Believe the Hype
Believe the Hype was originally comprised of Cloud, Demon D, Clutch, and Sypher. The team was often thought of as an odd assortment of players, and certainly not as a significant threat to top teams. Cloud, the team’s captain, had proven himself in 2008 to be a highly capable league veteran. Demon, the team’s youngest player, had previously achieved significant yet inconsistent success. Clutch had shown his capability of playing at the professional level, but had yet to challenge the league’s top teams. Sypher, a strong online player with just 90 points, was received as a controversial choice to round out the team. As BTH headed into the 2009 season, no one could have expected to see the show they would put on.
Total Winnings in Halo 3: $132,400
Contents |
Current Roster
History
Meadowlands 2009
Heading into the Meadowlands seeded 11th, it was clear that if BTH was to achieve success, the path would not be easy. The team faced considerable challenges as early as Winners Bracket Round 1, where they were to face Classic—a team that had placed second at last year’s season opener. Believe the Hype met this challenge only with a message as to their seriousness as a team. In their first game of competitive play, they took Game 1 of Narrows CTF from the 5th seeded team 3-0. Game 2’s Pit TS saw Classic shoot back with a six-point win, but BTH’s confidence and determination would prove all too steadfast. The team managed to take the following two games by a comfortable margin, taking their first series in the tournament 3-1. “After we had won I was so pumped; it was the first time I upset a top team," said Clutch. The team's excitement level couldn’t have been shown more clearly than in the following Winners Bracket match versus Triggers Down. Going into the match, most fans were surprised to even see Believe the Hype in this position, and even less considered them a serious threat to TD. It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that TD opened the series with a 3-0 Pit CTF win. Any loss in confidence that BTH may have suffered, however, was cast aside following a close Game 2 victory on Narrows TS. In the following games, Believe the Hype would stay true to the form of their Round 1 performance. They proceeded to take the following two objective gametypes by a hefty margin, winning the series 3-1 and upsetting yet another top team.
Believe the Hype faced their biggest challenge of the tournament in Winners Bracket Round 3, where they were pitted against Str8 Rippin— the 2008 National Champions. In the first two games of the series, Str8 appeared to have eased any concern that BTH could prevent their entry into the Winners Bracket Finals, taking Onslaught CTF and Narrows TS by 5-3 and 50-35, respectively. Being down 2-0 in a series against the reigning National Champions, the fact that BTH was able to show any signs of life was stunning. “Somehow we were still actually playing good,” Demon D reflected, “luckily the next three games were on our best gametypes.” Believe the Hype would indeed continue the series in the most surprising of fashions, edging out Str8 in games three and four. When a Game 5 Team Slayer was to determine the continuation of their unlikely Winners Bracket run, Believe the Hype rose to the occasion, netting a decisive 15 point victory, with Clutch going an outstanding 18-9. BTH’s progression through the Winners Bracket would come to a halt in the Winners Bracket Finals, however, with Instinct defeating Believe the Hype in the series’ objective gametypes en route to a 3-1 victory. While BTH did manage to take Game 2’s Pit TS, these objective losses were strikingly close, with Instinct able to narrowly oust BTH in all three. “If we had not made some mistakes, we would have won for sure,” said Cloud.
