Str8 Rippin Community Picks for HCS London
Halo esports is back! The first day of HCS London is in the books, and the excitement within the Halo community is at a fever pitch. Our team at Str8 Rippin reached out to a few dedicated community members to get their insights and predictions for the event. Here are their winners, sleeper teams, and players to watch!
Tsquared
Winner: Spacestation Gaming (SSG)
SSG is looking to start the 2024 HCS season off with back-to-back wins, which won’t be easy. OpTic played them extremely well in Arlington, and at times it felt like they were going to potentially snatch the trophy from SSG’s grasp. Starting the season off with two wins will be extremely hard, but it’s difficult to bet against the Arlington champs if they continue to improve after each tournament.
Sleeper Team: Shopify Rebellion
One of the things I noticed at Arlington was that immediately after their loss to FaZe Clan, Shopify Rebellion was in the hallway of the Esports Stadium venue breaking down the gameplay film. That’s a rare quality and shows their work ethic and how close they are as a team. Right now, it seems hard to break into the top 4, and the question for Shopify Rebellion is whether they can play their best on LAN and push for 1st place, which is always the goal. As of now, this is my sleeper team to win the tournament, but they’ll have to all play their best to make this happen.
Player to Watch: MoNsTcR
We all know that a lot of people are going to watch out for WuTum, but one of the other players to watch would 100 percent be MoNsTcR. Controller has always dominated Halo esports, and this is the first time we’ve seen a resurgence of MnK players. There’s a huge opportunity for growth in Halo esports with the current balancing of MnK vs. Controller, and if balancing changes continue, we’ll see the game grow even more. These two players have the talent to bring in an entirely new fanbase.
Small
Winner: FaZe Clan
Sleeper Team: Sentinels
Player to Watch: Snipedrone
iSpiteful
Winner: Quadrant
Sleeper Team: Bittersweet EU
Player to Watch: WuTum
UberNick
Winner: Spacestation Gaming (SSG)
Sleeper Team: Shopify Rebellion
Player to Watch: Lqgend
HiddenXperia
Winner: Optic Gaming
Sleeper Team: Foe/ITB
Player to Watch: Formal
RealLifeSpartan
Winner: Spacestation Gaming (SSG)
Sleeper Team: Proton Gaming
Player to Watch: WuTum
ReclaimerCR
Winner: Spacestation Gaming (SSG)
Sleeper Team: Proton Gaming
Player to Watch: Gilkey
Ynot B Casting
Winner: Spacestation Gaming (SSG)
Sleeper Team: Shopify Rebellion
Player to Watch: WuTum
And there you have it! The stage is set for another exciting weekend across the pond at HCS London. Whether you’re cheering for the favorites or have a sneaky underdog pick, there’s plenty of action to look forward to.
Who are your picks? Click here to let us know in the Discord and as always - Stay Rippin.