HCS 2023 Power Rankings
The HCS 2023 season is underway and we are hours away from the first Major in Charlotte. With many roster changes happening everyone is wondering, “Who will be crowned the first Major champion of 2023?”. Now that we have some data on these teams after the open qualifiers, it’s time for The People’s Champ to deliver his 1st power rankings of the season.
1. FaZe (Renegade, Snakebite, Royal 2, Frosty)
FaZe overhauled their halo roster in the off-season only keeping Renegade. In a blockbuster move, they picked up the trio of Frosty, Royal 2, and Snakebite. On paper, this could be the greatest Halo team assembled. They’ve had a great start to the season winning two online tournaments. While Optic are your defending world champs, FaZe has taken tournaments from Optic already this season. I’ve got them as the best team in Halo Infinite and believe they’ll be your Major 1 champs.
2. Optic (Lucid, FormaL, APG, Trippy)
Optic are your defending champs for a reason. They are a well-oiled machine and don’t miss a step. One of the only teams to not make a change in the off-season, their chemistry is the best in the game. If it wasn’t for FaZe’s new roster, Optic would be the clear-cut favorites to win every tournament this year. They’ll be battling FaZe for first place all year and I can’t wait for those matches.
3. SpaceStation Gaming (Bound, Stellur, Pznguin, Eco)
Spacestation made the best off-season move out of all the teams. Cloud9 dropped their championship Halo squad due to budget cuts. Spacestation seized the opportunity and picked up the old C9 squad. Going from being a bottom-feeder team to a world championship contender in one move. This squad has made it to the Grand Finals in every Halo Infinite tournament and won the first 2. Expect this team to win a Major this year.
4. Native Red (Druk, Soul Snipe, Manny, Taulek)
These guys have been grinding and getting better together since the H5 days. Arguably the best KOTH team in the HCS. Native Red still does not get the respect they deserve. They can beat every team in the league and placed 3rd at worlds. Their consistency is their weakness, but they can keep up with anyone when they are hot. I think this is the year they break through and make their first Grand Finals appearance. (These rankings were finalized before Druk announced he won’t be able to compete at HCS Charlotte. This starting 4 is a Grand Finals contender)
5. G1 (Bubu Dubu, Falcated, Sabinater, Suspector)
G1 has looked very strong in the online tournaments so far. But LAN is a different story and they haven’t lived up to their potential in the past. However, they’ve revamped their team in the off-season. Only keeping Bubu Dubu they brought in some serious firepower to help him out, especially with Falcated. The Frontline of Bubu Dubu and Falcated could make a deep run at any Major this year.
6. Sentinels (Spartan, Lethul, Kuhlect, King Nick)
Sentinels were downgraded during the off-season, there’s no way around it. Anytime you lose 3 future hall of fame players it’s going to hurt. This roster still demands respect. Kuhlect could’ve been Rookie of the Year if he wasn’t stuck on the disaster that was Spacestation halo last year. He will put the HCS on notice this year. Even though Lethul is at the end of his career, at his prime he was arguably the best player of all time. Don’t get it twisted, Lethul at 50% is still better than a majority of the league. Spartan is a top 10 talent any given day, when he’s on fire he’s easily a top 5 player. King Nick is an excellent player as well. On paper, this is a strong team but they haven’t had a great start to the season. Once they get on the same page this will be a scary team.
7. Shopify Rebellion (Ryanoob, Rayne, Karmea, MentaL)
This is a solid squad. While not star-studded, they have a lot of experience with Ryanoob and Rayne. They’ve been streaky so far. I don’t see them taking a series from the top 4 teams but they can easily make the top 5 at Major 1. There is a lot of upside for this team. Veterans Ryanoob and Rayne have a chance to release the untapped potential of Karmea and MentaL. This is not a team to take lightly, they’ll make you earn each win.
8. Natus Vincere (Jimbo, Snip3Drone, Mightys, and Snakey)
Navi are looking to be the new top dogs of European Halo now that Acend has left the scene. In year one they looked great with their rotations but lacked firepower. The addition of Snip3drone to this squad gives them much-needed firepower to keep up with the North American Teams. They’ve looked great online and are poised to make a Cinderella run at Major 1. Very interesting to see what chaos this team can make to the bracket.
9. Quadrant (Sica, Lqgend, Tchik, SLG)
Quadrant has looked solid in the online qualifiers this year. With the addition of Sica and Lqgend, this could be the strongest roster Quadrant has assembled. We’ll see how they stack up against the NA teams at Charlotte.
10. Believe the Hype (Monstcr, Boammx, Neuronical, and Precisin)
BtH made a deep run in the online qualifiers. Not many had them qualifying for pool play going into Major 1. I do take their online results with a grain of salt. LAN is a different setting and so is the main stage. Monstcr performs great online, however, at LAN he performs drastically worse. Some even accuse him of cheating. As there isn’t any explanation for why his online and LAN performances are so different. BtH has an opportunity to make a deep run, and Monstcr has a chance to silence all the haters.
11. Luminosity gaming (Drift, Atzo, Bullet, Noblc)
Luminosity is the only team in pool play representing the MX and LATAM region. They are hands down the best team in their region. Atzo and Drift gained invaluable experience during their time with Spacestation Gaming. They got beat up on Main Stage at Worlds 2022 by the NA teams. Playing against the world’s best teams has changed how they approach Halo. No one is expecting much out of this team but I expect them to upset many of the Top 8 teams.
12. Divine Minds (Madsy, Slayz, Swayz, Bziirk)
The ANZ region has quickly been improving at Halo. The question now is, can they keep up with the best teams in the world? Divine Minds can prove they can this weekend. If they can translate their online play to LAN they could sneak in to top 8.
These are my top 12 teams currently going into Major 1. I cannot wait to see these teams duke it out at Charlotte this weekend. I’ll be updating these power rankings throughout the season, especially after any Major tournament. Let me know in the comments what you think of my rankings and what you would change!