Believe the Hype was dealt their first series defeat, but did manage to earn themselves a spot in the Losers Bracket Finals, as well as a guaranteed Top 3 finish. Triggers Down would emerge from the depths of the Losers Bracket to meet BTH, and in light of their WBR2 match-up, BTH was to have a 3-1 advantage in a best of eleven series. The narrative of their previous series, however, did not carry into the Losers Bracket, with TD taking Games 5 and 6 to tie the series. Having had to play this match following their Winners Bracket defeat, Clutch noted, “We didn’t have time to recollect and go over what went wrong. I think with a little more time in between [the matches] it may have went differently.” Believe the Hype would win only Game 7’s Team Slayer, and TD would go on to take the series 6-4, ending BTH’s tournament with a strong but not entirely satisfying third place finish. “It was [our] best placing, but I think if we had a good Sunday we could have done better,” said Demon. Columbus 2009
Following Meadowlands, the team decided that the departure of Sypher was in their best interest, but not necessarily because of performance issues. “We were trying to LAN and we knew Sypher couldn’t,” Demon claimed. The team then sought to acquire Soviet, an established MLG veteran, and attended a pre-event LAN with Str8 Rippin, Status Quo, and Classic in hopes of improving upon their showing from the Meadowlands. Having jumped to the sixth seed, BTH appeared to send a strong message as to their intentions in their opening Columbus match versus the 11th seeded Check Your Pulse. While dropping Amplified TS in Game 2, Believe the Hype dominated the objective gametypes, taking the series 3-1. Following WBR1, Believe the Hype was faced with a rematch versus Instinct. The final result of this series would prove similar to that of the Meadowlands match-up, but there was one significant difference: While BTH managed to again take Game 2’s Team Slayer, the objective games were easily won by Instinct.. “We had a different team and our attitudes were different,” Cloud commented. Game 1’s Onslaught CTF was 5-0 in Instinct’s favor, and the series’ Oddball and King of the Hill games were marked by point differences in excess of 60 seconds. “I was kind of upset seeing as we lost to them two tournaments in a row, but we tried to stay positive for the Losers Bracket,” Demon remarked.
BTH entered the Losers Bracket in Round 6, and would have to play several rounds in the face of elimination in order to match their Meadowlands placement. Facing off first against the 16th seeded Dynasty, BTH again dropped a Game 2 Team Slayer while dominating the objective gametypes to take the series 3-1. The dominance exhibited particularly in games two and three seemed to carry on to their Losers Bracket Round 7 match versus the 5th seeded Carbon. A slightly different Carbon than its current roster, manned by both Cpt Anarchy and Ghostayame at the time, Believe the Hype opened the series with a commanding 3-0 Pit CTF victory. “We were all playing individually well…they could not do anything. We started clicking in the series,” said Clutch. BTH’s individual excellence carried into games two and three, winning Construct TS 50-37 and Oddball Guardian 250-181, resulting in a series victory of 3-0. If the strong play shown versus Carbon could foreshadow anything, however, it was not the following Losers Bracket Round 8 loss to Final Boss. On why this momentum did not carry into BTH’s match-up with FB, Clutch stated, "FB is one of those teams that scores flags without having control and racks up ball time without setting up. [I feel] we lost because of their playstyle.” The team lost the series to the count of 3-1, and left Columbus with a solid 6th place finish. Dallas 2009
The aftermath of Columbus saw not only the departure of Clutch from the team, but an attempted reacquisition of Sypher. Upon the return of Sypher, the team practiced consistently in preparation for Dallas, only to be faced with somewhat of a crisis shortly before the event. A sudden turn of events prevented Sypher from attending the event, and the team had to quickly search for a replacement. The team looked to Maniac—a player with a Top 8 performance from 2008 under his belt—to fill the spot. “He was really dedicated and we were friends with him,” Cloud explained. The team entered Dallas looking to show that they could still put up a strong performance despite the unfortunate circumstances, and this resolve was clear in their Winners Bracket Round 1 match with End Result. After clinching a close 2-1 victory on Pit CTF, BTH dominated the following two games, taking the series 3-0 and securing a spot in the second round. It would be in this round that the team would get their first rematch with Str8 Rippin since they had upset them at the Meadowlands.
