Episode 35 - It's Just Business

Hello and welcome to episode 35 of HCS Pro Talk! This week, we got a LOT of rosters to go over, Will and I played through Fireteam Raven, and there a plenty of news stories to cover. Along with the Gamebattles 2K tournaments, the Pro Battle League season 3 keeps going strong as we have a ton of series to cover. For the main topic of this episode, we discuss why organizations are leaving competitive Halo. Oh yeah, and you get a little Josh ranty rant somewhere in this episode. Thank you for the listening and as always, links to everything that is talked about in the episode is below for your viewing pleasure, along with timestamps for the first time!

Jacksonville

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4YcrVmPTcE

Timestamps

RosterMainia 2:05
Wills Adventures within the Haloverse/Fireteam Raven 12:14
News 25:03
News (competitive) 31:38
News (PBL) 33:44
Scrims 43:37
Tournaments 46:47
Main Topic 56:53
Shoutouts and more 1:22:04

Roster Mania!

LATAM

Mini Magics

Noble
Scyler
MagicButtons
Atzo

CL Esports

Bullet
Desecrates
BMXCARLOGAMBINO
Legolaz

New Team

Method
Vystrel
Proxxys
Member

XX

Angsuka
LilSayayin
Lofty
Deidara

Tactical V2

MyName
Carpe
RDEspace
Murder

Nexus New Roster

Lord
Plancarte
Endels
Dybala

Express

ExcessiveNinja
Liiah
Iraul
Kanade

Assassins of Gods

Cabo
Tola
LaloSaulHudson
Loqi

Australia/New Zealand

Esto

Reaver
Kill Switch
Venom
Inferno

TeaEssDub

YungWilcox
Jimbob
Monza
Bald

Yes Daddy

Deth
Square
OhGraham
Alejo

Colt Mafoka

AtzoQ
Matron
KillerDad
Jingle

EU

WeVicious

Censure
Dezire
Outkaste
DeadeyeFred

Niel the Doctor

Alexeer
Ninjaaaaaaaa
TheWarriorONiel
Rudimentary

North America

LuxGaming (IS FUCKING BACK!)

SickStory
Boamx
Valkyrie
Ryno

Pro Battle League

St. Louis Sentinels

Information coming next week

Columbus Origin

Information coming next week

Nashville Outlaws

Gold Star BR
Vetra
Josue
BobettaFetta
Dream
Rival

Kansas City Lightning

Bunnies Waddles
Vulcan
Hclic
PopeBum

Austin Royals

Rammy
Munoz
Galaxy
SnxwNinja

Dallas Stampede

In Reality
Mist Ninjitsu
Dynamics
Just Improve
Spinks Jinx
Article
Boamx

Orlando Force

Swish
Dallay
Common
Pilez

New York Titans

Danoxide
Eccentrikk
Rob The Turtle
Obnoxiuz

Toronto Sabres

Kourages
Primacy
Stress
Xman

San Jose Edge

Dark Scorch
LD50
Negative
PeanutButter

Philadelphia Forge

Jesse Siao
Slinky
Sorrell
SuperCC

Denver Rangers

Cratos
Naded
Not a Monk
Suspector

Houston Vipers

Claytron Mauler
Knedlz
Mynx
Titann

DMV Knights

Agent Menke
Jaxx
Ryno
Cortex

Minnesota Predators

Floppie
HerSideGuysBack
MKoski88
Veronikuhhh

Anaheim Pirates

Str8 Sick
TuSick
Commonly
Steady Might

Alberta Bears

Haloette
SilosTheVillain
Chilled
Zai7sev

Wills Adventures Within the Haloverse

Time to see if Will played more Halo?!?!?

