Final Boss (esports)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2015) |
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| Divisions | Halo 2 Halo 3 Halo: Reach Call of Duty |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Folded | 2011 |
| Location | United States |
| Partners | Complexity Gaming Gilbert Arenas |
| Website | www |
Final Boss (known earlier as Shoot to Kill and Team 3D) was a professional esports team that competed in Halo competitions sponsored by Major League Gaming (MLG) and other tournaments. With its most successful lineups consisting of a core of Dan "Ogre 1" Ryan, Tom "Ogre 2" Ryan and Dave "Walshy" Walsh, Final Boss is regarded as one of the best Halo teams of all time due to their numerous tournament victories and MLG National Championships from 2004 to 2010.[1] They also hold the record for the longest consecutive event winning streak, with 8 straight tournament victories from 2005 into 2006.
Former team members include Dave "Walshy" Walsh, Tom "OGRE 2" Ryan, Dan "OGRE 1" Ryan, Ryan "Saiyan" Danford, Michael "StrongSide" Cavanaugh and Justin "iGotUrPistola" Deese.[2] NBA player Gilbert Arenas was once a sponsor of the team.[3]
Final Boss was one of the professional teams that competed on the Boost Mobile Major League Gaming Pro Circuit that aired on USA Network in 2006. After several years of competing in Halo 3 and later Halo: Reach, Final Boss disbanded in 2011. In 2014, Ogre 2 revived the Shoot to Kill name for his Halo 2: Anniversary team, but the name was short-lived as the team was soon acquired by esports organization Counter Logic Gaming.
Ogre 2 has also fielded Final Boss teams in Call of Duty and Shadowrun MLG tournaments.
History
[edit]Halo 2
[edit]The original lineup of Final Boss was first formed as Shoot to Kill (StK) in 2005, at the beginning of the inaugural MLG Halo 2 season. With a roster of the Ogre twins Dan and Tom Ryan alongside Dave "Walshy" Walsh and Ryan "Saiyan" Danford, StK came in first at the five events it attended. The team then became sponsored by esports organization Team 3D and changed its name to Team 3D to reflect this. After their rebranding the team won five of the next six events.
In April 2006, Team 3D parted ways with the players and for the first time, the team took the name of Final Boss.[4] They continued their four event winning streak into 2006, making it eight in a row before being dethroned by Carbon. The eight event streak stands as the longest winning streak in MLG history. Carbon defeated Final Boss in three straight events to close out the season, marking the first year the Ogre twins and Walshy had not won the MLG National Championship.
Final Boss made a team change for the 2007 season, dropping founding member Saiyan for Michael "StrongSide" Cavanaugh. The change proved to be fruitful, as Final Boss went on to win five of the seven tournaments in 2007, including the National Championships, to close out Halo 2 as the undisputed kings.
Halo 3
[edit]Final Boss started Halo 3 out on a good note, winning the inaugural event of the 2008 season, but things went downhill from there. After finishing 7th and 5th in back to back events, the Ogres made the controversial decision to drop Walshy and pick up Mason "Neighbor" Cobb. After this move they improved, going on to place third in both Toronto and Dallas before finishing 4th at the National Championships.
2009 brought massive changes. Ogre 1 left the team, leaving Ogre 2 as the only remaining member of the original line up. The other team members were Justin "Fearitself" Kats, Joseph "Mackeo" Reinhart, and Cameron "Victory X" Thorlakson. This team would finish 5th in Meadowlands and 3rd in Columbus before Mackeo would be replaced by a returning StrongSide. This lineup finished 5th in Dallas. FearitSelf left the team and they picked up Dmitriy "Soviet" Gulyan, and went on to a 9th-place finish in Anaheim. They finished the year with Patrick "Sypher" Hynes in place of Soviet and an 8th-place finish at the Orlando National Championships.
To kick 2010 off, FearitSelf would rejoin Ogre 2 and Victory X, now accompanied by Anthony "Totz" Pennacchio, for a 3rd-place finish in Orlando. Following this, Totz was replaced with Halo 3 phenom Justin "iGotUrPistola" Deese, formerly of Triggers Down, leading to a 2nd-place finish in Columbus. The acquisition of Pistola would be the catalyst for a return to dominance for Final Boss, as the lineup went on to win the final 3 events of the year.
Halo: Reach
[edit]Despite keeping the same roster from the championship 2010 Halo 3 season, Final Boss only came in 10th place playing Halo: Reach at Dallas 2011, their lowest Final Boss had placed since its inception.[5] CompLexity Gaming sponsored the team in 2011. Disappointed as their lack of success, two players departed, Pistola and Ogre 2, the last founding member. In their place came the return of Totz and newcomer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins. The new squad finished 5th in Columbus. The team then parted ways with Ninja and brought in Scottie "Cloud" Holste. This lineup finished 8th in Anaheim and again changed with Cloud and Totz, being replaced by Jordan "Amish Acorns" Dotzel and Jacob "Hysteria" Reiser. This team went on to place 10th in Raleigh. When Amish Acorns was swapped with Brian "Legit" Rizzo the team maintained the lineup for two events getting 10th in Orlando and 6th at the Providence National Championships.