The unique circumstances surrounding the event, however, put Believe the Hype at a considerable disadvantage. Not only was Believe the Hype inexperienced in their current makeup, but Str8 had just taken first place in Columbus. Despite the adversity, BTH entered the series with confidence, taking Game 1 of Onslaught CTF 5-2. “We obviously knew we could beat them, and we all seemed pretty pumped to play,” said Maniac. In Game 2, Str8 managed to edge out BTH with a three point Construct TS victory, only to pull off a 40 point Oddball Guardian victory in Game 3. Believe the Hype was able to steal a Game 4 victory to push the series into a 5th game, but the team was faced with the challenge of Amplified TS—a gametype that had proven to be a weakness for BTH throughout the season. Str8 would go on to take the game by a wide 14 kill margin, defeating BTH 3-2 in the series and sending them into the Losers Bracket. It was in just their first round of Losers Bracket play that BTH suffered a crushing loss to Under The Influence. Losing yet another Game 5 Amplified TS, the team was eliminated from the tournament and bound to a Top 12 finish. “We were way too confident and honestly just didn’t take the series like we would have if we played a team like Str8,” Demon maintains. Despite having been dealt what would amount to their lowest placement of the season, the team was compelled to make the best of a bad situation, attempting to place as high as possible in the Consolation Bracket. “Cloud talked about how he’s never placed below 9th, so we accomplished that goal for him,” said Maniac. The team ended the tournament with a respectable 9th place finish. Anaheim 2009
Cloud and Demon, the team’s only remaining original players, were faced with yet another set of roster decisions preceding Anaheim. Not only had Soviet left the team, but the question of whether or not to retain Maniac remained. Despite having roughly half of his teammates’ points, it was decided that Maniac would return for Anaheim. “People just didn’t know him,” said Demon. “I knew he was solid enough to keep.” In replacement of Soviet, the team looked to add Clutch back to the roster. “After Dallas, Believe the Hype and I were unhappy with our placings, and I guess we wanted to bring back our team from Meadowlands with Maniac as our fourth,” Clutch remarked. With their roster set and the 8th seed, the team looked to place as high as possible at Anaheim to position themselves for the National Championships. Their first match of the event, however, did not go as expected.
In Losers Bracket Round 5, the team dominated the 19th seeded Gimme My Money 3-0, and proceeded to meet Status Quo in Round 6. Here, the team dropped only Game 2’s Team Slayer, edging out SQ in two Capture the Flags and decisively taking Game 3’s Construct KOTH to win the series 3-1. Heading into Losers Round 7, BTH was pitted against Instinct—a team that had not only defeated BTH twice earlier in the season, but once in the Placement Bracket earlier in the tournament, giving Instinct a 3-2 series lead in a best of eleven. BTH's performance during this series was entirely unpredictable given the two teams’ history. In Games 6 and 7, Believe the Hype was able to narrowly defeat Instinct in Onslaught CTF and Amplified TS, only to win Game 8’s Heretic Oddball by over 80 seconds to put them ahead in the series 5-3. In the face of elimination, Instinct responded with wins in Games 9 and 10, pushing the two teams to a series deciding Game 11 Construct TS. If victorious, BTH would not only secure a Top 6 finish, but would be put in a position to place as well as they had at the Meadowlands. This chance to regain such glory proved to be far too tempting to resist. The team played solid throughout, managing to win the game by a margin of 10 points and take the series to the tune of 6-5, defeating Instinct for the first time all season.
In Losers Bracket Round 8, BTH was met by yet another team that they had previously played during the tournament, Dynasty, and thus the best of eleven series began at a 3-1 disadvantage for BTH. Coming off of an odds-defying series with Instinct, the result of several games showed that BTH was determined to mount another comeback. Both Game 5 and Game 6 were decided by the narrowest of margins—with both, however, ending in favor of Dynasty. Dynasty was able to take Construct TS by a score of 50-49, followed by a 5-4 victory on Heretic CTF, resulting in a series lead of 5-1. BTH by no means gave up, but Dynasty’s lead would prove too large to overcome. Believe the Hype proceeded to take Games 5 and 6, only for Dynasty to close the series with a 2-1 victory on Pit CTF. “I was satisfied [with 5th] I guess you could say,” Cloud attests. “We were playing really well with so many close games, but a few mistakes cost us losses.” Clutch added, “I wasn’t satisfied with 5th. Losing to Dynasty was tough, [with] so many games we could have and should have won."
