OpTic defeat Cloud9 to become Halo World Champions

OpTic Gaming bested all other teams and most recently Cloud9 to win the first Halo Infinite esports global event, the Halo World Championship 2022.

Ahead of the grand final, the Halo Worlds weekend looked flawless for OpTic, who were on an incredible 39-win streak before losing 1-4 to Cloud9 in the first grand final game.

While Cloud9 had to fight Sentinels, FaZe, and Native Gaming Red in the upper bracket run to get into the finals, OpTic Gaming had only lost a single map throughout the tournament. It looked like they already had the trophy, but Cloud9 managed to surprise them before they confirmed their dominance and claimed the title.

OpTic vs. Cloud9

Although the first best-of-seven games started with Capture The Flag, which OpTic won in overtime, Cloud9 seemed to have everything under control in the following four maps. Adam “Bound” Gray provided the initial kills it took Cloud9 to make the necessary advances. From a 3K in the closing stages of game two to two double kills with the Heatwave in hand to win game three, it was the young rookie who shone the most.

What’s going on with Lucid?

Another key factor in C9’s could be the performance of OpTic’s Tommy “Lucid” Wilson, who was named MVP of the season earlier. However, he underperformed in his most important series of the year, culminating in Live Fire’s King of the Hill. At the end of the series, he only had 62 total kills (the fewest in OpTic overall), despite having the second-highest total damage. But OpTic had regained strength after the grand finale resumed and both teams contested their second best-of-seven series of the night.

OpTic win the Halo World Championship

Lucid and Joey “Trippy” Taylor then got going as well, ensuring OpTic clinched victory in the next four games. Cloud9’s fate seemed sealed with the 50-30 Slayer result on Catalyst in the second game.

In the final two rounds of game one of Oddball, Lucid dominated with the Shock Rifle, racking up 27 kills in those two rounds alone. Matt “FormaL” Piper’s flawless rotations with the heatwave and sniper rifle in game three resulted in a killing spree and a 50-point lead for OpTic, despite an initial Cloud9 lead.