Halo: Fireteam Raven thoughts and impressions

Trevor’s Thoughts

First of all, had a lot of fun. I enjoyed the action, non stop, the visuals, and the moments with master Chief. I wish the music was a little louder, or there was a way to drown out the exterior noise. Gameplay wise,  my gun and reticle we're very unsynced, felt way behind, not sure if everyone else had that problem. Also, sometimes hard to tell which character is attacking you, especially with banshees. The turrets and rocket parts were my favorite, reloading wasn't that fun or intuitive imo. It was a good length, and not terribly expensive. Though I haven't played an arcade game in a long time. I enjoyed it overall, just a few issues, but a lot of fun overall. Too bad the link to waypoint account didn't work.

Dom’s Thoughts

I wish the QR code reader would've worked to track stats and wished the sound was a bit better as I couldn't hear the dialog much. Could've been due to being in a Dave and Busters, but I haven't had that issue playing something like Time Crisis. Time Crisis isn't even in a capsule either! Speaking of odd things, why they chose purple as a character color is beyond me. It was hard to spot my reticle at times when your fighting the purple covenant. Minor complaint, but still an odd choice considering all the colors they could've chose.
Gameplay wise, the plasma pistol section of the game was puzzling. Nobody wants to nor enjoys maining with that gun and it's not really a gun meant for arcade shooters. I only use it to be a dbag online for easy kills and even then, I got a BR to use to get the kill. Otherwise I used it in Halo 2 Legendary campaign a lot. I was fine with the rest of the guns in all honesty.
Game got repetitive and dull I'd say between the 3rd and 4th mission. Yes it's a rail shooter, but that's why you put in some good boss battles.This games big boss battles were big hunters, big flood, and a scarab at the end. Meh, meh, yay. And the yay part I've done many times in the other halo games. I mean, I have a rocket launcher with unlimited ammo and a shotgun that shoots like the Spas-12, couldn't we come up with some cooler things to fight too?
Weapons were great aside from the plasma pistol. Rocket Launcher made me feel like a bad ass, shotgun was great, and then that turreted, grenade launcher thing at the end as awesome too. Grenades didn't really feel like grenades though. They feel more like a grenade launcher. I say that as it didn't really arc at all and they threw out very quickly as if it shot from a grenade launcher. Master Chief should've learned from Raven Team on how to throw a grenade.
Oh and the grunts were way too spongey

Congratulations to OG on their TI8 win!

News

The Making of Halo: Fireteam Raven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynacIJU2h_w

Halo MCC Xbox One X Enhancement Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdCKXQ3R3d0

Halo: Silent Storm Excerpt - By Steve Downes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL8tRXQWlTw

Forerunner Slayer Out Now Within Halo 5

https://twitter.com/Halo/status/1032679534670143488

Halo Community Spotlight

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/spotlight-august-23-2018

Official Halo Discord Out Now

http://discord.gg/Halo

Halo MCC Coming to Game Pass on September 1st Including New Update

https://twitter.com/Halo/status/1031932355584245760

Halo MCC Update Out Now

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/mcc-update

News (Competitive)

HCS London 2018 Qualified Teams

NA

Splyce
TOX
Renegades
Reciprocity
Trifecta
Excelerate Gaming

EU

Lucid
Invictus
Radiant Esports
Mock-It

ANZ

Athletico

LATAM

Berserker Esports

HCS London Pool Draw Scheduled for September 4th

https://twitter.com/HCS/status/1032724502235369472

Microsoft Store 4v4 Tournaments Scheduled for September 9th

https://twitter.com/HCS/status/1032764924236312587

Saint Boswell H3 MLG Settings 2v2 Tournament Announcement - September 2nd

https://twitter.com/SaintBoswell/status/1032014824870424576

KMadiffy H3 2v2 Tournament Announcement - September 16th

https://twitter.com/Sundaaayz/status/1032156370642984960

Pro Battle League News

Roster Lock Set for September 2nd
Controversy - Some ‘Pro’ players allowed and what that means for other competitors?

