Final Boss (esports) explained

TeamFinalBoss.com
Location:United States
Partners:Complexity Gaming
Gilbert Arenas
Sport Label:Divisions
Sport:Halo 2
Halo 3

Call of Duty

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 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

Halo 2

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

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

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

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

4v4 and 3v3 tournament placings, not including free-for-all (FFA) results of team members.

2003

GameDateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo: Combat EvolvedApril 12–13Associates of Gaming Professionals (AGP) 2Nashville, Tennessee3–4thBigSauce, Brese, Cyrax, Strangepurple
Halo: Combat EvolvedApril 26–27Halo 50k[6] New Jersey3rdDom1nator, Ogre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple
Halo: Combat EvolvedAugust 2–3Halo 50k2[7] Atlanta1stOgre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple, Cyrax
Halo: Combat EvolvedOctober 26MLG New York 2004[8] New York City, New York2ndStrangepurple, Brese, DrPoon, Pray4U
Halo: Combat EvolvedNovember 29–30AGP 3Nashville, Tennessee1stOgre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Strangepurple

2004

GameDateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo: Combat EvolvedFebruary 21–22MLG Philadelphia[9] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1stOgre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Strangepurple
Halo: Combat EvolvedApril 17–18MLG Dallas[10] Dallas, Texas1stOgre1, Ogre2, Strangepurple
Halo: Combat EvolvedJune 20MLG Chicago 2004Chicago, Illinois1stStrangepurple, Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan
Halo: Combat EvolvedJuly 25MLG Atlanta 2004Atlanta2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Clockwork, Saiyan

2005

Game DateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo 2January 30MLG Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2February 27MLG San Francisco 2005[11] San Francisco1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2 March 6AGP 7Nashville, Tennessee1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2March 14MLG Houston 2005Houston[12] 1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2April 24MLG Orlando 2005Orlando1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2June 26MLG St. Louis 2005St. Louis, Missouri1st(as Team3D)
Ogre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2October 14–16MLG Los Angeles Los Angeles, California1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2November 27MLG AtlantaAtlanta1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2December 18MLG Chicago 2005Chicago 1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2February 26, 2006MLG New York 2005 ChampionshipsNew York1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy

2006

Game DateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo 2April 21–23MLG New York 2006 OpenerSecaucus, New Jersey1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2May 19–21MLG DallasDallas, Texas1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2June 25MLG Anaheim[13] Anaheim, California1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2July 23MLG Chicago Chicago, Illinois1stOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2August 27MLG OrlandoOrlando2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2October 15MLG New York Playoffs 2006New York2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Halo 2November 19MLG Las Vegas 2006 Championships Las Vegas2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Saiyan, Walshy
Coach: OGRE3

2007

Game DateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo 2April 15MLG Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: ManTrain
Halo 2June 8–10MLG Meadowlands 2007East Rutherford, New Jersey1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: ManTrain
Halo 2July 22MLG Dallas Dallas, Texas2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: ManTrain
Halo 2August 19MLG ChicagoChicago1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: ManTrain
Halo 2September 23MLG OrlandoOrlando2ndOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: Tupac
Halo 2October 14MLG Las Vegas 2007 ChampionshipsLas Vegas, Nevada1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Halo 2November 4MLG Canada Open 2007Toronto, Ontario
Direct Energy Centre
1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide

2008

Game DateEvent LocationPlacingRoster
Halo 3April 13MLG Meadowlands 2008East Rutherford, New Jersey1stOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Halo 3June 15MLG San DiegoSan Diego, California7thOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Halo 3July 13MLG OrlandoOrlando, Florida5thOgre1, Ogre2, Walshy, StrongSide
Coach: ManTrain
Halo 3August 24MLG Toronto Toronto, Ontario3rdOgre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor
Coach: Bravo
Halo 3October 5MLG Dallas Dallas, Texas3rdOgre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor
Coach: Bravo
Halo 3November 23MLG VegasLas Vegas, Nevada4thOgre1, Ogre2, StrongSide, Neighbor
Coach: Bravo

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Evil Geniuses defend Halo Championship Series title. Samuel . Lingle. The Daily Dot. July 27, 2015. 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..
  2. Web site: WALSHY - FINAL BOSS. USA Network. April 7, 2015.
  3. Web site: NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas Becomes Sponsor of Major League Gaming's Top Pros. October 13, 2006. April 7, 2015.
  4. Web site: Team 3D changes name to Final Boss. Kyle. Magee. April 20, 2006.
  5. Web site: 2011 Halo: Reach Season Recap. Major League Gaming. Lish. December 9, 2011. April 10, 2015.
  6. Web site: Halo50K Finals - TDT vs DM. absolutevids. July 11, 2008. May 17, 2019. YouTube.
  7. Web site: Re: Halo50K2 Write-Up ***MANY PICS ***. forums.bungie.org. May 17, 2019.
  8. Web site: MLG results - in full. halo.bungie.org. May 17, 2019.
  9. Web site: MLG announces tourney results. nikon.bungie.org. May 17, 2019.
  10. Web site: MLG Tourney ends in success. halo.bungie.org. May 17, 2019.
  11. Web site: 2005 San Francisco Halo 2 Results. October 15, 2008. May 20, 2015. September 17, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170917142705/http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/news/2005-san-francisco-halo-2-results-2. dead.
  12. Web site: 2005 Houston Halo 2 Results.
  13. Web site: 2006 Anaheim Halo 2 4v4 Results. January 30, 2009. May 20, 2015. July 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170716192156/http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/news/2006-anaheim-halo-2-4v4-results-2. dead.