HCS Pro League Week 2 Predictions

The second week of the Halo Championship Series (HCS) Pro League fall season begins today. After a week of exciting matches, some teams are eager to build off of their initial success while others are hoping to finally get a win in the books. The matches will be broadcast on Halo’s Mixer and Twitch pages. Last week’s predictions were fairly accurate, with six out of the eight being right. We figured we’d have another stab at these predictions for your own enjoyment with the hope that we will find the same level of success. We based these predictions off of team changes, prior performances, chemistry, and raw talent.

Wednesday Aug. 30

Starting at 4:30pm PT (7:30pm ET).

Evil Geniuses vs OpTic Gaming

Evil Geniuses Jason “Lunchbox” Brown Justin “Roy” Brown Michael “Falcated” Garcia Josbe “Tapping Buttons” Valadez OpTic Gaming Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom Tony “Lethul” Campbell, Jr. Despite EG’s growth as a team, it would be silly to say they can defeat a lineup as dominant as OpTic Gaming. EG may put up a fight, but OpTic will come out on top due to their composure and superior talent.

Luminosity vs Team EnVyUs

Luminosity Tommy “Saiyan” Wilson Bradley “aPG” Laws Joey “TriPPPeY” Taylor Tim “Rayne” Tinkler Team EnVyUs Austin “Mikwen” McCleary Justin “iGotUrPistola” Deese Eric “Snip3down” Wrona Cuyler “Huke” Garland Luminosity may enter this series with a bit of confidence after their 3-2 win against Evil Geniuses last Thursday. The team isn’t quite ready to take on a team as experienced as Team EnVyUs, however. Although they are close to being an even match up, EnVy will ultimately prevail.

Team Liquid vs Splyce

Team Liquid Zane “SubZero” Hearon Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher Kevin “Eco” Smith Tyler “Spartan” Ganza Splyce Jesse “bubu dubu” Moeller Ryan “Shooter” Sondhi Jonathan “Renegade” Willette Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro Both teams have what it takes to win, but Splyce has proven their ability to go all the way to win a championship with their win at Dreamhack Atlanta on July 23, while Liquid has not. Splyce takes this one.

Ronin vs Naventic

Ronin Cory “Str8 SicK” Sloss Ayden “Suspector” Hill Visal “eL ToWn” Mohanan Sabur “Sabinater” Hakimi Naventic Ryan “RyaNoob” Geddes Troy “DasTroyed” Dusman Cody “ContrA” Szczodrowski Kyle “Nemassist” Kubina Facing an 0-2 slump, Naventic will be coming into this series with a strong hunger to win. Both teams are equal in their abilities, but Naventic’s hunger will push them to win. This club, however, will need all of their players to perform at their top level. Part of the reason Nav lost both matches last week was due to their player’s inability to simultaneously perform well in every match.

Thursday Aug. 31

4:30pm PT (7:30pm ET).

Ronin vs Luminosity

Ronin Cory “Str8 SicK” Sloss Ayden “Suspector” Hill Visal “eL ToWn” Mohanan Sabur “Sabinater” Hakimi Luminosity Tommy “Saiyan” Wilson Bradley “aPG” Laws Joey “TriPPPeY” Taylor Tim “Rayne” Tinkler Both clubs have a solid slaying ability, but Luminosity appears to be more developed as an overall roster compared to Ronin based on their win against EG last week. Ronin still appears to be adapting to Sabinater’s play style meaning that LG takes this one.

Naventic vs Team Liquid

Naventic Ryan “RyaNoob” Geddes Troy “DasTroyed” Dusman Cody “ContrA” Szczodrowski Kyle “Nemassist” Kubina Team Liquid Zane “SubZero” Hearon Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher Kevin “Eco” Smith Tyler “Spartan” Ganza Team Liquid is not a roster Naventic is ready to face. Liquid has maintained the same roster with the exception of Spartan for seven months already and the players on this team appear to feel very comfortable with each other. Nav on the other hand just entered the Pro League this has shown that they have some improvements to make, based on their 0-2 standing.

OpTic Gaming vs Team EnVyUs

OpTic Gaming Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom Tony “Lethul” Campbell, Jr. Team EnVyUs Austin “Mikwen” McCleary Justin “iGotUrPistola” Deese Eric “Snip3down” Wrona Cuyler “Huke” Garland Both teams stand at 2-0 in the league with nV defeating Liquid and Nav and OG defeating LG and Splyce. This means that both squads are entering this match with all the confidence they need to win. OpTic however, will take this one not just by their recent 3-0 win against the Dreamhack champions that are Splyce but also because this squad has been around longer. Being together for over a year already, Optic is going to win based on their composure and chemistry.

Evil Geniuses vs Splyce

Evil Geniuses Jason “Lunchbox” Brown Justin “Roy” Brown Michael “Falcated” Garcia Josbe “Tapping Buttons” Valadez Splyce Jesse “bubu dubu” Moeller Ryan “Shooter” Sondhi Jonathan “Renegade” Willette Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro EG’s reason for losing this series is the same reason they will lose to OpTic. Splyce is simply too dominant of a lineup due to a combination of their superior slaying talent and chemistry. The first match kicks off at 4:30pm PT (7:30pm ET) today. These matches will be broadcast on Halo’s Mixer and Twitch pages.