National Championship Finals Game-by-Game Recap
By Vindicator | Published: January 11, 2010 12:18am EST
 Believe The Hype, the franchise that has nearly perfected the art of the upset over the past few years, has finally reached the top after they defeated Classic 6-2 in the Finals to win the 2009 National Championship and $100,000! The seventh-seeded squad's aggressive playstyle and devastating team shot threw their opponents off balance all weekend long, allowing them to go through the tournament without dropping a single series. Already leading the best-of-11 series 3-1 after downing Classic in the Winners Bracket Finals, BTH started off on Narrows Team Slayer by getting into the Classic base and applying pressure. Demon D's sniping allowed Maniac to weaken Classic players, offering them up as easy kills for his teammates. Believe The Hype jumped out to a 23-16 lead and kept up the pressure, controlling both Sniper Rifles for the majority of the match. A Killing Spree from BestMan helped Classic narrow the lead to 37-32, but they never got any closer as Cloud's 14 kills gave BTH a 50-36 victory. Classic found a brief rhythm in Game 6, playing patiently and methodically to slow down the game and create opportunities on Onslaught Capture the Flag. After both teams spent the first seven minutes of the game fighting for the middle, Classic found an opening and Chig ran in the team's first cap. Classic immediately threatened again until Cloud jumped from Top Middle, picking up a double kill, stopping a flag run at Classic's Stairs and giving BTH temporary control again. Moments later, Classic was able to kill all four members of BTH and, while Chig and BestMan got to work killing BTH off the spawn, Soldier187 and Ghostayame each captured a flag. Chig, who ended the game with a positive 19 k/d spread and 25 assists, finished off with a Running Riot, picked up a flag of his own, and put Classic up 4-0. One flag capture later, Classic had moved the series to 4-2. Game 7 saw Demon D catch on fire. Maniac opened the game with a Killing Spree after Classic found themselves trapped at Back Gold, and BTH held an early 18-12 lead. Classic slowly gained top control back and, with the game tied 26-26, trapped all four members of BTH in Basement. After waiting patiently for the Overshield to respawn, BTH charged up top, gaining at 29-28 lead and trapping Classic down low. Believe the Hype held off a Classic charge, and grabbed control and some breathing room. After Demon D snuck around and picked up two quick assassinations and a beat down in Open Purple, BTH had closed the door. Demon D finished with 22 kills and only six deaths as BTH won 50-36 and put themselves just one game from a championship. The momentum held up in Game 8. Believe the Hype immediately charged the ball and racked up a 68-0 lead on Heretic as Demon D picked up a Killing Frenzy. When Classic was finally able to manage a set up, Cloud came from Bottom Middle, delivering a Triple Kill and allowing BTH to pick up another big chunk of time. The two teams traded short bursts of time for most of the game until BTH found themselves with a big lead. DemonD continued his incredible Finals performance, finishing with 41 kills and 24 deaths while Clutch added a positive seven performance while amassing the most ball time. With a minute left and BtH holding an insurmountable lead, the celebrations began. Clutch walked into the cheering crowd as his teammates sat back and started to take in all that they had accomplished. When the clock ran out, BTH found themselves with a 215-181 win and an unbelievable ending to an incredible season! Congratulations to Believe The Hype, the 2009 MLG Pro Circuit Halo 3 National Champions. |