Scrim Recap

Tuesday, August 21st

TOX VS Renegades

Series Score

8-7 - TOX

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11898

TOX had one more kill
Renegades had 15 more assists
TOX had 9 less deaths
TOX had 8 more power kills
Renegades had 17 more precision kills
Renegades had 14 more magnum kills

Wednesday, August 22nd

Reciprocity VS Excelerate Gaming

Series Score

11-3 - Reciprocity

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11899

Thursday, August 23rd

Renegades VS Trifecta

Series Score

7-0 - Renegades

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11900

Invictus VS Radiant Esports

Series Score

12-2 - Invictus

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11902

TOX VS Reciprocity

Series Score

9-6 - TOX

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11904

TOX had 12 more kills
Reciprocity had 10 more assists
TOX had 14 less deaths
TOX had 3 more power kills
Reciprocity had 10 more precision kills
Reciprocity had 14 more magnum kills

Friday, August 24th

Excelerate Gaming VS Veggies

Series Score

10-5 - Excelerate Gaming

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11905

Veggies had 7 more kills
Veggies had 41 more assists
Veggies had 7 less deaths
Excelerate had 26 more power kills
Veggies had 13 more precision kills
Veggies had 36 more magnum kills
Every game was very close but it just appears as though Excelerate were able to close out more than Veggies.

TOX VS Elevate

Series Score

14-1 - TOX

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11906

Monday, August 27th

Invictus VS Mock-it

Series Score

10-5 - Invictus

Stats - http://halodatahive.com/Scrim/Summary/11915

Tournament Recap

Nadestraight Sunday Showdown Halo 5 2v2 Tournament Recap

1st Place

Sonny LG

SLG
Frager

2nd Place

Connection

ShabbyDagger
Shaadyzer

Bracket

https://bit.ly/2NlCHhC

VOD

https://www.twitch.tv/nadestraight/video/302150478

The Beach LAN 7 Halo: CE 2v2 Tournament Recap

1st Place

JoDick

2nd Place

Goats

3rd Place

WordBoy

Bracket

https://challonge.com/dvdyz39u

VOD’s

https://www.twitch.tv/beachlan

Pro Battle League Season 3 Week 1 Results

Toronto Sabres VS St. Louis Sentinels

Information coming next week

Chicago United VS Columbus Origin

Information coming next week

Nashville Outlaws VS Kansas City Lightning

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-32 - Nashville

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

3-0 - Nashville

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-17 - Nashville

Series Score

3-0 - Nashville

VOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA0L6RwUwQw

Austin Royals VS Dallas Stampede

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-46 - Dallas

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

2-1 - Dallas

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-36 - Austin

Game 4 - Oddball on Eden

150-139 - Dallas

Series Score

3-1 - Dallas

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=50931027

Orlando Force VS New York Titans

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-39 - New York

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

3-1 - Orlando

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-55 - New York

Game 4 - Oddball on Eden

150-80 - New York

Series Score

3-1 - New York

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=50931027

San Jose Edge VS Anaheim Pirates

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-44 - Anaheim

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

2-1 - Anaheim

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-16 - San Jose

Game 4 - Oddball on Eden (after two resets)

150-121 - Anaheim

Series Score

3-1 - Anaheim

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=50952777

Philadelphia Forge VS Orlando Force

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-32 - Philadelphia

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

3-1 - Philadelphia

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-96 - Orlando

Game 4 - Oddball on Eden (after two resets)

150-124 - Orlando

Game 5 - Slayer on Coliseum

46-45 - Philadelphia

Series Score

3-2 - Philadelphia

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51299175

Denver Rangers VS Dallas Stampede

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-45 - Denver

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

3-1 - Denver

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-82 - Denver

Series Score

3-0 - Denver

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51299175
https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51307854

