OpTic Halo’s Future in the HCS

For the past two seasons of the Halo Championship Series, OpTic Halo has slowly fell through the ranks from being a top 4 team to being top 6, or at times even 7th. There are many excuses that fans can make for their poor performance such as them making several team changes or the fact that certain players may have been more focused on YouTube and streaming than actually practicing. Making excuses, however, doesn’t solve anything. The fact is, OpTic Halo has come nowhere near the standards that many, including myself, would expect of such a well known organization.

In Halo 5, I honestly think that OpTic Halo’s life is on the line. If the team doesn’t place better then they have in the past  and show no signs of improvement, the roster will most likely have a complete overhaul where no players are safe.

In order to prevent this from happening, OpTic must find a 4th that can mesh well with the rest of the squad. The good thing about this team is that there are no members with strong egos. Every member completely understands and embraces their role, which makes it easier for OpTic to determine who the best fit will be for their 4th. Another benefit that comes with OpTic is their massive media power within the console scene. Although OpTic may not be the most talked about team in the HCS, they’re still more influential than most other organizations. This is because of their massive fan base and success within the Call of Duty community, which has allowed them the create one of the strongest YouTube brands in eSports. Every pro player on OpTic is strongly encouraged to start their own YouTube Channel once they have joined the team. With that in mind, every pro player’s dream is to quit their regular job and just play they videogames they love all day. Being given the opportunity to do so off of YouTube is a very tempting offer that almost no pro player can turn down without strongly thinking about it.

Although OpTic may not have the hardest time getting a talented player on their roster, they only have one chance to find the missing piece to save their team. As we have seen based on their time with Ace, talent was never a problem for them. They were always able to give any team a run for their money, but had trouble closing out a series and executing on very close games. What this showed me was that every player was doing their job, the problem was that the team as a whole was not as in sync as they needed to be. This could’ve been caused by many reasons, including low communication and energy to capitalize on the close games. When you look at every member of the OpTic Halo roster there’s a few common trends; the players are pretty mellow and do not get that excited during games. This could be the problem that causes OpTic to lose those close games and give up important series that I know they could easily win.

One player that I really thought would have fit in perfectly with this OpTic team was Ninja. In my opinion he is the ideal pro player for OpTic. He not only is a very vocal leader that can hype up any team, but is also typically the play maker. As we have seen in his phenomenal performance throughout Halo 4, he is almost always able to make the clutch plays needed for his team to win. These skills make him a perfect fit for any team. He is also a very consistent streamer who achieves high streaming numbers as well as being a strong media personality. He would have also fit perfectly for OpTic, both as a player and as a content producer. Unfortunately, he decided to continue with a new team under the Team Liquid brand, making it impossible for him to play for OpTic.

Other than Ninja, there are still several other players that I think would fit in well with OpTic. One such player is DomeRocked who is a very talented up and coming player who has a promising future in the HCS, another is a Pure Gangster who, as many of us knows, has amazing slaying ability and finally Heinz, who is one of the best team players in the HCS and can fit well on any team. There are also several other young pro players who have a lot of talent and can be easily taught the skills necessary to become more developed players. Personally, I feel that is the second best option for OpTic with their best option picking up Ninja. Not only does OpTic have a very disciplined team, they also have Flamesword, who is one of the most experienced and seasoned players in the HCS. He is a very good teacher and I think he can turn any young pro into a phenomenal player. My advice to OpTic would be to run some games with the younger players, preferably DomeRocked, and see how well they mesh overtime. We still have several weeks until the new season starts meaning OpTic still has time to play with several players and see who their best fit is.

This is going to be OpTic Halo’s most important season in the HCS. In my opinion, their performance will determine whether their team will stay the same, or if they’ll face a massive roster overhaul. All eyes will be focused on Flamesword and his decision on who their 4th will be. They don’t have any room for error so I expect that they won’t officially announce their 4th until just before the season kicks off so that way they can test all their options and hopefully build up some solid chemistry before having to compete.

What do you think about OpTic Halo’s future in the HCS. Do you think it looks bright? Let us know in the comments section below and remember to check us out here at eSports Guru for all your competitive Halo content needs!