ACL’s online events have always been relatively popular, however, last weekend’s Halo 4 tournament smashed any previous ACL tournament participant numbers with a record-breaking 70 teams competing, consisting of new recruits and household names alike. Halo 4 is going to be huge in 2013 and this is only the beginning….

With the purpose of testing settings and competition structure for ACL’s 2013 season , the Australian Cyber League’s first ever Halo 4 online event came to a thrilling conclusion last Saturday, December 1st. Featuring some of the best teams in Australia and New Zealand including Mindfreak, NBT, Team Sidewinder and of course Infamous, the competition was set to be a fierce one.

As there was no Pool Play or seeds of any kind, the competition would start with the drawing of the bracket via live stream on Friday night, where participants got their first look at their Round 1 opponents and how their journey through the bracket might look. With 70 teams registered, there was quite a variety of match ups in Round 1 and it made for some very interesting competition.

Notable match ups from Round 1 would include Apex vs New Era, where Apex would walk away victorious taking the game 2-1 from New Era. Round 1 also saw the early defeat of Initial Concept, perhaps underestimating the team of Derpin Derps and their intimidating name. Other close match ups to mention would be Onslaught’s win over Four Sons of God, Prophecy’s win over Flair and Team Old School’s win over Suddoth’s Dad, all with series scores of 2-1.

Winners Bracket Round 2 was full of dominating victories, with all winning teams doing so in a 2-0 fashion. Along with the big names, we also saw the likes of Forsaken, AHP, Exodus, Gander Squad and Road Kill all taking victories. Losers Bracket Round 1 would bring with it the first eliminations of the tournament, with honourable mentions going to Kitty Love, Final Four, Heroic Hoplites, RTFM, Quick Stix and Team Lunch Box among others.

Winners Round 3 was yet another flawless round with all winners taking 2-0 victories. Infamous, Avant, Exodux, Derpin Derps, Team Sidewinder, Mindfreak, NBT and Spoon would all take wins while a couple of well-known names such as Apex, Counter Cap and RNR all fell to the Losers Bracket. Losers Bracket Round 2 also saw a clean sweep for the victors, all taking 2-0 wins, aside from Destiny who took one game off Cursed before unfortunately bowing out of the competition.

Moving towards the finals, Winners Bracket Round 4 saw the big names snatch victory, however, there were also upsets to be had. One of the hot competition favourites, Mindfreak, were defeated by the Kiwi powerhouse Team Sidewinder, dropping them to the Losers Bracket. NBT also bit the dust against Spoon in another 3-0 series. The series of the round would have to be Infamous vs Avant, where Avant almost took the win but unfortunately were taken down 3-2. Down in the Losers Bracket, we said goodbye to RNR, AHP and Counter Cap.


Pengzy's POV from the Infamous vs Avant series in WBR4

Getting to the pointy end of the competition, the Winners Bracket Semi-Finals saw some amazing games of Halo 4 take place. Infamous took on Derpin Derps while Team Sidewinder was pitted against Spoon. Infamous took out a 3-1 victory over Derpin Derps and while they played valiantly, Spoon made quick work of the best New Zealand has to offer, Team Sidewinder. In the Losers Bracket we would see some amazing games with some big names being knocked out of the tournament, including Schnitty Snatchers, Exodus and Initial Concept. The series of the Round however, maybe even the tournament, would be that of Mindfreak vs NBT. NBT got the early lead on Mindfreak, winning the first two games. Not to be out-done, Mindfreak came back to win the next two, making the series score 2-2 and forcing the final game, Slayer on Haven. Towards the end of the game, Mindfreak were in front 47-40 before a stand-off occurred. NBT were able to get control of the snipe and get a few kills, the resulting score after that battle was 48-47. Mindfreak then made a final push, being able to break through NBT and finish the game and series off with a nail-biting score of 50-48.

The Winners Bracket Finals saw Infamous, the line-up of Roosters, iJayden, Fram and Pengzy, take on Spoon, consisting of Godlike, Silence, Lil Virus and Frosty. Despite the impressive line-up from Spoon, Infamous were able to continue their winning streak defeating Spoon 3-1 and advancing to the Grand Final. Down in the Losers Bracket, Avant took out Str8 Cordial before being knocked out of the tournament by Team Sidewinder in a 3-0 Fashion. Sidewinder were then to take on Mindfreak, who defeated Derpin Derps 3-1. The matchup of Team Sidewinder vs Mindfreak was much anticipated and despite both teams playing valiantly, Mindfreak would be the team to emerge victorious, defeating Sidewinder 3-1 giving them a respectable 4th place finish. The Losers Bracket Finals saw Mindfreak up against Spoon where yet again Mindfreak took the victory, eliminating Spoon 3-1.


Hopey's POV of Mindfreak vs Spoon, Game 2 Losers Bracket Finals

After winning the Losers Bracket Finals, Mindfreak would get their first shot at the as-yet undefeated Infamous squad. Although many thought that Mindfreak, with their renewed formation of Hopey, Blaze, Halvo and Pulse would win the competition, it would not be the case. Infamous shined in the Grand Final and continued their winning streak, defeating Mindfreak 3-1 and taking out ACL’s first ever Halo 4 competition!


iJayden's POV from the final game of the Grand Final against Mindfreak

ACL would like to thank everyone who competed in our first ever Halo 4 event, and we'd also like to thank you all for breaking ACL's participation record with an amazing 70 teams! Congratulations once again to Infamous! We hope you all enjoyed yourselves and we look forward to our next competition!