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OpTic Halo Infinite Add FormaL, Drop PisTola

By Ralston Dacanay

Matt "FormaL" Piper's transition back to Halo esports is complete.
Matt "FormaL" Piper's transition back to Halo esports is complete. / Image courtesy of OpTic Gaming

Matt "FormaL" Piper has officially replaced Justin "PisTola" Deese on the starting OpTic Gaming Halo Infinite roster, the North American organization announced Friday.

The announcement was made by the OpTic Gaming Twitter account, bringing FormaL, 27, over from his content creator role with the org to join Bradley "aPg" Laws, Tommy "Lucid" Wilson and Joey "Trippy" Taylor on the main team.

It appears the H4F movement has come full circle as FormaL has now found a home back in competitive Halo after retiring from the esport in 2013, competing in Call of Duty until this past August, and serving as a temporary substitute for Sentinels in recent weeks during the suspension of Mathew "Royal2" Fiorante.

"It’s time," FormaL said on Twitter. "Excited to announce I have been picked up by the boys @TriPPPeY, @Lucid_TW, @aPureGangster, and @Lunchbox let’s get to work. Not done bringing championships to @OpTic just yet."

In five Halo Championship Series (HCS) appearances with Sentinels, FormaL certainly proved worthy of a spot back in the scene, most notably finishing off his stand-in stint helping the squad make a grand finals run during the HCS North America Pro Series event on Jan. 27.

PisTola, 29, is still signed with the OpTic, but seemingly will be on the bench until the right opportunity arises.

Ranking No. 4 in the HCS’ top-10 players of all time list, PisTola undoubtedly remains one of the most well-respected players in competitive Halo.

As for OpTic, the move comes less than a week removed from finishing in second at HCS Anaheim 2022 to Cloud9, who have already won the first two LAN events and all four online HCS North America Pro Series events thus far.

Until the next LAN event, HCS Kansas City at the end of April, the new-look OpTic lineup will be competing online for circuit points in pro-series events.

The new OpTic Gaming Halo Infinite roster is:

  • Matt "FormaL" Piper
  • Bradley "aPg" Laws
  • Tommy "Lucid" Wilson
  • Joey "Trippy" Taylor
  • Jason "Lunchbox" Brown (Coach)
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