hatcher
Wes "Clutch" Price
Harry "Lethal" Thomas
Generally speaking, there was little in the way of disagreeing between the analysts. The biggest takeaway is that everyone agreed that the top four teams are head and shoulders above the rest. Fittingly, it was Bravo that put it best:
"Where results will net out within the top 4, though, is up for debate- and that's where things get exciting."
1. Splyce
Roster: Kevin "Eco" Smith, Jonathan "Renegade" Willette, Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro, Brandon "Stellur" Boettcher
Average Rank: 1.2.
Highest Rank: 1
Lowest Rank: 2
"The recent back to back champions of Orlando and Columbus, Splyce have finally been a team which answered the challenge to end the dominance of the former OpTic squad Tox. Four unbelievably skilled players, who show no respect to the caliber of their opponents they are taking on, have taken the game to a new level. The natural chemistry this team possesses is truly incredible to watch, and even with a practice schedule some of their rivals wouldn't dream of adopting, their success speaks for itself." -- Mark "Onset" Hatcher
2. Tox
Roster: Bradley "Frosty" Bergstrom, Tony "Lethul" Campbell Jr, Mathew "Royal 2" Fiorante, Paul "Snakebite" Duarte
Average Rank: 1.7.
Highest Rank: 1
Lowest Rank: 2
"The artists formerly known as OpTic Gaming (and prior to that, Counter Logic Gaming) the reigning back-to-back World Champions, and the four winningest Halo players in terms of prize money by a landslide. But the road to their third world championship has been the hardest yet, as evidenced by finals matchups (and defeats) against Splyce in both Orlando and Columbus. I myself thought that we'd see a much stronger Tox performance after Orlando -- after all, historically, beating the likes of Royal 2, Snakebite, Frosty, and Lethul meant that they would return faster and stronger than ever before at the next event. To my surprise, though, Splyce came out on top again in Columbus. Can Tox get the three-peat? Absolutely, but it'll need to have prepared specifically for Splyce's unique playstyle and chaotic speed." -- Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky
3. Team EnVyUs
Roster: Jesse "bubu dubu" Moeller, Justin "Pistola" Deese, Joseph "TriPPPeY" Taylor, Tommy "Saiyan" Wilson
Average Rank: 3.4.
Highest Rank: 3rd
Lowest Rank: 4
"Let me say up front - the call between Envy and Reciprocity is a really tough one. When looking at Envy, I see a team that has far from shown us what they are fully capable of. On paper, they've got a strong combination of aggressive players who can match up well against any team on the tour, and as I've said on the broadcasts, I feel really good about the chemistry on the team as well. Pistola is a player who plays best when he's surrounded by teammates he really enjoys spending time with -- both in and out of game -- and that's what he's got with this Envy roster. If we see TriPPeY up to his usual tricks with Snipe, aggressive and consistent play from bubu and Saiyan, and Pistola owning the slaying department like days of old, the boys in blue will be set up for a solid performance this weekend." -- Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky
4. Reciprocity
Roster: Austin "Mikwen" McCleary, Zane "Penguin" Hearon, Eric "Snipedown" Wrona, Tyler "Spartan" Ganza
Average Rank: 3.5
Highest Rank: 3
Lowest Rank: 4
"One of the only teams to take games from Splyce at the last event, this team is getting better and better as time passes. Columbus saw Snipedown make some incredible individual plays, supported by the consistency of his teammates. A period of self reflection and focus from these players seems to be working, and with this new drive to perform, they could end up in the grand final and be in with a chance of their first title as a team." -- Mark "Onset" Hatcher
