Halo World Championship 2023: Dark horses, best teams, and players to watch

The Halo World Championship is upon us for the second iteration of the Halo Infinite title. From October 13-15, qualified teams will battle it out to determine who takes home the honor of being the best Halo team in the world and the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool. From legendary rosters to veterans to up-and-comers, here’s your complete guide to the Halo World Championship 2023.

The favorites, dark horses, and players to watch this year at the Halo World Championship 2023

The favorites

FaZe Clan

It’s impossible to talk about modern Halo and not mention FaZe Clan. Formerly of Counter Logic Gaming, OpTic Gaming, TOX, and Sentinels, Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom, Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante, and Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte have been together since the early days of Halo 5.

With a recent victory in the Complexity HWC Warm-Up tournament, the star-studded squad is looking to rebound in a Major-tier tournament after a disappointing fourth-place finish at the Fort Worth Major in September.

OpTic Gaming

OpTic are the reigning world champions and have arguably the most talented roster in Halo Infinite, helmed by 2022 HCS regular season MVP Tommy “Lucid” Wilson and multi-game legend Matthew “FormaL” Piper. The wildly popular OpTic team won the Fort Worth Major, but a tough group awaits them to start off the tournament.

Quadrant

It feels bizarre to place a European Halo team amongst the favorites and not the dark horses, but here we are all the same. By placements, Quadrant is arguably the most successful European Halo roster of all time, and don’t sleep on the talent of Renan “Sica” Grall. They finished second in the Complexity HWC Warm-Up, and are firing on all cylinders heading into the biggest tournament of the year.

Spacestation Gaming

Headlined by the explosive Adam “Bound” Gray and the calming force of Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher, Spacestation has grown astronomically in 2023. They wholesale acquired the former Cloud9 roster and took home their own Global Invitational in Salt Lake City this August.

Dark horses

Native Gaming White

Don’t sleep on this roster. Josbe “Tapping Buttons” Valadez is arguably one of the best players Mexico has produced, and Austin “Mikwen” McCleary and Ayden “Suspector” Hill are firmly upper-tier players as well. The results aren’t where the favorites are, but Native Gaming White is a team that can punch above its weight.

Sentinels

Sleep on the bombastic combination of “the king of modern Halo,” Tony “LethuL” Campbell, and Tyler “Spartan” Ganza at your own peril. LethuL hasn’t had the statistics he did in previous titles, but he’s a great dirty-work player. Spartan can shoot at any range. Jesse “bubu dubu” Moeller had a great stint on Gamers First and is a very underrated player coming into this event. Watch out for the Sentinels.

Players to watch

Tommy “Lucid” Wilson

Lucid is everywhere and nowhere. He’s in your backline, then he has the Sniper Rifle and is gunning you down from range. He’s one of the fastest, most elusive players in Halo Infinite, and in every other game, he pulls off something to clip on Twitch.

Ayden “Suspector” Hill

Statistically, Suspector has had a great Halo Infinite campaign, even if the trophies haven’t followed. Time will tell whether he can elevate the players around him to a championship level, or if he’s doomed to be a top performer on a non-podium finishing team…again.

Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte

SnakeBite, affectionately known as “DadBite,” is the calm, collected leader of Halo’s greatest all-time roster. The man truly has a mind for the game, and it shows in his play, his calls, and knowing when it’s time to let Royal2, Renegade, and Frosty off the leash.

Matthew “FormaL” Piper

The OpTic Gaming legend is known for two things—absurd accuracy and winning titles. All in all, FormaL might end his career as one of the all-time winningest players in esports history, not just in Halo or Call of Duty. He’s won a world title in two esports, 2017 in Call of Duty and 2022 in Halo, an MVP in 2017, and won a gold medal at the X Games.

Tyler “Spartan” Ganza

Even if Spartan weren’t a top-tier statistical performer (which he is, by the way), his games would be appointment viewing for the banter alone. Spartan is a bit hot-headed and is constantly chirping someone, whether it’s a casual Halo no-name Twitter personality or a pro he has beef with.