Final Boss

Final Boss is a former American Halo team, one of the most iconic to ever compete in the esport. They are widely regarded as one of the strongest Halo teams of all time, winning the majority of the events in the 2006, 2007 and 2010 MLG seasons. For nearly the entirety of the team's tenure on the MLG Pro Circuit, it was lead by Tom "OGRE2" Ryan. Other prominent alumni include Dan "OGRE1" Ryan, Dave "Walshy" Walsh, Ryan "Saiyan" Danford, Michael "StrongSide" Cavanaugh, Justin "iGotUrPistola Deese, Justin "FearItSelf" Kats, and Cameron "Victory X" Thorlakson.

Halo 2
On April 20, 2006, Major League Gaming confirmed that the Team 3D roster of OGRE1, OGRE2, Walshy, and Saiyan had parted ways with its sponsor. Rather than going back to their old name - Shoot to Kill, the dominant roster went with a new name more befitting them, given their stature on the MLG Pro Circuit at the time - Final Boss. At the 2006 kickoff event in New York, Final Boss faced only mild opposition as Str8 Rippin managed to take two games in the Winners Finals. In the Grand Finals rematch, Final Boss steamrolled Str8 with three straight map wins, winning their first event under the new name and tying their record of five straight MLG event wins with the same roster. Looking to break the record in Dallas, FB again faced minor opposition from Str8, but again steamrolled them 3-0 in the Grand Finals to break their old record. As MLG viewership numbers grew, so did Final Boss's popularity, thanks in part to Captain Walshy's undeniable charisma and the unmatched intensity of the OGRE twins. Just prior to Anaheim, the team was signed to a groundbreaking $1,000,000 contract with Major League Gaming. In Anaheim, FB were nearly perfect, dropping only a single game all event (to Winners Round 2 opponents XGC Zone 6). They swept Str8 in the Winners Finals and the young, hungry Carbon in the Grand Finals to extend their record to 7 straight wins. For the OGRE twins and Walshy, this win also tied their individual records for most straight event wins, as the three had previously teamed together with KillerN as Shoot to Kill before replacing him with Saiyan and continuing to win. In Chicago, FB were perfect until the Winners Finals, where Storm Ventures took a game in their losing effort. After a dramatic upset over Carbon, SV reached the Grand Finals for a rematch with Final Boss and managed to take another three games, but were ultimately defeated 6-4 overall by the dominant squad as FB extended its winning streak and the OGREs and Walshy broke the individual wins record.

Everything came crashing down in Orlando, however, as they were unexpectedly ousted from the Winners Bracket Finals by Carbon, whose fresh roster featuring GH057ayame replacing StrongSide overwhelmed the defending champs. Not a team to roll over and die, Final Boss made short work of Str8 Rippin in the Losers Finals and entered the Grand Finals with a 3-1 deficit to Carbon. They managed to take another three games, but ultimately lost 6-4, putting an end to their record streaks. At the New York Playoffs, FB looked to exact revenge. They were initially successful, meeting Carbon in the Winners Finals and taking the series 3-1. Unfortunately for FB, Carbon were not done, as they mowed through Str8 Rippin and came roaring back in the Grand Finals to take a heartbreaking 6-5 win and give the dominant roster its first ever back to back event loss. At the Las Vegas National Championships, Final Boss were again defeated by Carbon in the Winners Finals, again by a score of 3-1. Str8 once again felt the wrath of the WB Finals loser as FB swept them out of the tournament. Carbon beat Final Boss 6-4 in the Grand Finals to deny the OGREs and Walshy their third straight National Championship and Saiyan his second.

Not a team to take losing lightly, Final Boss shook the foundation of competitive Halo by making a roster change in the offseason, announcing on December 6 that Saiyan had been dropped and replaced by StrongSide, formerly of LeGendZ and Carbon. With a rare second seed at MLG Charlotte, FB struggled early in the bracket, dropping a game to Str8 Rippin and two games to the newly formed FBI The Agency, who would become a staple of the top 3 over the course of the season, in the Winners Finals. In the Grand Finals, FB defeated Carbon in 5 games, a very strong first impression for StrongSide in his first event win. In the Meadowlands, FB met Carbon in the Winners Finals and again defeated them 3-2. In the Grand Finals, they continued to improve against Carbon, extending the series to a 6-3 victory and winning their second straight event.

Just when everyone thought Final Boss had reclaimed their throne, they met with Carbon again in the Dallas Winners Finals. This time, they were defeated 3-1. After 3-1ing The Agency and earning a rematch with Carbon, FB could not muster much as they ultimately lost 6-2. In Chicago, FB met a different adversary in the Winners Finals in the form of the new Str8 Rippin lineup, its strongest since 2005. They took Str8 out with a score of 3-1. In the Grand Finals, Str8 looked for another chance to win, but could not win another map as FB extended the series to 6-1 and took 1st place back by force. On the other side of the bracket, Carbon had taken a season-low placing of 4th after a 3-0 loss to The Agency. In Orlando, a new rivalry was seemingly born as Str8 overcame FB and defeated them 3-1 in the Winners Semis, the earliest FB had ever lost. They took out The Agency 3-1 and moved onto the Losers Semis, where they met Carbon and risked placing below 2nd for the first time in the core-three's MLG careers. Refusing to allow that to happen, FB dominated Carbon, taking a 3-0 series win over them and moving on the Losers Finals against an unlikely opponent in Nice Like Rice. FB swept them too, and moved onto the Grand Finals against Str8. Str8 would not be denied their ascension, as they defeated FB 6-2 and sent FB home in 2nd. At the Las Vegas National Championships, FB showed up as the most dominant team in years, sweeping PainX, The Agency and Carbon (twice), returning them to National Championship glory and winning StrongSide his first. They closed Halo 2 out with a victory at the Canadian Open, defeating Str8 in the Finals.