5. Renegades
Roster: Aaron "Ace" Elam, Bradley "APG" Laws, Jason "Lunchbox" Brown, Travis "Neptune" McCloud
Average Rank: 5.5
Highest Rank: 5th
Lowest Rank: 8
"Renegades are a team that could do so much better I feel. I think they'll be a surprise at the tournament and could upset a team in the top 4. However. judging from practice time alone I'm putting them here." -- Dan Gaskin
6. Str8 Rippin
Roster: Troy "DasTroyed" Dusman, Douglas "Musa" Musa, Kyle "Nemassist" Kubina, Abel "Rammyy" Garcia
Average Rank: 6.7
Highest Rank: 5
Lowest Rank: 9
"Str8 Rippin has been hovering around 7th/8th place throughout this year's Halo World Championship. This roster consists of new and determined talent such as Musa, along with Rammyy, Nemassist, and DasTroyed who have been establishing themselves in the scene for quite some time now. This crew doesn't care who they have to play -- they are filled with focus and a confidence that has them gunning for the #1 spot at every event. But we haven't seen them break into the top-6 yet. At the North America Regional Finals, Str8 Rippin took Team EnVyUs (#3 seeded team) all the way to Game 5 in the Elimination bracket, which leaves me to believe Str8 has it in them to make a move at this event. Another reason I really like this roster is because of what Musa said during the Groups draw at the NA Regional Finals: "I hope we get into Splyce's group, I want to be the team to beat them." When I was competing, I always wanted to play against the best to prove I was the best. I love this mentality and look forward to watching Str8 Rippin compete this weekend." -- Mike "Strongside" Cavanaugh
7. Oxygen Supremacy
Roster: Ezekiel "Prototype" Martinez, Cory "Str8 Sick" Sloss, Timothy "Rayne" Tinkler, Ryan "Ryanoob" Geddes
Average Rank: 7
Highest Rank: 6
Lowest Rank: 8
"Oxygen Supremacy turned some heads at the Halo World Championship NA Regional Finals by placing in the top-6. The team has been putting in the practice and have a roster full of raw skill. Str8 Sick and Ryanoob not only qualified for the 4v4 but they also qualified to compete in the Free-For-All as well. I'm looking for this roster to turn some heads again here, but I'm curious if they have got the consistency to place in the top-6 in back-to-back events. OS has been losing majority of their scrimmages against Elevate leading up to this event, which has me to believe it's just slightly behind its opponents." -- Mike "Strongside" Cavanaugh
8. Team Infused
Roster: James "Jimbo" Bradbrook, Robby "Kimbo" Faulk, Luciano "Mose" Calvanico, Brandon "Respectful" Stones
Average Rank: 7.5
Highest Rank: 5
Lowest Rank: 10th
"The best that Europe has to offer in the past decade, I see Infused showing up at this years World Championship and upsetting some top NA teams." -- Kyle "Elamite" Elam
"Infused is coming into the HWC the #1 seeded European team. I know Jimbo and the rest of the squad have been preparing relentlessly for this event. The matchup with against Oxygen Supremacy will be the deciding factor on getting into the top 8. It will be a good series, but I see Oxygen Supremacy taking the series and knocking Infused out of the bracket." -- Wes "Clutch" Price
9. Elevate
Roster: Uriah "Arctic" Legorreta, Visal "eL ToWn" Mohanan, Sabur "Sabinater" Hakimi, Ayden "Suspector" Hill
Average Rank: 8.2
Highest Rank: 7
Lowest Rank: 9
"It was a tough decision for me to place Elevate in the top-12 considering its placements at the last two events. As I mentioned before, it's the kind of team where with momentum in their favor can grab a top spot. That said, Wise, Vexed and Fable are definitely a step behind all the teams inside the top-8. There's a couple of teams beneath Elevate which could really cause an upset and maybe even pull them down to top-16." -- Harry "Lethal" Thomas
10. Wise Gaming
