Posted in: eSports, Games, Halo, Halo Infinite, Microsoft, Video Games | Tagged: 343 industries, DreamHack, eSports, halo, Halo Infinite

Halo Championship Series Will Officially Have No Crowds

343 Industries has made the call that the Halo Championship Series will now officially no longer have spectators in the audience. This is the latest change for the tournament as it has gone through the wringer a little when it comes to planning and execution. Originally the event was set to be held at DreamHack Anaheim as one of the major focal points for the returning event. However, those plans were scrapped the minute DreamHack decided to cancel the event entirely back in mid-December. 343 decided to press on with the event regardless of DreamHack's plans and chose to do a stand-alone event on their own at the same venue (the Anaheim Convention Center) and dates (February 11th-13th, 2022).

However, plans immediately changed this week with the increased spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and organizers sent out a statement on the official Halo Esports Twitter feed that the event will no longer have a live audience due to health concerns.

Due to the rapidly changing environment around COVID-19 and the rising number of cases, we will be changing the upcoming Anaheim Regional Championship to no longer include spectators and the open bracket will now take place online ahead of the tournament to determine the in-person teams. In order to ensure a competitive tournament that is inclusive of the broader community, we will instead be hosting an online qualifier to find the remaining 8 teams that will join the top 8 teams from the HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021.

The safety of the Halo community, as well as our staff, is and always will be the top priority, and we will be taking additional measures on-site in Anaheim to ensure the highest level of safety while also aligning with local regulations. Open events are at the core of Halo esports and we will always strive to maintain an open ecosystem at out events whenever possible. We will be releasing more information about the event on Friday, January 14, including qualifier format & dates, event format, and more.

More than likely, the entire event will be broadcast on Twitch and YouTube, but we'll see how much they allow the crowd to see over the course of all three dates. No word was given about refunds for those who already purchased tickets.

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