2014 temporary revival
[edit]In 2014 Ogre 2, Heinz, SnakeBite, and Royal2 created a team under the name Shoot to Kill. They placed third at their first tournament, the Master Chief Collection Launch Invitational on November 9. In November 2014 the team signed with Counter Logic Gaming, starting that organization's Halo division.
Tournament placings
[edit] |
4v4 and 3v3 tournament placings, not including free-for-all (FFA) results of team members.
2003
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo: Combat Evolved | April 12–13 | Associates of Gaming Professionals (AGP) 2 | Nashville, Tennessee | 3–4th | BigSauce, Brese, Cyrax, Strangepurple |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | April 26–27 | Halo 50k[6] | New Jersey | 3rd | Dom1nator, Ogre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | August 2–3 | Halo 50k2[7] | Atlanta | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple, Cyrax |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | October 26 | MLG New York 2004[8] | New York City, New York | 2nd | Strangepurple, Brese, DrPoon, Pray4U |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | November 29–30 | AGP 3 | Nashville, Tennessee | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Strangepurple |
2004
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo: Combat Evolved | February 21–22 | MLG Philadelphia[9] | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Strangepurple |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | April 17–18 | MLG Dallas[10] | Dallas, Texas | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | June 20 | MLG Chicago 2004 | Chicago, Illinois | 1st | Strangepurple, Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | July 25 | MLG Atlanta 2004 | Atlanta | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Saiyan |
2005
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo 2 | January 30 | MLG Washington, D.C. | Washington, D.C. | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | February 27 | MLG San Francisco 2005[11] | San Francisco | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | March 6 | AGP 7 | Nashville, Tennessee | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | March 14 | MLG Houston 2005 | Houston[12] | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | April 24 | MLG Orlando 2005 | Orlando | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | June 26 | MLG St. Louis 2005 | St. Louis, Missouri | 1st | (as Team3D) Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | October 14–16 | MLG Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | November 27 | MLG Atlanta | Atlanta | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | December 18 | MLG Chicago 2005 | Chicago | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | February 26, 2006 | MLG New York 2005 Championships | New York | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
2006
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo 2 | April 21–23 | MLG New York 2006 Opener | Secaucus, New Jersey | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | May 19–21 | MLG Dallas | Dallas, Texas | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | June 25 | MLG Anaheim[13] | Anaheim, California | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | July 23 | MLG Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | August 27 | MLG Orlando | Orlando | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | October 15 | MLG New York Playoffs 2006 | New York | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy |
| Halo 2 | November 19 | MLG Las Vegas 2006 Championships | Las Vegas | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy Coach: OGRE3 |
2007
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo 2 | April 15 | MLG Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: ManTrain |
| Halo 2 | June 8–10 | MLG Meadowlands 2007 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: ManTrain |
| Halo 2 | July 22 | MLG Dallas | Dallas, Texas | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: ManTrain |
| Halo 2 | August 19 | MLG Chicago | Chicago | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: ManTrain |
| Halo 2 | September 23 | MLG Orlando | Orlando | 2nd | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: Tupac |
| Halo 2 | October 14 | MLG Las Vegas 2007 Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide |
| Halo 2 | November 4 | MLG Canada Open 2007 | Toronto, Ontario Direct Energy Centre |
1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide |
2008
[edit]| Game | Date | Event | Location | Placing | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo 3 | April 13 | MLG Meadowlands 2008 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 1st | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide |
| Halo 3 | June 15 | MLG San Diego | San Diego, California | 7th | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide |
| Halo 3 | July 13 | MLG Orlando | Orlando, Florida | 5th | Ogre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide Coach: ManTrain |
| Halo 3 | August 24 | MLG Toronto | Toronto, Ontario | 3rd | Ogre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor Coach: Bravo |
| Halo 3 | October 5 | MLG Dallas | Dallas, Texas | 3rd | Ogre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor Coach: Bravo |
| Halo 3 | November 23 | MLG Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada | 4th | Ogre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor Coach: Bravo |
References
[edit]- ^ Lingle, Samuel (July 27, 2015). "Evil Geniuses defend Halo Championship Series title". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
That puts the team on the path to equalling the feat of legendary squads like Final Boss and Team 3D, who absolutely dominated the scene in 2005 and 2007.
- ^ "WALSHY - FINAL BOSS". USA Network. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas Becomes Sponsor of Major League Gaming's Top Pros". October 13, 2006. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ Magee, Kyle (April 20, 2006). "Team 3D changes name to Final Boss".
- ^ Lish (December 9, 2011). "2011 Halo: Reach Season Recap". Major League Gaming. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ absolutevids (July 11, 2008). "Halo50K Finals - TDT vs DM". Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Re: Halo50K2 Write-Up ***MANY PICS ***". forums.bungie.org. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ "MLG results - in full". halo.bungie.org. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ "MLG announces tourney results". nikon.bungie.org. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ "MLG Tourney ends in success". halo.bungie.org. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ "2005 San Francisco Halo 2 Results". October 15, 2008. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ "2005 Houston Halo 2 Results".
- ^ "2006 Anaheim Halo 2 4v4 Results". January 30, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2015.