Roster: Hazma "Commonly" Abbaali, Daniel "D3M0N D" Yakovleff, Chris "Gilkey" Gilkey, Dillon "Nebula" Myslinski
Average Rank: 10.2
Highest Rank: 10
Lowest Rank: 11
"Wise has some veteran talent on the roster coming into the 2018 HWC. Demon D has worked hard on getting back to the player he was in Halo 3. Finding itself in group B, Wise has an uphill climb if they want to make it out of pool play having to create upsets against two of the three teams in Mindfreak, Renegades, and ToX. If the team comes out gunning I can see it being interesting, but the talent in group B seems to be overwhelming." -- Wes" Clutch" Price
11. Vexed Gaming
Roster: Casey "Lunny" Lunn, Kieran "Quad" Rose, Max "Riotz" Cottle, Michael "Snipedrone" Juchau
Average Rank: 11.4
Highest Rank: 10
Lowest Rank: 13
"Vexed Gaming comes into the HWC hot off an impressive second place finish at Gfinity London. In fact, the only team against which they really faced any adversity was Team Infused, and Infused truly seemed outclassed when against Vexed. Even with an impressive performance at Gfinity London, playing against the caliber of the best in the world will likely be a different story." -- Doug Cortez
12. Mindfreak
Roster: Ali "BZIIRK" Deran, Ryan "Junior" Dunkley, Madison "Madsy" Stone, Daniel "Seduce" Franken
Average Rank: 12
Highest Rank: 9
Lowest Rank: 14
"This team really impressed me at the HWC Australia event. Junior and Seduce showed that they have the skill to compete with the world's best. Unfortunately, Mindfreak's pool appears to be the group of death. I believe its match with Renegades will be close, but expect Renegades to come out on top and advance to bracket play." -- Wes "Clutch" Price
13. Fable Esports
Roster: Sonny "Fragxr" Marchaland, Christopher "Qristola" O'Keefe, Norwen "SLG" Le Galloudec, Arkel "Snakey" Brown
Average Rank: 13.1
Highest Rank: 12
Lowest Rank: 15
"Fable cruised its way through the GFinity London bracket until taking Vexed Gaming to Game 5 in the last series before the top-4 bracket. Fable ultimately fell to the hands of Vexed, and had a worse performance when given a chance at redemption in the rematch to advance to the Grand Finals. As if dealing with Str8 Rippin in pool play wasn't enough, Fabel is also tasked with playing against who many consider to be the best team in the tournament, Splyce. There's a chance to upset Str8 and make it out of pool play, but it's slim." -- Doug Cortez
14. Myztro
Roster: Ryan "Batchford" Batchelor, Hamzah "Phlux" Navkvi, Andrew "Ramirez" Corrigan, Perry "tuf0xy" Kenyon
Average Rank: 13.8
Highest Rank: 13
Lowest Rank: 15
"Myztro's slaying department will be its downfall -- half of the team are very good, half depends on the day. There's too much inconsistency with this team to say they'll place top-12." -- Harry "Lethal" Thomas
15. Team Immunity
Roster: Aaron "Benno" Bennett, Adam "Momentum" Bahsa, Angus "Slayz" Hodic, Matthew "Voltage" Barker
Average Rank: 14.7
Highest Rank: 12
Lowest Rank: 16
"Immunity barely managed to qualify from the ANZ regionals and got absolutely decimated by Mindfreak. It''ll really need to make some major changes to even be able to win even a series this event; veteran experience will not be enough." -- Harry "Lethal" Thomas
16. Berserker Gaming
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Roster: Atzin "Atzo Uchiha" Pulido Mayen, Irving "Drift" Ramirez Moya, Isaac "Noblc" Adame Rivas, Sebastian "Bullet" Nuñez Alcazar
Average Rank: 15.4
Highest Rank: 12
Lowest Rank: 16
"Psychotic Gaming is also a sleeper team. We have barely any information on them apart from a few scrims results, but it seems like it can hold its own and possibly do some damage. I'd love to see a massive upset and prove that the LATAM scene have more to offer than just a top-16 standard placement like previous Halo World Championships." -- Harry "Lethal" Thomas