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Halo Pros Outraged As OGRE1 Is Voted 11th Best Player Of All Time

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Halo Pros Outraged As OGRE1 Is Voted 11th Best Player Of All Time

Twitter reacts to OGRE1 landing 11th on the list of best players in Halo history.

Halo's competitive scene erupted with anger and dismay yesterday when the Halo Champion Series (HCS) revealed gaming legend Dan “OGRE1” Ryan as the 11th best Halo player of all time. While much of the list has sparked controversy, none ranked higher than OGRE1's position. The Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 legend won 32 LAN tournaments spanning eight years. Most of which occurred alongside his twin brother Tom “OGRE2” Ryan and David “Walshy” Walsh.

Naturally, many reputable Halo legends angrily reacted to the rank, feeling that one of Halo's pioneers deserved a spot much higher on the list.

HCS Top 25 Halo Players of All Time

Halo fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting the release of the highly-anticipated latest installment—Halo Infinite. Game developer 343 Industries has been hard at work creating the next chapter in the Master Chief saga. Only three months remain until Infinite hits the market worldwide. The team behind Halo has already invested resources in the competitive scene, securing deals with popular esports organizations such as FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Cloud9 and more.

To occupy time and generate impressions until Infinite arrives, 343 Industries felt it would be a good idea to have a list of panelists rank the Top 25 Halo players in history. The developers handpicked nine community members, including former professional players, current professional players and active commentators in the Halo scene. Their task was to rank their top 25 competitors based on the following judging criteria:

  • Focus on greatness in competition. External greatness around sponsorships, popularity, kindness, etc should NOT be a factor.
  • While 4v4 is the main competition and focus, consideration for other accolades including MVPs, individual tournament wins, and more can also be made.
  • Where possible, you should take statistics into consideration as well as including things like Kills, Assists, average placement, winning streaks, event wins, and more.
  • Other intangible considerations around reputation in the game, leadership, play-making abilities, eye test, and more can also be made.

Surprises were expected, given that rankings are subjective content based only on nine individual's personal opinions. However, when OGRE1 showed up in the number 11 spot, the response was overwhelming.

OGRE1 Takes 11th on the List

HCS is in the top 15 of all-time Halo players, and OGRE1 finished 11th. While a commendable rank, many members in the scene felt it was a clear miss. OGRE1’s brother OGRE2 took to Twitter with his thoughts, stating, “Alright cmon, I need an explanation for this one.” He had been commenting on all of the list's players to this point.

Former Evil Geniuses coach, Ryan “Towey” Towey, called the ranking “straight up disrespectful.” Professional players of the past and present generally agreed that

OGRE1's presence on the top 25 list is outrageous, and some are calling for the panelists to release their selections.

Current Apex Legends professional player Eric “Snip3down” Wrona, who many recognize as one of the best Halo competitors of all time, muted the HCS account in reaction to OGRE1's place. He stated, “I would have legit refused to publish this list if I was HCS after seeing this.”

OGRE1 Says There are “Major Issues” with the Process

The Halo legend and multiple-time champion responded to the HCS tweet, stating, “Lol nah.” OGRE1 subsequently created a Twitter thread, questioning the process and implications of the list.

“…there are some major issues I personally take with 343/Halo/HCS conducting this sort of thing without considering the implications of what they were actually putting out there,” he wrote. “I have had personal talks with some of the judges over the past few days and verified secondhand accounts with others of some of the processes described to me versus what is officially stated as the process on the HaloWaypoint blog.”

It seems the judging criteria are unclear or inaccurate based on OGRE1's tweets. Perhaps the panelists did not know how their selections would translate to the final list. The slighted player remained optimistic, saying he could not wait for the top ten revelations.

Now that the list is set in stone, we likely won't see an adjustment. A member of the 343 team added that panelists are forbidden from releasing their lists despite the overwhelming backlash. There's no doubt that OGRE1 is a pioneer in competitive Halo. And he would arguably deserve a spot on the imaginary Mount Rushmore of Halo greats. His run of success alongside Final Boss from 2006 to 2007 is one of the most impressive in competitive gaming history.

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the list shakes out with so many outstanding players yet to be ranked.

Featured Image: Halo Waypoint