European Halo fanatics rejoice, well-renowned tournament host Gfinity has recently partnered with the Halo Championship Series (HCS) for the European Fall Season.
Today’s announcement on Halo Waypoint gave significant information on how next season will look for the European scene, such as an open event and a change in its competitive format.
Open Cups
Starting with the pre-season cup, which will take place from August 19 to 20, competitors will have three additional cups to compete in, with one on August 26 to 27, September 2 to 3, and September 9 to 10. Details such as the specific time for these cups and the prize pool have not been released yet, but we can expect to see them in the EU Halo Championship Series handbook, said to be released in the coming weeks, according to the Halo Waypoint post.
HCS London
After multiple complaints from enraged Halo competitors over the lack of open events in the EU scene, HCS and Gfinity have responded by giving the community an open event to compete in. HCS London will be held in the Gfinitty Arena, with a $25,000 prize pool for the 4v4 tournament and a $5,000 prize pool for the Free-For-All (FFA) tournament.
The event will feature a 32 team cap, however, so it’s essential for teams to purchase a team pass as soon as they can, when tickets go on sale in the next few weeks. The top three teams that place at London will also earn themselves a trip to DreamHack Denver, taking place from October 20 to 22.
Unified League
Instead of continuing the Pro League, which was criticized for excluding a lot of outside talent, HCS will have a unified league this season. Tournaments, both online and LAN, will feature professional and amateur teams. This gives the competition a more traditional feel, which older competitors should feel accustomed to, as it was how tournaments were run prior to Pro League, which came to the EU scene on May 8, 2014.
The significance of Gfinity
Hosting numerous successful Halo tournaments, such as Gfinity Mexico City 2017, which took place from February 24 to 26, Gfinity London 2016 and Gfinity London 2014, the tournament host has a lot of experience hosting international competitions.
With enough resources and a proven method of running tournaments efficiently, Gfinity has the capability to significantly grow the European Halo scene through quality open events.
