Industry
When Matthew "FormaL" Piper retired from competitive Call of Duty at the end of 2021, the player's competitive path seemed to have come to an end, leaving fans to remember his best moments. However, FormaL saw there was still more to give and achieve, more trophies to add to the cabin, but now in another title: Halo Infinite.
Today, at 28 years old, FormaL collects trophies in Halo Infinite, but as mentioned, his past in Call of Duty brought him plenty of success, too. The player and his team, OpTic Gaming, are currently preparing for the Halo World Championship 2023, the pinnacle of the Halo Infinite competitive circuit.
Read more: Halo World Championship 2023: Overview, Scores, Bracket and Results
Call of Duty
FormaL is one of the old-school Call of Duty players. He began his career in 2014, playing in the game's first championships. In 2015, the player and OpTic Gaming joined forces, forming a relationship that will go down in history. The highlight of it was the 2017 CWL (Call of Duty World League) Championship.
In this competition, Damon "Karma" Barlow, Seth "Scump" Abner and Ian "Crimsix" Porter lifted the trophy alongside FormaL and collected $600,000 USD. FormaL would end up being named MVP of the competition.
Experiences playing with Luminosity Gaming and Chicago Huntsmen followed, and in 2021, Matthew played his last competitive season of Call of Duty in the CDL with OpTic Gaming.
The fight for Major titles in 2021 was constant. However, despite always reaching the advanced stages of the competitions, fans still asked for more from a team like OpTic. At the end of the season, FormaL said goodbye to competitive Call of Duty, leaving behind a long legacy.
Halo Infinite
Many thought it would be FormaL's goodbye to the mouse and keyboard, but there was still one chapter left in the player's story. The competitions played in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 suggested that FormaL still wanted something with Halo.
Continuing the beautiful story with OpTic Gaming, FormaL ended up continuing with the organization, making the transition to Halo Infinite with the club, although he did gain experience playing with both Spacestation and Sentinels before moving to OpTic’s Halo team in 2022. His first competition in the game with OpTic was a good sign, with the team winning the FaZe Halo Invitational in 2022.
Since then, FormaL and OpTic together have built a dynasty in the game. In 2022, they won the following events:
- 1st – HCS 2021-22 North America Pro Series 2
- 1st – HCS 2021-22 North America Pro Series 3
- 1st – Halo Championship Series 2022: Orlando Major
- 1st – Halo World Championship
In 2023, the story hasn't been much different, although the 2023 Halo World Championship is still to be played:
- 1st - Year 2 Kickoff Major Charlotte
- 1st - HCS 2023 North America Open Series 3
- 1st - HCS 2023 North America Open Series 5
- 1st - Halo Championship Series 2023: Fort Worth Major
What everything comes down to in the end is this: FormaL has shown he’s not only a Call of Duty legend but also among the greats of the Halo professional circuit.
