MLG Dallas Halo 3 Preview
By subtheorist | Published: September 29, 2008 10:49pm EST
Let’s kick things off by breaking down the top half of the Winners Bracket, which includes Str8 Rippin, Instinct, Classic, and the yet-to-be determined eighth team. Str8 Rippin will enter Dallas as the top seed for the third consecutive event. They’ve appeared in all but one Final in 2008, and their confidence level must be at its highest point as a result. Their first round match will be against the undetermined eighth seeded team, followed by Instinct in Winners Bracket Round 2. Instinct and Classic both have similar routes through the Winners Bracket. They face off against one another in Round 1, where the winner will go on to face a fully confident Str8 Rippin in Winners Bracket Round 2. The winner of that match will then secure themselves a place in the Winners Bracket Finals against one of the four teams in the lower half of the Winners Bracket. Despite having a less-than desirable route through the bracket, Instinct does have the power of objective on their side. Instinct turned heads with their objective play in Toronto, and with over a to perfect their strategies since then, look for this aspect of their game to be even stronger this time around. When asked about their objective play in Toronto, Soviet responded, “We put the objective above everything else. None of us care who has the ball or is moving the flag. We all do everything. A lot of the top teams don't do that. After we're done, we also go over everything and make sure we do the right things at the right moments.” 
Str8 Rippin established themselves as the team to beat in Toronto. Will they become Halo 3’s first back-to-back champions?
Now that the top half of the bracket has been addressed, let’s take a look at the lower half of the Winners Bracket, starting with Triggers Down. Coming off of a dominating performance in Orlando, Triggers Down failed to meet the expectations of many at Toronto, finishing in sixth place. In light of this, we asked FearItSelf to let us in on how the team is planning on making their return to the Finals in Dallas. He responded, “We have been focusing on our overall drive and focus to win again. After Orlando we slacked off more than ever, and it came back to bite us. So now, going into Dallas we want it more than ever.” TD will be hoping the addition of Karma will fill the void left by Mackeo, and boost them back onto that Main Stage once Championship Sunday rolls around. Perhaps the most enthusiastic person coming out of the transaction is Karma himself. When asked about the team change, Karma said, “It feels new. It feels like I get to start over again. I tasted victory before and I want to taste it again. I love this feeling.” Has the Karma we’ve known since 2005 been awoken? This weekend, we’ll find out. If Triggers Down are to taste victory again, they’ll first need to get by Ambush in Winners Bracket Round 1 – a group of players who have become infamous for their ability to take down the Pro Circuit’s top dogs. Following Ambush, they’ll be up against the winner of Final Boss vs Carbon in WBR2. As you just read, Final Boss and a Karma-less Carbon will face off in Round 1, where Carbon is banking on the acquisition of Naded to thrust them into their first Finals since the 2007 National Championships. Similarly, Final Boss is hoping to do the same now they’ve had ample amount of time to adjust to Neighbor’s intricate playing style. |
