Triggers Down Win MLG Anaheim!
By blandestk | Published: November 9, 2009 3:29am EST
 The top two seeds dispatched all comers en-route to the Championship Match. Str8 Rippin and Triggers Down were easily the class of the field this weekend, but neither clearly dominated the other. Fittingly, the Championship Finals went to Game 11. Tied 5-5, Triggers Down outlasted Str8 Rippin in the final game to become the first team in Halo 3 competition to win back-to-back Live Competitions. Triggers Down led the series 3-2 going into the Finals, thanks to their victory in the Winners Bracket Finals. Str8 erased that deficit with wins in Games 6 and 7. Both games were as close as possible, with CTF Narrows going into overtime and Team Slayer The Pit ending with the timer running out. Str8 suddenly turned an uphill climb into a one-game advantage. The top seed took the next two games, however, and regained their advantage, 5-4. Triggers Down dominated Oddball Heretic in one of the few lopsided games in the series, despite an early hole of one minute. Game 9 stayed at Heretic for Capture the Flag and restarted the usual closeness. The teams were tied at two, three, and four before the game entered overtime. The game was so close that the teams were dead even on total kills. Two minutes into the extra session, Triggers Down managed to put a score in, giving them the 5-4 series lead. Str8 faced a must-win situation and they did not disappoint the crowd, though they nearly let the chance at a title slip away. Team Slayer Construct was extremely tight once again. The teams were tied at 44 and again at 46, when Tsquared procured Overshield. At first appearance it looked as if his move with the power-up might backfire, since he did not tally multiple kills, but the imbalance his maneuver caused in the setup of Triggers Down was enough. In the chaos that ensued, Str8 emerged with a 50-49 win, sending the series to a decisive Game 11. The second seed briefly found themselves at the top of the scoreboard during Team Slayer Amplified, but Triggers Down quickly erased that fact. Once TD took the lead, they never looked back, pushing to leads of 36-27, 43-33, and finally 50-41. Heinz led the way with a 12-8 performance. Triggers Down and the crowd erupted as they became the champions of Anaheim 2009. The win capped a tournament rife with upsets outside of the Top 2 and extreme parity within it. Triggers Down will be the clear favorites heading into the final tourney of the year, having become the first repeat winner of Halo 3.  |
