OpTic Gaming vs. Allegiance | OpTic wins 3-1
While Allegiance works to climb out of relegation, technical issues don’t help. Falcated misses the entire series while he works to resolve his console malfunction. Rammy, coming off the free-for-all win, fills in to take on OpTic Gaming. Rammy proved himself a capable player by substituting for teams like OpTic in the HCS Pro League, but the lack of team practice handicaps Allegiance.
Whether it’s the player substitution or OpTic’s coordination, Allegiance starts Plaza – Strongholds flat footed. OpTic ends the game in a flash, controlling the bottom mid stronghold point for a 100-10 win. Plaza – Slayer ends better for Allegiance when Contra leads his team to a comfortable 50-35 win.
After the back-to-back Plaza games, OpTic exploits the substituted Allegiance squad with two quick objective victories. Falcated never resolves his Xbox One problems, but the result matches the disappointing season for Allegiance. OpTic takes the series 3-1.
Luminosity Gaming vs. Team Liquid | Liquid wins 3-1
A single point in map win percentage gives Team Liquid the third seed over Luminosity. A win for either team on day two of week six might decide the final standings going into the week seven final.
The series begins with a hectic Rig – Strongholds game where no team holds an extended setup because of swapping spawns. The pace does settle when Liquid wipes the Luminosity team twice in a row. Trying to survive the awkward spawn trap, Luminosity wins against Liquid’s power weapons and shrinks the deficit. With the score tied at 82, Luminosity holds a triple stronghold capture until the end of the game, ending the scoring at 100-82.
Down 1-2 in the series, they look to repeat their Rig performance on Plaza – Strongholds. The game starts with a lead for Luminosity, but the lead changes when Spartan uses the Camouflage to steal bottom middle. Luminosity retakes the stronghold, though they fail to defend the Liquid attack. Liquid secures the insurance win for the third seed, taking the series 3-1.
Team EnVyUs vs. Enigma 6 | EnVyUs wins 3-2
The series starts on a weird note because, well, it never begins. Shooter on Enigma 6 (E6) runs into issues when connecting to the Halo lobbies. Unlike the Allegiance series, ESL postpones the match into the evening.
Two blowout games even the series at one – a result neither team expected. Team EnVyUs (nV) flag captures quick flag on Coliseum – Capture the Flag (CTF), but E6 regroups and defends against nV’s assault. Halfway through, E6 kills three nV players, but hesitate to pull the flag as they wait for a better opportunity. With the rocket launcher and sniper rifle both respawning, the game enters a flag standoff. E6 Suspector pushes the nV base with the rocket launcher, but Shooter does the damage with a Triple Kill. E6 wins the flag standoff. Again, like a pincer attack, E6 pushes the nV base with both power weapons. The nV team wipes and E6 scores twice, winning 3-1.
The series returns to Coliseum for game five Slayer after nV’s shutout 100-0 win on Empire – Strongholds. They carry their momentum into game five where the score stays close halfway through. Pistola dictates the pace from then on, dodging rockets, grenades and snipers to go on a Running Riot. He finishes the game 18-4, winning the series 3-2 for nV.
Evil Geniuses vs. Str8 Rippin | Str8 Rippin wins 3-2
The Str8 Rippin organization returns from the Halo annals as the revived eSports brand signs the LOL roster. The best-worst scenario plays out for Str8 Rippin’s Halo 5: Guardians debut. After taking the first two games from Evil Geniuses (EG), Str8 Rippingives up the next two. Str8 Rippin reverse swept Allegiance on day one of week six, but don’t want the same fate the following day.
Game five on Plaza – Slayer, like many asymmetrical maps, progresses with a slow, methodical pace. Str8 Rippin, leading 25-19, waits for the next Overshield. APG drops to bottom middle with no shields, hiding from the EG squad. Stellur drops down to finish him off with a grenade, but it misses and EG Stellur loses the sniper rifle after Eco snipes him. Ace, fighting around top middle, kills two EG players and Heinz swoops in for the free Overshield.
The Str8 Rippin lead shrinks when Lunchbox gets a triple kill, but EG needs six more to tie. A few minutes remain in regulation time when Ninja brings his sniper rifle to the cinema. Two Str8 Rippin players hide below him at the bottom of the cinema lift. As Ninja scopes in at café across the map, a player lifts up and take the sniper. The lead shrinks to four, but it’s too late. Str8 Rippin wins their debut Halo 5 series 3-2. While Str8 Rippin celebrates, EG searches for their first series win since picking up Stellur.