ESL Gaming and 343 Industries Join Forces to Launch the New Halo Championship Series Esports Programme

ESL Gaming, the world’s leading esports company, has announced a partnership with 343 Industries around the esports ecosystem for Halo: Infinite. ESL Gaming, through DreamHack and ESL Australia, was selected to be one of the tournament operators responsible for competitions within the Halo Championship Series (HCS) in 2021 and 2022.

This HCS will feature four competing regions — North America, Mexico, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. With a prize pool starting at $3 million (which will increase through crowdfunding), this HCS will be the biggest, most robust, most open, and most competitive Halo esports programme and ecosystem ever built in the 20-year history of this franchise.

• The DreamHack brand will produce the Regionals and Supers competitions in Europe
• The DreamHack brand will also host a North American competition on-site at DreamHack Anaheim, February 11-13, 2022
• ESL Australia will operate the Regionals and Supers competitions in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ)

“ESL Gaming deeply believes in the Halo community and we will, together with 343 Industries, invest in funding the holistic support of these regions so the local scene can grow and flourish over time. This is a tremendous partnership and we are super excited to bring this experience to these communities, competitors and fans,” Mike Van Driel, SVP Game Management at ESL Gaming, said.

Each of the four regions will have its own cosmetic bundle featuring a nameplate, emblem, Sniper Rifle coating, as well as visor for just 900 credits. When you purchase this bundle, a significant portion of the revenue will go to the tournament operator in that region (e.g. the North American bundle is being shared with DreamHack). The purpose of these bundles is to give fans a way to represent their regions, and for tournament operators to earn revenue to continue investing in the Halo community.

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The Halo Championship Series format is built on open entry where players make their way from the regional ladder, to the global ladder, ultimately leading the way towards finding the best team at the Halo World Championship.