Dallas Stampede VS Houston Vipers

Game 1 - Slayer on The Rig

50-38 - Dallas

Game 2 - CTF on Truth

3-0 - Dallas

Game 3 - Strongholds on Empire

100-17 - Dallas

Series Score

3-0 - Dallas

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51307854

Pro Battle League Season 3 Week 2 Results

DMV Knights VS Philadelphia Forge

Game 1 - CTF on Coliseum

3-1 - DMV

Game 2 - Slayer on Plaza

50-32 - DMV

Game 3 - Strongholds on The Rig

100-45 - DMV

Series Score

3-0 - DMV

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51929397

Denver Rangers VS Nashville Outlaws

Game 1 - CTF on Coliseum

3-0 - Denver

Game 2 - Slayer on Plaza

50-48 - Nashville

Game 3 - Strongholds on The Rig

100-37 - Denver

Game 4 - CTF on Truth

3-0 - Denver

Series Score

3-1 - Denver

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51929397

Minnesota Predators VS Toronto Sabres

Game 1 - CTF on Coliseum

3-1 - Toronto

Game 2 - Slayer on Plaza

50-40 - Toronto

Game 3 - Strongholds on The Rig

100-99 - Toronto

Series Score

3-0 - Toronto

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51929397

Alberta Bears VS Anaheim Pirates

Game 1 - CTF on Coliseum

3-0 - Anaheim

Game 2 - Slayer on Plaza

50-19 - Anaheim

Game 3 - Strongholds on The Rig

100-3 - Anaheim

Series Score

3-0 - Anaheim

VOD

https://mixer.com/PBLHalo?vod=51929397

LATAM Gamebattles 2K Tournament Recap

1st Place

Mini Magics

$350
2000 Points

2nd Place

CL Esports

$150
1200 Points

3rd/4th

New Team
XX

800 Points

5th/6th/7th/8th

Tactical V2
Nexus New Roster
Express
Assassins of Gods

600 Points

Bracket - https://bit.ly/2P9pWHs

ANZ Gamebattles 2K Tournament Recap

1st Place

Athletico

$500
2000 Points

2nd Place

CentreLink Gaming

$250
1200 Points

3rd/4th

TeaEssDub
Yes Daddy

800 Points

5th/6th

Esto
Osprey Gaming
Colt Mafoka

600 Points

Bracket - https://bit.ly/2wosyJV

EU Gamebattles 2K Tournament Recap

1st Place

Sigh - Halo 5 (Lucid Gaming)

$750
2000 Points

2nd Place

SSSQ

$250
1200 Points

3rd/4th

MockIt
Radiant

800 Points

5th/6th/7th/8th

Niel The Doctor
Invalid Esports
WeVicious
SkitLite

600 Points

Bracket - https://bit.ly/2PAhi5M

NA Gamebattles 2K Tournament Recap

1st Place

Reciprocity

$1,500
2000 Points

2nd Place

TOX

$500
1200 Points

3rd/4th

Renegades
Excelerate

800 Points

5th/6th/7th/8th

Trifecta
Elevate
Str8 Rippin
Mentality

600 Points

Bracket - https://bit.ly/2wpBnD7

Why Are Orgs Leaving Halo? - The Results

Community Thoughts

Sander

I think Halo esports could be big if it was played on pc. Viewership should be a lot higher, I think Halo 5 is very fun to watch and the money is also not to bad. Not enough events, online and offline, look at COD for example, that’s way more interesting. And nobody’s knows what’s happing next year.

TS LocoElephante

I wish it was halo 2/3 days. but ever since reach, the franchise has been going downhill. with 343 not outwardly seeming to be all in with their commitment to the community and past balancing issues, I can't see why any org would want to take the risk/part in an unknown.

Alejandro Pena

Sadly Halo doesn't have the reach *pun not intended* it had before. Orgs are there because of advertising money

Night Fox

Major orgs: The payout/amount of good teams are hard to break into because of buyouts. Plus viewership is pretty low compared to the other big Esports.
Minor orgs: They are mostly “orgs” by name and therefore don’t have a lot of money backing them in the first place
Also to note: some orgs that leave were fraudulent orgs

