Cloud9 enters the Halo fray

Players may still be waiting to actually play the Halo: Master Chief Collection multiplayer, marred by server problems and other issues, but that hasn’t stopped its esports scene from blossoming.

Another big name organization jumped on the Halo train today as Cloud9 entered the fray, picking up The Agency, a squad of veterans with championship resumes.

The team features Cameron “Victory X” Thorlakson, Justin “FearItSelf” Kats, and Jacob “Hysteria” Resier, captained by Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. The quartet competed in this month’s Master Chief Collection Launch Invitational, placing 5th-6th alongside OpTic Gaming’s Halo squad.

“I chose to pick up a top Halo team because I believe in the long-standing franchise and it was clear that interest was growing quickly,” Jack Etienne, Cloud9 owner, said. The Halo Championship Series, developer 343 Studios’ attempt at organizing an official competition circuit, gave Etienne the confidence to invest—along with his lineup’s impressive history.

Thorlakson and Kats are best known for their dominant 2010 stint on Final Boss, winners of the final three Halo 3 events, including the $280,000 year end Major League Gaming National Championship.

Reiser also had his own period at the top of Halo 3, reaching the finals in four MLG events in 2009 and winning three as a member of Triggers Down. Hysteria and Kats spent 2008 together on that same team, winning two of six MLG events. They brought back that combo for Master Chief’s first real tournament, the PAX Prime Showdown, placing third.

Team captain Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is a relative newcomer to the Halo professional scene, breaking out during the Halo 4 era. But he played one Halo: Reach tournament as a teammate of Thorlakson and Kats in 2011, placing fifth at MLG Columbus.

All four players had experience with each other before coming together for the Master Chief Collection. In some ways, it was a match made in heaven.

“This team gets along very well, which is a key component for success on any team,” Blevins said. “We each possess the dedication and skill that it takes to be on top.”

Of course, with teams like Evil Geniuses revealing their own star-studded lineup, the next iteration of Halo is shaping up to be the most competitive yet.

Image via Bungie