Halo 3
Final Boss predictably made no changes going into Halo 3. They went into the kickoff event at the Meadowlands as the #6 seed following the online qualification series. They struggled early, nearly being knocked to Losers in Round 3 against Triggers Down. They were defeated in the following round by Instinct, a hybrid Agency/5K lineup. In Losers, they defeated Str8 Rippin 3-1 to avoid a top 6 finish. They followed this up with another victory over Triggers Down and a comeback victory over Instinct, reversing the series from 2-3 into 6-4. They met up against Classic in the Finals, needing to win two straight series to win the tournament. They took series #1 3-1, and followed up with the same score in series #2 to win the event. Things changed in San Diego however, as FB were ousted from the Winners Bracket earlier than ever before by Believe the Hype, who swept them in Round 3. FB then met Triggers Down in Losers Round 5 and took a shocking top 8 finish, the lowest ever placing for the core three and the lowest in almost three years for StrongSide. Things improved only marginally in Orlando, with the team losing in Winners Round 4 to Instinct, followed up by a 3-0 loss to Str8 Rippin in Losers Round 6. This left FB with a 5th place finish. Anyone who knew the OGREs knew this meant change was coming.

Change came on July 23, when the team made the shocking announcement that they were parting ways with Walshy. Two days later, Final Boss made another shocking announcement - the acquisition of Str8 Rippin phenom Neighbor to replace Walshy.. In Toronto, FB failed to make the Winners Finals yet again, losing 3-2 to Str8 Rippin, who had replaced Neighbor with rising star Snip3down. In Losers Round 6, they defeated Ambush in 5 games, leading to a rematch with Classic, who they had 3-0d earlier in the tournament. Classic managed to take the series to 11 games, but FB won the decider. In the Losers Finals, FB met up against Walshy and his new team - Instinct, in a highly anticipated matchup. Instinct took the series in 4 games, sending FB home in 3rd. At the Dallas playoffs, FB struggled out of the gate, narrowly defeating Carbon and Triggers Down (the Orlando champions) to reach the Winners Finals, where they were swept by already two-time Halo 3 event winners Str8 Rippin. In the Losers Finals, Triggers Down flipped into another gear and won four straight maps to reverse the series on FB and send them home in 3rd. Triggers Down went on to win the event. At the Las Vegas National Championships, Final Boss looked to return to the dominant form of last year's Nationals. Unfortunately, they ran into a hot Carbon in Round 2 and were defeated 3-1. After taking out Classic, FB ran into Walshy and Instinct in the following round and were again defeated in 4 games, resulting in a disappointing 4th place finish.

During the offseason, the Final Boss lineup was completely revamped, with OGRE2 ending up as the only member to be carried forward. Neighbor ended up on Instinct. StrongSide went to Status Quo, while OGRE1 formed his own team - The Incredibles - with friends, no longer competing seriously. To fill the huge hole left by these three departures, OGRE2 brought in Victory X, Mackeo, and FearItSelf. Victory X and Mackeo came in as a duo, having teamed together on FBI The Agency and Instinct. FearItSelf was already a two-time event winner in Halo 3, having won twice with Triggers Down in the 2008 season. With these acquisitions, OGRE2 and Final Boss looked to reclaim the throne going into 2009. Meadowlands started off interestingly, as FB swept OGRE1 and the Incredibles, followed by a sweep of StrongSide and Status Quo. Looking to continue the trend against Neighbor and Instinct, FB were instead defeated 3-1. In Losers Round 4, they lost a close series to Triggers Down and went home in 5th as TD took the event home. In Columbus, FB were again defeated by Triggers Down, this time in Winners Round 3. They took out Believe the Hype and Classic to clinch top 3, but could not overcome their deficit over Triggers Down in the next round, losing 6-4 and going home in 3rd.

Despite the improvement between events, OGRE2 made changes to the roster again, dropping Mackeo and replacing him with a returning StrongSide. In Dallas, FB lost earlier than ever, going down to Carbon in 4 games in Winners Round 2. After defeating two low-seeded teams, FB lost to Instinct in Losers Round 4 and went home in 5th place. Another poor placing meant more changes, and this time FearItSelf was gone, replaced by KGB Soviet. The 2007 National 1v1 Champion, Soviet had also placed 2nd twice in Halo 3, both in 2008 with Instinct. In Anaheim, FB again lost in Winners Round 2, this time a 4-game decision to Dynasty. This time, they lost immediately in Losers to the 11th seeded Heaven and Earth, going home with a new low placing of 9th. Soviet was gone shortly after the event, replaced by Sypher, a Canadian with little event experience, but who had already taken a 3rd place finish with Believe the Hype in Anaheim. The 6th seed at the Orlando National Championships, FB lost in Winners Round 1 to Believe the Hype. They took a 3-2 win over Active Rush to avoid a top 12 finish, but lost in the following round against Carbon. They took 8th, Final Boss's lowest placing at a National Championship to date.

