The stage is set for Halo esports to kick off its first Major of 2025 at HCS Major Arlington 2025. It’s an opportunity for teams to stake their claim as the best Halo team in the world on the biggest stage, with $250,000 on the line as a cash prize.
We’ve taken a look at all the teams heading out to HCS Major Arlington 2025 to see which ones have the best chance of winning the event. Check out our HCS Major Arlington power rankings!
| HCS Major Arlington 2025 Power Rankings | |
|---|---|
| Team Name | Power Ranking |
| Shopify Rebellion | 1st |
| OpTic Gaming | 2nd |
| Spacestation Gaming | 3rd |
| FaZe Clan | 4th |
| Cloud9 | 5th |
| TSM | 6th |
| Luminosity Gaming | 7th |
| Complexity | 8th |
| Team Nemesis | 9th |
| Gen.G Esports | 10th |
| Triggers Down | 11th |
| Pipa | 12th |
It should be noted that four more teams will be in attendance at the main event of HCS Major Arlington 2025, but they will qualify through the open bracket on the first day. They have a chance to win, sure, but they can’t be included in these power rankings for obvious reasons.
OpTic’s superteam under pressure to deliver
After an absurd run of runner-up finishes in Major finals spanning back to October 2023, OpTic Gaming have put together what on paper should be a Halo super team. Of the old roster, only FormaL remains, while Bound and Lqgend arrived from Spacestation Gaming’s winning 2024 roster, joined by FaZe Clan’s fragger Renegade. Such starpower in one lineup comes with lofty expectations, and the heat will be on to break that runner-up curse and put OpTic Gaming back on top.
Even still, I’ve got OpTic 2nd in my HCS Major Arlington 2025 power rankings. Why? Shopify Rebellion. Throughout the early events of 2025, Shopify Rebellion have shown themselves to be the Halo team to beat, getting the better of this new OpTic roster on numerous occasions. Now, doing it at a Major is another task entirely, but you can’t really bet against Shopify Rebellion at the moment.
Spacestation Gaming: new faces, same goal
After a 2024 that included three Major wins and glory at the Halo World Championship 2024, Spacestation Gaming were headhunted with Lqgend and Bound heading to OpTic. They were undeniably the best Halo team of 2024, with all the accolades to show for their quality. They replaced this duo with SnakeBite from FaZe Clan and Lucid from OpTic, two stellar signings to complement Eco and StelluR.
Spacestation Gaming have a lot to live up to in 2025. It may not be the exact same lineup that lifted all those trophies throughout last year, but the expectation that SSG will be in the hunt for Halo’s biggest prizes remains. It’s a lot of pressure, but one I actually think they can live up to. I have them as 3rd in my HCS Major Arlington 2025 power rankings, but only because there are two genuinely great teams ahead of them. Besides, Spacestation Gaming have always thrived under pressure where others have crumbled, an essential skill coming into this Major. I expect an overperformance from this team in Arlington.
