Both FaZe and OpTic dominated their respective groups and were set for a collision course early in the playoffs, as they met in the upper-bracket semi-final after winning their respective quarter-finals in 3-0 fashion.

The first meeting between OpTic and FaZe ended in a 3-2 victory for OpTic Gaming and sent FaZe Clan into the lower-bracket quarter-finals.

After being sent to the lower-bracket FaZe began their mission to make it into the grand final, defeating Native Gaming Red, Sentinels and Spacestation Gaming without dropping a single match and set up a mouthwatering rematch with OpTic in the grand final.

Due to OpTic running through the upper-bracket, FaZe had to beat the reigning world champions twice to claim the World Championship title, in what is known as a “bracket reset”.

Going into the final, OpTic was expected to win and went into the series as favourites, based off their win over FaZe earlier in the tournament, and after they claimed the first two games of the best-of-seven series, it appeared as though they would go on and win it all.

However, FaZe went onto dominate the next four games and claim the first series, which reset the bracket and took the grand final to second best-of-seven clash.

When the teams returned to the stage, FaZe appeared to determined to take down the reigning champions and after a 250-22 Strongholds trashing, OpTic Gaming’s heads began to drop.

OpTic showed some fight in the second game, as they went down narrowly in the Slayer game mode (49-50), but FaZe would continue to roll on and take the second best-of-seven series 4-0.

New kings on the mountain top.

Congratulations to your 2023 @Halo World Champions – @FaZeClan!

@FrostyBB
@SnakeBiteFPS
@Renegade_JW
@Royal2
@Chris_Royal1 #HaloWC | #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/4cadzH9m66

— Halo Esports #HaloWC (@HCS) October 16, 2023

Jonathan “Renegade” Willette, Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom, Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante and Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte earned their first World Championship title together, and took home the US$400,000 winners cheque.

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Native Gaming Red enter the 2023 Halo World Championship as dangerous outsiders; however, they still have much more to prove following a middling run through the season. Native didn’t really put themselves on the map until the HCS Fort Worth Major, where they claimed bronze, and there are still questions about how high this team can actually fly.

Quadrant finished Fort Worth Major in fifth-eighth place, which was a continuation of this team’s solid performances. While they have not won a big title this year, they’ve made the finals of every European Open Series and placed third at the Arlington Major.

Native Gaming Red are in better form ahead of Halo World Championship 2023, but they’ve not shown enough throughout the season to be considered better than Quadrant, which explains the offered Halo esports betting odds. Quadrant should win, but we wouldn’t count out a tight series.

Spacestation Gaming are one of the most consistent Halo esports teams of the 2023 HCS season. Since May, they have not placed worse than second across six events, which includes a gold medal from the HCS Global Invitational by Spacestation Gaming and finals appearances at the Arlington and Fort Worth Majors.

Sentinels were runners-up at the Global Invitational and placed fourth at the Arlington Major a month prior; however, outside of that, they have not placed higher than eighth across 11 events. Sentinels’ late resurgence can’t be ignored, but it doesn’t change the fact they’ve not accomplished much this season.

Spacestation Gaming are a class above, as shown in their 5-0 head-to-head tally since June 2022, and there’s no reason to believe this match will be even remotely close.

Natus Vincere were one of Europe’s top teams early into the season; however, they’ve not achieved anything of note in the three Majors, never finishing higher than 9th-12th. On a more positive note for NAVI, they did sweep LVT (3-0) during the HCS 2023 Fort Worth Major pools.

Since then, LVT have defeated Spacestation Gaming (3-2) and took a map off FaZe Clan (1-3). While this doesn’t prove that LVT are better than NAVI, it does show they can perform on a good day.

Considering the head-to-head record, Natus Vincere might seem like the obvious play; however, at the quoted Halo betting odds, the value is with the outsiders.

By winning the HCS Fort Worth Major, OpTic Gaming proved that their mid-season slump was nothing more than a temporary setback. Even though there are still some questions about OpTic’s consistency, this is undoubtedly one of the most stacked Halo teams in the world.

Gamers First don’t seem capable of producing a deep run in Seattle. They have won just one tournament this season – the Fort Worth Major: Open Bracket – and even though they did well in the main event, it was clear that G1 are not quite as good as the top contenders.

Despite their lack of accomplishments this season, Gamers First forced OpTic Gaming to five maps during Forth Worth Major pools and twice before, in June and February. So even though Gamers First likely won’t win the Halo World Championship, they seem to have OpTic figured out, which makes backing G1 with a two-map advantage an easy choice.

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The ALGS Championship, which served as the grand finale for 2023’s LAN events, not only had the largest in-person venue but also saw participation from 40 elite international Apex Legends teams.

These teams, having earned their positions either through circuit points or via the regional Last Chance Qualifiers, competed for the esteemed title of ALGS Champions and a chance to claim a portion of the staggering $2 million prize pool.