The team’s 5th place finish, while not as high as that of the season opener, was their second highest of the season. With the final Regular Season competition concluded, the twists and turns of BTH’s season give rise to some interesting prospects for the National Championships in Orlando. Believe the Hype has proven that when the team has an established and dedicated roster, they can hang with absolutely any team in the league. In Meadowlands, this resulted in a 3rd place finish, and at Columbus an understandable 6th. In Dallas, when faced with a roster crisis, the team was almost able to defeat Str8 Rippin, and still finished in a respectable 9th. In Anaheim, after being given another chance to prepare, the team managed an impressive 5th despite a loss in Winners Bracket Round 1. From this, we can gather that one thing heading into Orlando is certain: There is no reason for surprise if Believe The Hype topples even the highest seeded teams. On the team’s prospects for Orlando, “1st place,” Demon humbly declares. A cocky Clutch proclaims, “Let’s just say I’m practicing holding up a big check.” 2009 Orlando National Championships
Going against everyones predictions and expectations, Believe the Hype did just that.
To start off their incredible run they would play Final Boss in WBR1 where they took the series in five games. Next on their plate was Instinct. Once again, the series went to five games and BTH had come out on top, upsetting another top ranked team. The turning point in Game 5, which was Pit TS, was when Cloud was jumping up and down on the BTH tower with their Sniper and yelled to Instinct, "Someone contest me!" His quote could be the theme of the weekend for Believe the Hype as they went on to win it and send Instinct to the Losers Bracket. Cloud also lead his team in kills every game but one and amassed 104 kills over the series.
WBR3 had finally arrived and many were eager to see if Believe The Hype could carry their momentum and drive it past the defending National Champs: Str8 Rippin. Before the match, MLG had a chance to catch up with Cloud and asked him how he felt about his next match against Str8. He simply replied, "We're going to win and I'm not even sure what gametypes we're playing."
Like Cloud said, BTH did just that. They now found themselves in the Winners Bracket Finals against Classic. Believe The Hype took the Winners Bracket Finals 3-1 and in doing so, secured themselves a seat in the Finals and at least $60,000 in their pocket. Classic fought their way through the losers bracket, beating both Str8 Rippin and Carbon, making it to the championship match to face Believe the Hype once again.
Believe the Hype was already leading Classic in the eleven game series, three games to one, after their win in the WB Finals. With the help of Demon D's impressive performance, which also included a ridiculous 22-6 showing in Game 7 of Construct TS, BTH took the series and the National Championship 6-2.
Coaching
Transactions
Placings
Year Competition Roster Standing Winnings 2008 MLG Meadowlands MudVayne, Cloud, Heinz, Nexus 9th
2008 MLG San Diego Silent, Cloud, Heinz, Nexus 6th $2,800 2008 MLG Orlando Silent, Cloud, GunShot, Eli 9th
2008 MLG Toronto
2008 MLG Dallas
2008 MLG Las Vegas
2009 MLG Meadowlands Cloud, Clutch, Demon D, Sypher 3rd $8,000 2009 MLG Columbus Cloud, Clutch, Demon D, Soviet 6th $2,800 2009 MLG Dallas Cloud, Clutch, Demon D, Soviet 9th
2009 MLG Anaheim Cloud, Clutch, Demon D, Maniac 5th $4,000 2009 MLG Orlando Cloud, Clutch, Demon D, Maniac 1st $100,000 2010 MLG Orlando Pure Gangster, Destin, Demon D, Maniac 5th $4,000 2010 MLG Columbus Pure Gangster, Destin, Demon D, Maniac 3rd $8,000 2010 MLG Raleigh Heinz, Snipedown, Demon D, Maniac 6th $2,800
