The New Era Begins - MLG Charlotte Surprise Success Stories
By Trunkers | Published: April 17, 2007 1:58am EST
| The 2007 Pro Circuit has kicked off, and we couldn’t think of a better way to get things started than with a tournament like this. In Charlotte, we saw every conceivable storyline. Countless surprise results littered the brackets, and it’s clear that a new wave of players are looking to find their own spot in the limelight. It’s been nearly half a year since the last open-entry MLG event, and it's clear that a pack of players have been practicing all throughout the off-season to take their game to greater heights. This tournament proved that no team is safe from even the most unknown of squads. All sorts of teams are reaching unpredictable and unimaginable levels of skill, and no team can be overlooked. Even the most established pros are learning that their resume won’t win them any matches. It’s anyone’s year, and these players are out there writing the record books. In Charlotte we saw the first tournament attendees knock off contracted pro players, we saw long-time semi-pro squads leap the hurdle that had been holding them back, and we witnessed well-established squads forced to make massive treks through the Losers Bracket. It was a tournament that seemingly saw more upsets than expected results, and it’s clear that a new era is dawning in the pro Halo 2 world. A Dangerous New Agency Topping the charts are FBI The Agency. This team formed early in the off-season, and considered themselves to be an all-star cast of the 2006 season’s 7th-9th seeded teams. In an off-season interview, the team mentioned that they never capitalized on their potential because they knocked each other out of the brackets each time. Now, they’ve joined forces and have nothing holding them back. The team first became a point of discussion when they won the Division I Halo 2 Online Kickoff Classic, ousting Carbon and Final Boss in the process. Fans, however dismissed the feat as a fluke; a product of Xbox Live's increased host advantages. In the eyes of many, the team was incapable of competing with the tour juggernauts in LAN conditions, and fans tended to pin the squad in the 7th/8th range for Charlotte. The Agency, however, defied all expectations, shaking up the brackets by sweeping top seeded Carbon in the third round of the Winners Bracket. FBI proceeded to march to the Winners Bracket Finals, where they nearly ousted Final Boss in a thrilling five-game series. The performance proved that the top tier of play is not an exclusive two-team group. The Agency rode the tournament’s ninth seed to a stunning third place finish. The performance showed the vulnerability of each of the top teams, and shows that a talented squad with a disciplined work ethic can reach the top tier, even without household names. Check out the next page for more MLG Charlotte surprise success stories! |
