Halo Veteran Flamesword Resurrects Status Quo Brand

Michael Chaves, better known as Flamesword, has revived the Status Quo brand and promises to take it to the next level.

Long-time competitive Halo fans might remember a team named Status Quo (sQ)—one of many that made a splash in 2008 on the Major League Gaming (MLG) Circuit. Led by Michael “Flamesword” Chaves, the sQ brand persisted throughout Halo 3, Halo Reach and Halo 4, achieving consistently high placements no matter the tournament.

Chaves remained a constant on Status Quo’s roster; most fans associated the two together. While the Halo veteran became a content creator and competitor for OpTic Gaming, he spent the vast majority of his career as the foundation of a brand he created.

Nowadays, esports organizations such as FaZe Clan, OpTic and Cloud9 sit at the forefront. However, fans can now add Status Quo to that list. The 32-year-old announced today his plans to make sQ into an esports brand ahead of this weekend’s HCS Raleigh Kick-Off Major, where he and his teammates compete for a share of $250K USD.

Flamesword Establishes Status Quo as Legitimate Brand

after year one and some growth with the org, we will see if there isn't a little reunion to come in the future here 🙌

— sQ Flamesword (@Flamesword) December 14, 2021

It should come as no surprise that Chaves’ passion for the Status Quo brand reignited following Halo Infinite’s release. The Halo veteran has invested hours into his gameplay, scrimmages, and streaming in pursuit of greatness. Thus far, the sQ squad has achieved a top-16 and top-12 result in two tournament showings.

Seeing potential in his future as a Halo veteran, Flamesword officially revived the Status Quo brand earlier today.

“The future starts now! @TeamStatusQuo. Super excited to finally be able to talk about all this freely and what comes next is the team roster announcement for @HCS Raleigh,” wrote Chaves on Twitter.

A Classic Brand Reimagined

Nearly 7 years ago, Status Quo took home 1st place at @MLG Dallas to kick off the 2011 Halo: Reach season. #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/e6aIvAlIkQ

— Halo Esports (@HCS) February 2, 2018

It’s an exciting moment, considering so few classic franchises remain in the Halo Esports scene. Chaves resurrected Status Quo’s original Twitter account, which has amassed nearly 4K followers. The next step lies within North Carolina for the HCS Raleigh Kick-Off Major.

While sQ’s roster is not entirely clear at this stage, we can expect Flamesword to lead the way, presumably alongside Chris “Blaze” Chapon, Oguz “Burton” Ustuntas and an unknown fourth. They’ll have the challenging task of enduring the Open Bracket.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, Status Quo should perform well and have a solid chance to make the Championship Bracket. As for the sQ brand itself, we’ll have to see what lies ahead for Chaves and organizational partner Andrew Gordon.