Recapping HCS Arlington

What an amazing weekend it was getting to experience the best Halo anyone could ask for!

Optic Gaming hosted another HCS Major this year, and it was absolutely outstanding for fans.

We saw Optic Gaming make history, breaking their second-place curse from 2024 and taking home the win.

Shopify Rebellion fell short in Game 7 of the Grand Finals reset, unfortunately. They played very well for the majority of the tournament, but things seemed to fall apart as Optic Gaming put constant pressure on them throughout.

TSM, one of the newly partnered HCS teams, took home a 12th-place finish. Although it wasn’t what they were expecting, they should bounce back, especially since they recently dropped Cherished to pick up another fourth player to complete their squad.

Team Nemesis played lights out for the most part over the weekend. They took down Optic Gaming in pool play but met their demise at the hands of FaZe Clan and dropped to the lower bracket. They then faced an Optic Gaming squad with revenge in their hearts after the beating they took in pool play.

Gen.G took down Complexity in the lower bracket 3-2 in an epic matchup of former teammates. BreakingShot popped off after winning the series, showing why they shouldn’t have dropped him.

Dark Inside went on another historic run, making their way out of the open bracket before being eliminated in pool play as the fourth seed in their group. This team has looked promising, and we can’t wait to see what they do in DreamHack Dallas.

ETHR powered their way out of the open bracket to once again prove why they belong in pool play amongst the best of the best, ultimately losing to Cloud9 in the lower bracket.

Cloud9 had a decent run in the lower champ bracket, taking out Gen.G 3-1 before meeting their fate at the hands of Spacestation Gaming.

Zero Tenacity had a good run as well, finishing pool play with a 2-1 record and making their way to the champ bracket, where they were sent to the lower bracket by SSG in winners with a 3-1 series before being eliminated by Infamous 3-2.

The weekend ended up being electric, with an Optic Gaming win marking their first championship hoist in nearly two years. If you didn’t get to catch the action and want to catch up, make sure to check the links below for all available watch parties and VODs. Next up is DreamHack Dallas, where we will once again see some amazing Halo, united by a wholesome grassroots community. See you there!

VODs:

Official Halo VODs:

Day 1