Classic

Classic is a former American Halo team that was active on the MLG and AGL Pro Circuits from 2008 - 2013.

Halo 3
Classic was founded after the 2007 MLG season by LegendPimps, AnT, FeaR, and Soldi3r187. Going into the 2008 kickoff event in the Meadowlands, only Legend had any prior top 8 experience, but the team had been turning heads during the online ladder series and earned itself the 4th seed going into the event. Classic immediately made an impact at their first event, sweeping 2006 National Champions Carbon in the Winners Semifinals. They then swept Instinct in the Winners Finals and advanced to the Grand Finals, where they were beaten 6-2 by reigning National Champions Final Boss. Things did not go so well for Classic in San Diego, where they were beaten in the Winners Semifinals in 5 games by Instinct before being swept out of the Losers Bracket by Triggers Down and going home in 5th place.

Looking to add some veteran experience to the lineup, Classic let FeaR go and replaced him with Naded, coming off two 8th place finishes with Fatal Images. With Naded on board for Orlando, Classic were swept by Triggers Down in the third round and immediately eliminated by Carbon, resulting in a 10th place finish. After Orlando, Classic let Naded go and replaced him with another veteran in the form of Victory X, coming off four straight 3rd place finishes. In Toronto, Classic were swept in Round 3 by Final Boss, but they responded with a victory over Triggers Down to clinch a top 4 finish. They took Final Boss to 11 games in the Losers Semifinals, but were unable to win the decider and went home in 4th.

Despite the improved placing in Toronto, Classic made another roster revision after Toronto, replacing Legend with Victory X's longtime teammate Mackeo. In Dallas, Classic beat Instinct, the former team of Victory X and Mackeo, 3-2 in the opening round. This was followed by a 3-1 loss to Str8 Rippin. In Losers, they were upset by the 7th seeded Ambush and sent home in 6th place. At the Las Vegas National Championships, Classic were swept in the opening round by Instinct. They were able to beat LeGendZ in Losers Round 1, but were stopped in the following round by Final Boss and sent home in 6th.

Classic looked to improve by familiarity going into the 2009 season, replacing Victory X and Mackeo with founding members FeaR and Legend. The reunited lineup got off to a rocky start at the Meadowlands season opener, losing to Believe the Hype early in the Winners Bracket. This was followed by a loss to VG The New Order in Losers, which sent them home in 13th. The reunion experiment proven a failure, Legend and Soldier parted ways with FeaR and AnT and picked up Chig and BesT MaN. Chig was a rising star coming off of a string of top 12 placings with Breaking Point and Ambush, while BesT MaN was coming off a string of similar placings with VG The New Order and LeGendZ. Despite an early loss to Triggers Down in Columbus, Classic battled back with victories over Status Quo and Instinct before a loss to Final Boss sent them home in 4th.

In Dallas, Classic were beaten in a close match with Instinct early in Winners. Needing another Losers Bracket run, they were stopped by Str8 Rippin, who beat them 3-1 and sent them home in 6th. After Dallas, Classic made another team change, replacing one veteran in Legend with another veteran with stronger accolades in 2007 National Champion GH057ayame. Classic took care of GH057ayame's old team Instinct in Anaheim, beating them in 5 games. Unfortunately that was all Classic could muster for the event, as they were swept in succession by Triggers Down and Carbon and sent home in 6th. At the Orlando National Championships, Classic came out much stronger, sweeping Status Quo and Carbon before winning a huge, but controversial match against Triggers Down in which a faulty Xbox on the Triggers Down side gave Classic another chance to win a game that was all but over. In the Winners Finals, Classic lost 3-1 to Believe the Hype, resulting in a rematch with Carbon in the Losers Finals. Classic took the match 6-2, but could not reverse the match against BtH, losing 6-2 and going home in 2nd at the biggest event of the year.