TSM’s victory was indisputable as they registered three successive victories in Match Point Finals. This remarkable feat secured them a cool $600,000, the most significant chunk of the prize fund.

The prowess of North American squads was also a highlight of the ALGS, with five out of the nine teams vying for the title in the Match Point Finals representing the NA region. Among these were noteworthy teams like OpTic Gaming, The Dojo, LG Chivas, and FaZe.

TSM had finished the pool stage of the tournament placed in seventh position, with defending champion DarkZero looking on track to record another victory. However they finished 11th in the winners bracket in the next stage and were effectively out of the tournament.

OpTic gaming finished second in the Apex Legends Global Series, while BLVKHVND were a close third.

Below is a detailed list of the final standings and the prize distribution from the ALGS Championship 2023:

Apex Legends Global Series final standings

1. TSM – $600,000
2. OpTic Gaming – $320,000
3. BLCKHVND – $210,000
4. The Dojo – $170,000
5. LG Chivas – $130,000
6. FaZe – $100,000
7. DreamFire – $80,000
8. Pioneers – $60,000
9. Realize – $50,000
10. IronBloodGaming – $40,000

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The 22-year-old player took to his official Twitter page to announce that he was now a free agent, and also extended his gratitude to the team for a time well spent.

“I am officially a free agent, thanks to @OpTic for supporting me and being my home for the last year. I will be back and better than ever,” Marved tweeted.

I am officially a free agent, thanks to @OpTic for supporting me and being my home for the last year. I will be back and better than ever.

— Jimzo (@Marved6) December 16, 2022

Marved launched his pro Valorant career in mid-2020, and within that short time, he has represented about three of the best esports teams in the globe.

In 2020, he represented FaZe Clan; in 2021, he was on loan to Team Envy; and he finally got signed officially to the team in January 2022.

The Canadian Valorant player joined OpTic Gaming in February 2022 and has led the team to victory within this short stint with them. Following his outstanding accomplishments with OpTic, Marved was regarded as possibly the best controller player in the world.

Marved and OpTic were able to garner first place at the Stage 1 Masters- Reykjavik Valorant Championship Tour, a third place at the Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen VCT 2022, and in the 2022 Valorant Champions in September, the team emerged in 2nd place, taking home with them prize money of $150,000.

OpTic Gaming was unable to secure a partnership with game developers Riot Games, so their Valorant team is now officially disbanded, as Marved was the last player to depart from the team.

Other players who were part of the team and have since rejoined a new esports outfit include Austin “crashies” Roberts, in-game leader Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Victor Wong, and coach Chet Singh, all of whom joined NRG during the free agent season.

Currently, it is unknown what team the player will join next or what other plans he may have up his sleeves.

However, in the following weeks, a definitive progress report from the player is most likely to be presented to the public.

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As champions of the tournament, the team walked away with $400,000 in prize money and 200,000 points. The win is the first Halo LAN tournament victory for OpTic players like Tommy “Lucid” Wilson and Joey “Trippy” Taylor.

The tournament, which was organized by 343 Industries, came to an end with OpTic Gaming becoming the apex Halo team in the world. The Seattle Convention Center played host to the grand final that saw the Jason “LUNCHBOX” Brown-led team record a 4-0 scoreline in the best-of-five series.

OpTic Gaming had an almost unsullied run during the Halo World Championship with only one map loss. Cloud9, on the other hand, dropped to the lower brackets of the tournament after being defeated by Native Red in round one.

The best-of-seven match started with an overtime win by OpTic in Capture The Flag. Despite their opponent’s win, Cloud9 seemed to be in total control of the next four maps and bagged a 4-1 series victory that reset the bracket.

The squad’s newest player, Adam “Bound” Gray, continued his amazing play during the match, which placed him consistently ahead on the leaderboards. With Kevin “Eco” Smith in charge of strategy, the player helped the squad execute pushes by grabbing the opening kills.

Toward the end of game two, Bound executed a triple kill and gave a similar performance in game three. He produced back-to-back double kills using Heatwave, which earned Cloud9 their win in the round. At the end of the series, Bound reached an impressive 1.46 K/D ratio and 99 kills.

Cloud9 boosted their chances of success in the series after the team shut down Lucid. Previously, the player was awarded the season MVP, but he only averaged 62 overall kills at the end of the series. Lucid’s kill count was the lowest among OpTic players.

His performance in the series indicated a breakdown in OpTic’s coordination for a Greenwall lineup. The NA team were previously applauded as being one of the most synchronized squads in the league and seemed to come alive after the grand finals of the event was reset. The opposing squads faced off in another best-of-seven match that day.