TLock

It just baffles me. Halo had the 2nd biggest payout of money last year for console eSports. Only behind CoD. Halo is now 3rd behind CoD and FIFA. Using this tweet for the info. It also doesn’t help that there’s no “regular season” and barely anything mentioning tournament updates and/or roster announcements from each org on the HCS Twitter. It’s like they reluctantly tweet out out stuff if they get called out. I know Tashi’s heart is in it but can’t same for the other organizers. Seems like every other weekend there’s a cod tourney. Takes 2 months for “consecutive” Halo tourneys.
https://twitter.com/Moses_FPS/status/1019733397059588097

ScudPuddle

My opinion, I really don’t pay attention to the orgs. Players are constantly changing and it’s hard to have loyalty to an org if your watching from the fringe. I like players, and they just happen to be playing for the same org most of the time. Look at TOX for example, people loved them when they were CLG. When Optic took them over, people didn’t stop cheering for them because they had loyalty to CLG. And people who liked the old optic roster didn’t stop cheering for LOL who eventually became Str8.Then again when Optic left Halo, fans didn’t stop liking the roster.It’s hard to have a loyalty whenever things aren’t regionalized. I like what the PBL is doing with that. But unfortunately, it’s for a game that’s going on 3 years with little innovation from the developer.

Brian aka BrianMakesGames

I'd be curious to know if Gears of War and Call of Duty see the same situation happening with orgs in their spheres.
It'd be cool if we could reach out to a representative from the gears community (maybe a caster?) for comment on this. Also if someone from an org would comment too. Instead of speculation (though the discussion is great) we could maybe get some actual answers.

Conversation between Brian and Maze (CEO of Noble Esports)

Maze is the CEO of Noble eSports. They currently sponsor teams/players in Rainbow 6: Siege, PUBG, H1Z1, Forza, Madden, Injustice 2, Smash Wii-U, and mroe. They also sponsor a "twitch stream team."  Here is their halo eSports page: https://halo.esportspedia.com/Noble_eSports
Maze: "Our owner started Noble with a Halo team so he was always connected to the scene. But as an org, there are a bunch of scenes that aren't marketable or valuable business-wise. Halo is a thing of the past to most sponsors/investors eyes so they rather explore new options. Viewership was at a critical state for the new game and it was due to the "optic" effect. That's meaning once optic gaming was out of the tourney then viewers dropped dramatically."
Brian: "So despite Halo 5 having $1.4m in prize money across 16 tournaments for only 82 players in 2018 (2nd highest prize pool for console eSports only behind FIFA with $1.7m and nearly 3x the players), there's not enough viewership to justify things for an org?"
Maze: "Yeah and another reason is that the player base is not ideal to work with, demanding large salaries without a good ROI%, they have comparatively minimal streaming metrics, social media impressions, etc. Halo adapted the COD mentality unfortunately. Expect the world but don't look at it as a business opportunity through both sides. It's been gimme gimme instead of something that makes sense for the player and the org."
Brian: "Meaning that halo and players expect too much of the orgs without helping? What's an example of a game/company that does this well?"
Maze: "Halo players want salary without giving back a return of prize winnings, but they don't create content [Youtube, twitter, twitch, etc.] and barely support sponsors of brands. Also fucking roster changes lol."
Brian: "Yeah...roster changes seem like a nightmare from a business perspective."
Maze: "We almost went back into Halo 8 months ago. But were like, it doesn't make sense for us to. My opinion on how to make that scene better: less events will bring higher viewership and minimize roster changes. For example, Madden this year has only 4 offline open events and the rest are online ladders to qualify to play offline. Same prize money as Halo with minimal risk for orgs plus NFL exposure for brands/sponsors/orgs. Now a days it is about metrics more than placements -- that's how sponsors gauge their interests. Winning is great but only one team wins."

Our Thoughts

Shoutouts

Everyone at Pro Battle League for having to deal with a lot of negativity in the space and for handling it in spades.
Everyone who shines a positive light out there. Be good to one another.

Community Creations

Marty O’Donnell - Halo 2 Soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUa112HA78&feature=youtu.be

Meme Monday

https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/

Vetoed Stream Highlights #5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_H-GaRc-c8

Cyberpunk Gameplay Demo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euqbMkM-QQk

Plugs

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