Halo is a certified classic, one any Xbox user will have a fond memory of, but it has an underappreciated esports history, and if you’re new to the scene it’s hard to know just who are the best pro Halo players?
The Halo series has fallen on hard times lately, with Halo 5: Guardians being seen as generally underwhelming while Halo Infinite was a critical and commercial flop. That hasn’t completely erased the franchise’s long, still-strong history. And it’s worth paying homage to the top names of yesteryear, and the pros still grinding at the Halo Infinite scene.
Halo esports is more than 20 years old, and it has been home to many talented players. Though much of this time was dominated by a handful of dynasty-esque teams, there has still been plenty of room for individual excellence to shine through. Here’s our breakdown of the best Halo esports players of all time.
Image Credit: Halo Championship Series
Justin “Roy” Brown was one of the key figures who bridged the gap between two eras of Halo esports.
With Instinct, he took home a long list of championships in MLG tournaments, highlighted by winning the 2011 MLG National Championship. With Evil Geniuses, he won some of the early Halo Championship Series tournaments. While it seemed like he was destined for a relatively short run at the top relative to other Halo esports greats, that changed in 2019 with Team Reciprocity. A strong run that included a first-place finish in the Halo Championship Series Invitational 2019 across more than a decade.
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Image Credit: Halo Championship Series
When it came to Halo staying power, Justin “iGotUrPistola” Deese was the best of the best.
The Wizard was a free-for-all star in the early days of competitive Halo. The individual nature of the game mode made it fun to watch and compete in, but MLG dropped it in favor of a strict focus on four-on-four team play. That could’ve been a death knell for the player, but instead, he seamlessly pivoted to what was effectively a new game.
On that front, iGotUrPistola is notable for his success across essentially every game in the Halo series. Though he’s primarily known for his accolades in Halo 3, he has taken first-place finishes in six different Halo games.
Image Credit: Halo Championship Series
Tony “LethuL” Campbell quickly found himself near the top of the Halo esports scene in 2011 during MLG’s final days as the top Halo tournament organizer. While he reached the grand finals of three MLG events in 2011, he stepped back for a time. Then, he reemerged emphatically in 2014 by winning the MCC Launch Invitational.
That sent him straight to the top of the scene, joining Evil Geniuses and winning the first two HCS season championships. From there, he moved on to OpTic Gaming and partnered with Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte, Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom, and Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante. This squad enjoyed incredible success until 2022, bouncing between various organizations. All four players could realistically rank among the best Halo esports players of all time, but LethuL’s success before joining them makes his list of achievements stand out.
Image Credit: Halo Championship Series
The Ryan family was the original dynasty of Halo esports, with three brothers standing among the best of the game’s early years. Of the three, Tom “OGRE2” Ryan had the longest and overall best Halo esports career of the three.
OGRE2 and his twin brother, Dan “OGRE1” Ryan were among the first Halo champions, winning the 2004 MLG National Championship and repeating that feat in 2005 and 2007. Eventually, the brothers went in different directions. While OGRE1’s run at the top faded off from there, OGRE2 continued taking top honors in MLG events until 2011. Even after MLG wound down and was succeeded by the Halo Championship Series, he continued posting strong placements in major events through 2015.
All in all, that made for an 11-year run at the top and a career that few have been able to match.
Image Credit: Royal2 on X
While Royal2, Frosty, LethuL, and SnakeBite combine to make arguably the best team in Halo esports, a good case can be made that Royal2 is the most decorated of the lot of them. Sandwiching his 2016 to 2023 run with his long-time teammates are strong finishes in the olden days of Halo esports and winning the big tournaments of today.
Like LethuL, his accomplishments stretch back to the days of MLG being the biggest tournament organizer in Halo esports. Like Frosty, his success extends long past this run with organizations including Shopify Rebellion and FaZe Clan. That makes for the longest and strongest resume of the lot of them, and no suspension can undo that.
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Featured Image Credit: Halo Championship Series (HCS).
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