Both Lucid and Joey “Trippy” Taylor were integral to their team’s win in all four matches in the series. In game two, OpTic Gaming had already bagged the win after Slayer on Catalyst’s 50-30 conclusion.

Cloud9 previously lost a match on the map when they faced off against Native Red on Saturday. The loss led the team to lose the entire series and move to the elimination bracket of the tournament.

Their match with OpTic Gaming was no different, and the team started on the map with a sturdy opening strategy that earned them a 0-5 lead. The gap between the squads widened and reached a 6-16 scoreline by the end of the match.

OpTic’s team fighting and fervor seemed to tether Bound, who had previously spearheaded his team’s victories, and he ended the series with a 6-13 K/D. Due to the efforts of Lucid and Trippy, OpTic fully made use of every power weapon and sandbox opportunity they came across. They were able to transform map control into objective control.

Trippy executed 16 kills and topped the leaderboards due to assists by Lucid, Matt “FormaL” Piper, and Bradley “aPG” Laws. Using the Shock Rifle, Lucid reached 27 kills in the last two rounds of Oddball in game one.

FormaL performed outstanding rotations in game three using Heatwave and Sniper, which was converted to a Killing Spree. This led to OpTic getting ahead of Cloud9 by 50 points despite the opponent’s initial position.

In a post-game interview, Lucid revealed that he was not certain his team had been put in a similar position as the recent game and said he was incredibly proud of them.

“I feel amazing right now. I feel absolutely amazing,” Lucid said.

“That grit that we showed… I don’t think we’ve been put through that just yet. I’m so proud of the team right now and what we were able to do there. We just pulled it off, boys. We did it.”

FormaL, who is also a world champion in Call of Duty, moved to Halo esports after Infinite was released. The player shared his teammate’s sentiments and admitted his relief that his decision had paid off in an amazing way.

“These past couple of years have been pretty tough in Call of Duty, so this was just like a dream come true,” FormaL said.

“I’m just really proud of us. I’m happy we took it home.”

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?’Jimzo’, as he is often called, was a crucial player in OpTic’s successful 2022 run in Valorant. The team had an impressive run in the three international LAN tournaments and won the trophy for the Stage 1 Masters event in Reykjavík.? ?

With OpTic Gaming unable to secure a spot in the Riot Games’ Americas partner league, the player’s future – as well as that of the entire lineup – has been under speculation.? ?The only player on the OpTic squad to move to a new team so far has been Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker; he recently signed with Cloud9 for the 2023 VCT season, along with Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro from Version1.?

?Marved, however, has resorted to rest after what he described to have been an “exhausting” year playing while tackling a number of personal issues. The 22-year-old admitted that he had received several offers from other teams but had no intention of living in Los Angeles at the moment. The city will play host to the VCT American League to be held next year.?

?The player gave the big reveal in a recent stream while answering the questions thrown by viewers concerning his future in the Valorant esports scene.?

?“I want to stay at home; I don’t want to move to LA yet, not quite yet,” Marved said.?

?“I’ve got stuff I’ve got to do and take care of at home. I have obligations. What you guys don’t get is that it was kind of exhausting last year. I played a lot of games. For franchising, you have to move to Los Angeles, and it’s not the time for me to do it right now. I’m still young.”? ?

?

?The Valorant player also set up an automatic message to reply to viewers when they inquired in the chat section about updates concerning his career. Marved explained that he had been feeling signs of burnout, but emphasized that his time as a pro gamer was far from over.? ?

“With feelings of being burnt out for a while, my current life situation with family, friends, and loved ones, and also with how much traveling needs to be done, I have decided as of right now to take a break,” the message read.? ?

“That does not mean I am done.”? ?

Besides yay, his former OpTic colleagues Austin “crashies” Roberts, Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Victor Wong, and coach Chet Singh are on the verge joining the North American organization NRG for the VCT 2023 season.

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In order to create space for the new intakes, the North American esports organization will likely carry out the necessary roster changes before the VCT season kicks off in February next year. The agreement between both teams will reportedly be concluded soon, and the OpTic Gaming members will join the ranks of NRG.

After the expiration of their contract with OpTic, crashies, and Victor moved into unrestricted free agency. The players reportedly wanted to join the same team together rather than go their separate ways. The rest of the OpTic Gaming members reportedly stayed back in their team’s lineup.

Earlier on, Optic’s star player, Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker, was reportedly slated to join Cloud9 as part of the organization’s super team in preparation for the 2023 VCT. With the proposed NRG signings, Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen will be the only player in OpTic’s lineup yet to leave the coop.

NRG’s interest in OpTic’s lineup is not surprising due to the team’s position as one of the best squads in Valorant. The team notably finished in the top three across all the international events they participated in and were crowned the winners of the first Masters tournament this season. OpTic have also maintained the same roster with no changes for more than a year and a half since yay was signed on.

