On December 11th, 2016, Team EnvyUs dethroned the reigning kings of the Halo Championship Series (HCS), OpTic Gaming, in a thrilling double best-of-seven series. This was the first time the OpTic Gaming (formerly Counter Logic Gaming) Halo team lost a series on LAN since X-Games Aspen at the end of January 2016.
The first North American qualifier for the Halo World Championship (HWC) is fast approaching, and many players are putting their nose to the grindstone in order to get their piece of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
Team EnvyUs hoist the HCS Fall Season Finals trophy. (PC: ESL)
For North American teams, the grind to make it to HWC 2017 begins on January 20th, 2017 at UGC St. Louis. The top eight teams from the open bracket will move on to the Championship Bracket, where the pro teams, seeded by the HCS Fall Season, wait for their chance to advance. The top three teams from the Champ Bracket will automatically qualify for the HWC. On March 3rd, HWC Vegas by Millennial Esports begins, with the same format as UGC St. Louis, and will send another three teams to the HWC. OpTic Gaming and Team EnvyUs are bound to face each other yet again, and the Greenwall will be looking for revenge.
Following both of the open LANs, the online qualifiers throughout the months will lead to a last chance online qualifier on March 11th, sending the final North American team to the HWC.
Two European teams will also have their shot at $1,000,000. HWC London by Gfinity is an open-bracket event that will send the top two teams to HWC on February 17th-19th. Following this, the Europeans will have their own last chance qualifier to send the third and final European team to the HWC on February 26th.
At last year’s HWC, Epsilon eSports was the first European team to break into the top eight in Halo history. FAB eSports looks to best this record, and are poised to do so after winning both the EU Summer and Fall Season Finals. How far they are capable of going is in question after a disappointing 7th / 8th place finish at HCS Las Vegas however.
The Grand Finals of the EU Fall Finals saw FAB dismantling Team Infused with a 4-0 win. (PC: ESL)
Gfinity will be sending only one team from the South / Latin America area to the HWC. The team to hold this coveted spot will be determined at HWC Mexico City on February 24th-26th.
ESL Australia will also be hosting an online qualifier on February 26th to send the 12th and final team to the HWC.
The race to the $1,000,000 game starts in January. The OpTic vs. EnvyUs rivalry will continue, as both battle for the glory of being the best Halo team in the world. However, many other teams are also looking to take home the title of Halo World Champion.
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