College Esports Player Of The Week: Halo (Maryville)
Every week during the Spring and Fall semesters, Checkpoint On Campus will share a college esports player that we think had an amazing week. So on this Easter weekend, we present College Esports Player Of The Week: Halo of Maryville University
The Gauntlet Of Champions
Maryville University already has a winning culture. But most of it is off the backs of their absolutely stellar League of Legends team. Last weekend, the Maryville Overwatch team proved they were of equal worth and won the Overwatch Collegiate Championships. On major player in their road to glory was support player, Kobe “Halo” Hamand.
As a former Overwatch League player for the Boston Uprising, Halo gives the Maryville a special type of experience and mechanical skill that other squads won’t have. This was evident all season long and even through the playoffs as they toppled defending champs, Utah, in the quarter finals. But in the Grand Finals, Halo really showed up and dominated the support battle against Northwood.
Support Madness
Halo spent most of the Grand Finals playing as Lucio, on of his main heroes. And from the very first map on Oasis it was clear that he would have the advantage in the series. In all of the teamfights, Halo won the Lucio duels vs Northwood’s Fishcake and threw down the better Sound Barriers. Near the end of round 2, Halo would throw down a ult and get a critical kill on NU’s Dynasty and clutch the round. In the first map, Halo even secured play of the game.
Later in the series it was more of the same, but Northwood didn’t go away without a fight. On match point, Northwood selected Rialto, a notoriously difficult map to complete. Halo would valiantly push on the second point and in some cases crowd controlled Northwood single-handedly. However, Northwood would win both Rialto and a hard-fought Volskaya map and force the Game 5.
In the final map, Halo came alive. On every round of Illios, there are hazards that Halo took advantage of. In a critical push from Northwood, Halo was able to boop NU’s Landon off the map and halt their advance. The important kill on the opposing support all but stalled the attack and Maryville took it to match point. And Halo found yet another gear. At the final push, Halo and MU’s off-tank, Crakin popped off on a great play where Halo booped Northwood into Crackin’s self-destruct. After a couple of staggered fights, Maryville clutched it out and won.
Watch The Back Line
Its not often that Lucio players get their kudos. But when you look at the level of CC and passive healing Halo put out, he was critical to this win. While Papaya might get all of the praise for lighting up the kill feed, Halo made it possible with vital barriers and winning duels. It is such a pleasure to give our College Esports Player Of The Week to Halo of Maryville.
Featured Image: Liquipedia