NRG, on their part, did not make any impressive plays in 2021, and the team’s only notable feat in 2022 was their qualification for the two stages of the North American Valorant Champions Tour Challengers League. The team were, however, unable to qualify for any international tournaments.

Looking at the performances of both teams this year, it is obvious that NRG did not get as far as OpTic in terms of success this year. Despite this, the NA team were selected to participate in the Valorant Americas franchised league, and OpTic’s request was denied. As a result, the team have made their coveted lineup available for transfer to other teams in the league.

According to Riot Games’ Roster Construction Rules, each partnered league team were to turn in a roster of not less than six players and not more than 10. As a result, it is not particularly certain if NRG’s players will be moved to substitutes on the team or entirely let go.

NRG were one of the ten biggest Valorant organizations like 100 Thieves and Sentinels to be selected for the Americas International Valorant League. Next year, the team will compete against top teams in the league, like Brazil’s MIBR, FURIA, and LOUD. North American squads such as Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses will also make an appearance.

The Kickoff tournament will begin Valorant’s 2023 season and will see all 30 teams from across the leagues compete. The three-week event will take place in S?o Paulo, Brazil, and will carry on from February and run through to early March.

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?The North American organization is said to be in the process of putting together a superteam for the fast-approaching 2023 VCT season. Cloud9 currently have Erick “Xeppaa” Bach and Nathan “leaf” Orf, with Anthony “vanity” Malaspina as the team’s in-game leader.

The team’s only outstanding performance this year was a second-place finish in the VCT 2022 North America Stage 1 Challengers. That comes after a strong 2021 season, where the team finished fifth-eighth in the Valorant Champions tournament.? ?

Yay is statistically the best Valorant player in the world right now. ?The former CS:GO professional was previously a part of Andbox’s (NYFU) lineup, after which he moved to OpTic.

?OpTic placed in the top 12 in both international and domestic VCT tournaments while having yay on board. With the player’s top performances this year, OpTic reached the top three across the three most significant international events this year. ?

Yay reached 254.6 in average combat score, the second highest, in the recently concluded Valorant Champions and a 0.93 kills per round average. The team finished in the runner-up position during the tournament after losing to LOUD in the grand final. OpTic also notably won the VCT Masters in Reykjavík with yay in their lineup, and finished in second place in a number of other tournaments.?

?Due to Riot Games denying OpTic, one of the top teams in the world, a slot among the company’s partner teams in the newly formed American franchised league, yay’s position in the team is not certain. Cloud9, on the other hand, were one of the organizations that received a partnership spot with Riot.?

?While OpTic players are yet to announce their restricted free agency, Cloud9 look set to make several changes. C9 currently have only three active players in their lineup after benching Rahul “curry” Nemani and Mitch “mitch” Semago on September 22.? ?Both players are reportedly exploring other options as free agents.

Cloud9 will have to fill up their six-man roster before late October, when the preseason period will come to a close. The remaining positions are those of a fifth starting player and a substitute.?

?Valorant esports fans will be able to see yay compete in the VCT Kickoff tournament, which will commence in the VCT 2023 season. The event will begin in February 2023 and last till early March, taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. All 30 Valorant partner teams will participate in the tournament.

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After an exhaustive screening process that included an application, financial performance, and direct interview assessments, Riot Games on September 21 made public the names of teams who will participate in the Valorant Champions Tour partnership program for 2023.

Sadly, OpTic Gaming, a North American franchise that is best renowned for the incredible success of its Call of Duty squad, did not make the cut. Therefore, in the event that the organization did not meet Riot’s stringent criteria, OpTic’s yay was given the go-ahead by the organization to explore his choices for the following year.

OpTic Gaming possessed one of the most reliable Valorant rosters. They have competed in and finished in the top three of every international LAN event that they have competed in this year, including winning the Masters Reykjavik tournament and coming in second place at the Valorant Champions 2022 tournament.

The 24-year-old American started as a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player. In the year 2020, yay made the decision to move to Valorant and play competitively at the professional level. He has previously competed for other teams, including Andbox, Team Envy, and others.

Yay served as the key sniper for his team, and within the community and among Valorant fans, he is also known by the alias “El-Diablo.”

The DM on Yay’s and his agent’s Twitter accounts will remain open for the time being in order to accommodate any new offers that are seeking to accommodate yay and his remarkable combination of skills that have only encountered minimal barriers. Yay will, without a shadow of a doubt, find a team in a short amount of time, and his former team noted that they bid him only the best of success in his quest for the next privileged team.

Despite the fact that OpTic granted yay the green light to search for the most suitable offers and choose the team that is the greatest fit for him, yay will always be grateful to OpTic for having the faith to take a chance on him early in his Valorant journey and providing him with an opportunity. He also explains that OpTic was important in his development into the player he is at the present moment.

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