Going into the 2010 season, OGRE2 and Victory X stuck together, bringing back FearItSelf and filling out the roster with Totz, who had begun to make a name for himself on Status Quo. In Orlando, FB returned to Winners Round 4 after a sweep over Str8 Rippin. Classic defeated them in Round 4, but they stayed alive with a 3-2 victory over Believe the Hype. Their run continued with a 3-2 win over Status Quo and was stopped in a continuation against Classic, who won 6-4 overall. After Orlando, Final Boss dropped Totz and replaced him with iGotUrPistola, a highly acclaimed player who had already won three events with Triggers Down in 2009 and had just been dropped from the formerly dominant team. Pistola's presence made all the difference in Columbus, as FB returned to the Winners Finals after victories over Triggers Down and Carbon. They lost the Winners Finals to the new and improved Instinct, but defeated Believe the Hype 3-0 to return to the Grand Finals for the first time since Meadowlands '08. They were defeated 6-4 by Instinct, giving Instinct their second straight event win.

The guard changed in Raleigh, where FB steamrolled its way to the Grand Finals with victories over Warriors, Believe the Hype and Instinct. Instinct rose out of Losers to earn a rematch, but could not overcome the reborn Final Boss, who finally returned to their winning ways after a 6-3 victory. In D.C., FB followed up a nailbiting 3-2 victory over Str8 Rippin with an unexpected 3-0 loss to Dynasty in the Winners Semis. They battled back with victories over Warriors and Darkest Hour and did the unthinkable in the Losers Finals against Dynasty, reversing a 3-0 loss into a 6-5 victory and advancing to the Grand Finals against all odds. In the Finals, they won two straight series 3-1 over the new Triggers Down lineup to win their second straight event. FB went into the Dallas National Championships as the #1 seed, their first time doing so at a National Championship in Halo 3. Looking to secure the first three-peat in Halo 3, they faced unexpected fight back in Round 1 from Walshy's scrappy underdog Carbon roster. They nonetheless eliminated Carbon in 4, and did the same to Status Quo in Round 2 before handing a 3-0 thrashing to Instinct in the Winners Finals. In the Grand Finals, they secured the three-peat with a 6-2 victory over unlikely runners-up Status Quo, closing out Halo 3 as they had closed out Halo 2 - as champions.

Halo: Reach
FB stuck together going into the 2011 season. In Dallas, under the new pool play system, FB finished 2nd in their pool after a shocking 3-0 loss to THO Impact. They were then defeated in 5 games by Warriors, resulting in a 10th place finish at the inaugural Reach event. OGRE2 and Pistola did the unthinkable after this, leaving Final Boss to join Instinct alongside Roy and Lunchbox, forming what has since been referred to as the "God Squad". Victory X and FearItSelf kept the Final Boss name alive, bringing in a returning Totz as well as Ninja, a young up-and-comer. FB finished 1st in their pool in Columbus, but were handily swept by the God Squad in the Winners Semis. In Losers Round 8, they were taken out in 4 games by Capital Punishment, resulting in a 5th place finish. Final Boss let Ninja go after Columbus, picking up Cloud, a 2009 National Champion with Believe the Hype and two-time event winner with Instinct. FB finished 2nd in their pool in Anaheim, suffering a 3-0 loss to Instinct in the process. FB were defeated 4-1 by Dynasty and went home in 8th place.

FB continued to exhibit the Halo: Reach phenomenon of teams making a change after every event, replacing Totz and Cloud with Triggers Down veteran Hysteria and newcomer Amish Acorns. The roster also acquired a sponsorship from compLexity Gaming, attending the next two events as coL Final Boss. After a 2nd place finish to Believe the Hype in their pool in Raleigh, FB were eliminated by Warriors and went home in 10th place. After Raleigh, Amish Acorns was replaced by a veteran in the form of Legit. The new roster had a combined 18 event wins between the players, but could not even manage a top 8 placing in Orlando, finishing 2nd in their pool (beneath Instinct) and immediately losing to apex Revolution to go home in 10th. The team showed marginal improvement at the Providence National Championships, defeating Crowd Pleasers and Triggers Down in the early rounds before a 3-1 loss to Instinct sent them to Losers. In Losers, they defeated apex Revolution and Active Rush before being eliminated by Fnatic Classic and sent home in 6th. Final Boss disbanded after Providence and the name has not been used since. It remains the property of Major League Gaming and they continue to produce Final Boss merchandise to this day.

Trivia

 * Consistently placed top 2 for two years in a row (2006-2008).
 * Did not place out of money (top 8) for more than three years in a row (2006-2009).