Team Infused

Team Infused is a European esports organization that fields teams in games such as Halo 5, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Gears of War.

History
Team Infused was founded in December 2005. Since then, they have grown to become one of the top esports organizations in Europe. Their fans identify themselves using the hashtag #RedArmy.

Halo: Reach
Infused's first foray into the Halo scene came in 2011, when they fielded a lineup of Jack "Baxter" Baxter, Jack "BlackJack" Lewis, Alex "BUK 20" Buck and Matthew "Pistol" Peat. The roster attended Multiplay Insomnia 43, where they finished 2nd, falling to Team Dignitas in the finals. BUK 20 left after Insomnia, and Infused picked up Stefan "MVP" Djordjevic in his place. At EGL 4 London, Infused again fell to Dignitas in the finals. Infused disbanded after this event.

Halo 3
Infused returned to Halo in 2014, fielding a roster of the returning BUK 20 alongside Eddie "Reaction" Leck, Ed "Vard" Burrows and Xavier "Xavi" Spiller-Cameron at Multiplay Insomnia 52's Halo 3 tournament. They finished 2nd, losing to VwS Gaming in the finals.

Halo 2: Anniversary
Following i52, Xavi was replaced by Brandon "Respectful" Stones. At Multiplay Insomnia 53, Infused finished 3rd. A week later at the Gfinity Halo 2: Anniversary LAN Championship, Infused finished in the top 4. The roster disbanded shortly after.

Halo 5: Guardians
On October 1, 2015, Team Infused announced its first lineup for Halo 5 - Jake "Chalkie" White, Perry "TuFoxy" Kenyon, Max "Riotz" Cottle and Andrew "Ramirez" Corrigan, a roster well known for its time under Supremacy and TCM Gaming. Their first tournament was Multiplay Insomnia 56, where they finished 2nd, losing to Epsilon eSports in the finals. Following Insomnia, Riotz left the team and was replaced by the returning BlackJack.

On January 17, Infused qualified for the EMEA Regional Finals by placing 3rd at the Gfinity UK Finals. They made their berth in the biggest ever EU Halo event count, defeating Epsilon and exceL eSports en route to taking 1st place and securing the first EU seed in Halo World Championship 2016. This was Infused's first major Halo tournament win. At Worlds, Infused went 1-2 in their group, narrowly defeating Team Exile5 and losing to Renegades and Evil Geniuses. This resulted in a top 16 finish for the squad. The team quietly disbanded following the event.

Infused returned to Halo 5 on May 26, 2016, announcing the acquisition of the former Deception roster - Ryan "Batchford" Batchelor, Daniel "Doodle" Petersen, Hamzah "Phlux" Nackvi and Stuart "WarLord" Graham, with coach Steven "Outkast" Graham. The team had previously qualified for the HCS Pro League under the Deception name. Despite roster drama in the middle of the season and the publicized dropping of Batchford, the team ended up sticking together and finishing 2nd in the standings for the season. At the Season Finals, Infused finished 4th out of the four qualified teams.

During the Summer-Fall offseason, Infused released Doodle, bringing in Liam "Havoc" Peck as his replacement. Just prior to roster lock, Infused dropped WarLord and acquired Robby "Kimbo" Faulk, formerly of FAB Games eSports. After a 2-2 start to the season, Doodle returned to Infused, replacing Havoc. With Doodle back, Infused became the first team to defeat FAB Games eSports in a Pro League match, including their time under U4X eSports, when they defeated them 3-1 in Week 3. The following day, Batchford declared free agency. In a manner similar to the previous season, Infused ended up sticking together despite Batchford's declaration. They ultimately finished the season with a 7-3 record, good enough for 3rd place. At the Season Finals, Infused came out strong, beating Team Vibe 4-2 in the first round. In the Winners Finals, they were swept by FAB. In the Losers' Finals, they took on PuLse Gaming for a berth in the Grand Finals, which they were successful in earning with a 4-2 victory. In the Finals, they were again swept by FAB and forced to settle for 2nd place.

Days after the finals, Batchford again declared free agency. Infused finalized its roster on January 2, releasing Doodle and acquiring Kristopher "Qristola" O'Keefe and Arkel "Snakey" Brown, both from Team Vibe. The new Infused's first task was qualifying for Halo World Championship 2017, and they'd need a top 2 finish at Gfinity London 2017 to do so. Things looked promising to start, as they dominated their competition up until a 3-2 Winners Finals loss to FAB Games eSports. In the Losers' Finals, Infused were upset in a 4-3 loss to Supremacy, resulting in a heartbreaking 3rd place finish. Shortly after the event, Qristola left Team Infused due to the lackluster placing. Taking his spot on the team was Michael "Snipedrone" Juchau, whose team, Epsilon eSports, had just released their roster earlier that day. The new roster's Worlds dreams were ended in the Last Chance Qualifier after a 3-1 loss to Best Routers EU in the Losers Finals which resulted in a 3rd place finish.

On May 17, almost two months after Worlds, Team Infused's roster for the 2017 season was confirmed, with the departure of Phlux and Snipedrone making way for the acquisitions of Kieran "Quadios" Rose and a returning Batchford. Despite a 2-0 start to the short Summer 2017 Pro League season, Infused made a change during the Transfer Period, replacing the departing Batchford with a returning Respectful, now known as one of the best European players in Halo 5. With Respectful on board, Infused finished first in the season with a nearly perfect record, dropping only one map with the new roster over three matches and qualifying for a spot in the Championship Bracket at DreamHack Atlanta. In Atlanta, Infused were able to beat European rivals Vexed Gaming, but could not put a dent in the two American squads they faced - Splyce and Evil Geniuses, falling 3-0 to both teams and finishing in the top twelve.

Infused made big changes during the offseason, releasing Snakey and Quadios and replacing them with Robby "Kimbo" El-Zein and James "Jimbo" Bradbrook, reuniting three of the four members of the dominant FAB Games eSports roster from the previous year. The new Infused were unstoppable, winning two of the three Open Cups for the Fall European Circuit and finishing second in the other. At Gfinity London, Infused were dominant, dropping only one game all tournament (to Supremacy in the Grand Finals]]) and establishing themselves as the undisputed #1 team outside North America. At DreamHack Denver, Infused were again granted a bye into the Championship Bracket for their efforts in London. This time they put the spot to good use, immediately taking out an American pro team in Team CryptiK. Infused were halted in the next round by a formidable opponent in Team EnVyUs, but they bounced back with a victory over Vexed Gaming before earning another impressive upset over the American Str8 Rippin. In the following round, they were beaten 3-1 by eventual event runners-up Team Liquid, but with a top six finish, Infused were able to leave with their heads held high, having set a new placing record for European teams at North American events.

At the beginning of Halo World Championship 2018 season, Jimbo was dropped from Infused and replaced by a returning tuf0xy, but this was quickly reversed with Jimbo returning following a poor showing in an online cup. With Jimbo back on board, Infused went into MLG Orlando as the #1 European seed, but finished with a top twelve placing after losses to Splyce, Team EnVyUs, and Fyra Gaming. Infused rebounded at home at Gfinity London, cruising to a near flawless victory with only a single game dropped all tournament and qualifying for Worlds. At Worlds, Infused were the only non-American team to make it out of pool play, finishing second in their group after beating Oxygen Supremacy 3-0. Unfortunately, Infused could not take more than a game from either opponent they faced in the championship bracket, losing 4-1 to both Splyce and Renegades and going home with a top eight finish.