Going into the 2010 season, the departing BesT MaN was replaced by TiZoXiC, coming off two strong placings with Dynasty. Classic came out strong in Orlando, taking out Carbon and Final Boss in the Winners Bracket before being swept by Instinct in the Winners Finals. After beating Final Boss again in the Losers Finals, Classic met Instinct in the Grand Finals for a rematch, which ended in a 6-2 score for Instinct. In Columbus, Classic were shockingly swept by the 15th seeded Illuminati early in Winners. This was followed not long after by a 6-3 loss to Status Quo and a 7th place finish. After Columbus, Classic joined forces with Tsquared and the team changed its name to the more prestigious Str8 Rippin. As Str8, the team ultimately failed to qualify for the Dallas National Championships.

Halo: Reach
Going into the 2011 season, Soldi3r187 and Chig revived the Classic name, rounding out the roster with Sypher and Cpt Anarchy. Both players were coming off a string of placings from 7th-9th on Heaven and Earth. In Dallas, Classic finished 4th out of 5 in their pool, beating only the all-amateur Carbon lineup. In Losers, they were immediately eliminated by Active Rush and sent home in 18th. Classic disbanded again after Dallas, as Soldi3r went to Swagger Like Us, Chig went to FnaticMSI and Sypher and Cpt Anarchy skipped the next event.

Classic was revived in the lead-up to Anaheim, with FnaticMSI adopting the team name Fnatic Classic for the remainder of the season. The roster consisted of Chig, Str8 SicK, Prototype and Russo. Overlooked going into Anaheim, Fnatic Classic won its pool and went on to place 3rd at the event after winning an 11-game war over Warriors and losing a 10-game thriller against Status Quo. In Raleigh, Classic finished 2nd in its pool to Status Quo and lost to Dynasty in Losers, resulting in a 6th place finish.

Classic's results continued to worsen in Orlando, as they finished 3rd in their pool (following a very close match against the Instinct God Squad) and were sent home in 11th by Status Quo. Despite being the 10th seed going into Providence, Classic had more than proven their status as a top threat in the National Championships over the course of the season. After sweeping apex Revolution and taking out Status Quo, Classic lost to Believe the Hype in a close 3-2 matchup. They stayed alive in their first Losers Bracket match with a 3-1 win over Final Boss before losing a close match against Warriors and being sent home in 4th. At the no-bloom event in Columbus, the 17th seeded Classic were knocked out of Winners in the Round of 16 by Instinct in a thrilling 5 game match. In Losers, they took out The Agency, Str8 Rippin and Believe the Hype before being swept out of the bracket by Warriors.

Halo 4
In Dallas, Fnatic Classic went in as the #1 seed. Unfortunately, they faced Instinct in the Round of 16 and were swept to Losers. In their first Losers match, they were shockingly swept by the 99th seeded Virtue and sent home in the top 24. After Dallas, Classic finally made a team change, replacing Str8 SicK and Prototype with BesT MaN and Mikwen. At AGL 5 Nashville, they finished in the top 12 after losses to Ambush and Warriors (who finished 1st and 2nd, respectively).

Going into AGL 7 Knoxville, BesT MaN was replaced by RyaNoob. It was also at this point that Classic parted ways with Fnatic and acquired a new sponsor in Pulse eSports. They finished 3rd at the event after losing to Status Quo in the Losers Finals. After Knoxville, Classic made a team change, replacing longtime member Russo with Roy of Instinct fame. The new lineup took 2nd place at UMG Chicago, losing to Ambush in the Finals. For AGL 8 Knoxville the following month, Pulse Classic parted ways with RyaNoob and brought in APG. Classic finished in the top 6 in Knoxville after losing to Requiem, the eventual event winners. Classic disbanded after Knoxville. Chig went on a near two-year hiatus, returning in Halo 2: Anniversary with Denial eSports. Mikwen took nearly a year off, returning at RTX 2014 on VwS Gaming. APG and Roy took a little over a year off, both returning at the ESL MCC Launch Invitational Halo 2: Anniversary event on different teams - APG on Believe the Hype and Roy on Str8 Rippin.