Halo is one of the oldest competitive franchises in console existence. It was the first flagship game of Major League Gaming, providing the backbone for competitive shooters that dominated early US eSports.

While Halo has certainly fallen dramatically in terms of its hierarchy in the eSports scene (thanks Halo 4), the new Halo Infinite is regarded as a return to form for many players. If it receives a little attention and maintenance (so far not getting either at all), we could see a return to dominance for this flagship title. With the release of Forge, the community has more influence than ever in creating maps for competitive play.

We’ve taken a look at the top 5 streamers out there (plus an honorable mention) to keep an eye on for 2023. With a fiercely loyal and growing community, and the tournament scene reviving these streams could take off at any point and we’ll see the return to glory of Halo.

Honorable Mention: OGRE 2

You can’t really do any Halo article without mentioning the GOAT. Although he rarely streams, it is absolutely worth it to put him on your follow list, and if he does log on to stream, go watch it. The wealth of game knowledge and Halo history that he has is unmatched.

It would be impossible to put all of his accomplishments into one section of an article, so here are the cliff notes. More Halo tournaments wins than any other person ever, has won the Halo National Championship in 4 of the 5 Halo titles that hosted such tournaments, never lost a 2v2 match when teamed with his twin, OGRE 1, won the gold medal in the World Cyber Games for USA. There are so many more records and stats that I could throw at you, but all you need to know is that in 2021 he was voted by former players as the Greatest of All Time and it wasn’t even close.

5. Renegade

Starting off our list is Renegade. One of the most exciting pro players to watch, he’s a killing machine (and let’s face it, nobody wants to watch the objective player). Arriving on the scene in Halo, he quickly became part of the World Championship-winning team, Splyce in 2018.

Since then, he has been on highlight reels time and time again for his gameplay, and Youtube montages for his intense (some would say toxic) approach to gaming. There’s no denying his love for the game and his skills, however. After a disappointing 4th place finish in the 2022 World Championships, Renegade has recently been teamed up on FaZe with former World Champions Snakebite, Royal 2, and Frosty. He’s currently sitting as the #8 most popular Halo streamer and with high-quality scrims coming along, he’ll be sure to climb even higher.

4. Formal

Anyone who has followed competitive shooters for the last 10 years knows who Formal is. Starting off as a tournament-winning Halo Reach player, Formal made the shift to CoD where he became one of the greatest players to ever play, including one CoD World Championship and 23 tournament wins. After retiring from CoD, he’s back home playing Halo and hasn’t lost a step.

Formal is a great stream to watch because of his amazing game knowledge. If you’re looking to up your Halo game, and understand how map movement works, spawns, and other objective roles work (yes, he is the exception to my previous rule about objective players) then you need to check out his stream. He is the focal point for his Optic Gaming team, always making the calls, in a way that viewers can follow. His team is always either the team to beat or the team that is looking to dethrone the team to beat.

3. Trippy

The big slayer of the current Optic juggernaut, Trippey is the one to watch. He’s the guy who gets funneled the sniper rifle and puts in work. Coming off their recent World Championship win in October of last year, the Optic team is looking to keep steamrolling.

Sitting at number six as the most popular Halo streamer, Trippey is great to watch as he dominates the solo que grind. When it comes to pure entertainment, watching a big slayer is super fun in solo que games where the play is less organized and strategic. Obviously, he’s just as good in tournaments but look for his stream to break out this year, especially with their recent epic rivalry with FaZe.

2. Frosty

Frosty is one of the most successful tournament players in the last few years. He came into professional eSports with a bang, winning back-to-back Halo World Championships in 2016 and 2017. He is currently teamed on FaZe with two players from those championship-winning teams, Royal 2 and Snakebite, and recently picked up Renegade for a roster that’s expected to challenge the dominant Optic roster.

Sitting at number five of the most popular Halo streams, Frosty is a classic FPS console player. And what I mean by that, is he takes aggressive gunfights, has rivalries with other players, and knows that he’s better than almost everyone. This makes for great viewing especially if you remember the old-school rivalries in Halo 2 and 3.  

1.  Lucid

The other half of Optic’s slaying duo, Lucid is a quiet beast. He may get overshadowed by Trippey (who he’s teamed with before) in terms of flashy plays, but they are always leading their teams in kills and maintaining control over power weapons. Their win at the 2022 World Championship has made Lucid and his Optic teammates the team to beat and judging from the first tournament final of 2023 against FaZe, it’s going to be a great rivalry.

He has a laid-back stream that’s currently the most popular individual Halo stream on Twitch and growing quickly, as the number five fastest-growing channel. His analytical approach to the game and natural talent make for an informative and entertaining stream. He’s consistently one of the highest players on the solo que ladder and will sometimes stream his world-class scrims with Optic. If you’re new to Halo or returning as many of us are after ignoring Halo 4 and 5, he’s the one to check out.