Acend denied HCS partnership, vows to continue to support players regardless

Earlier this month, Acend’s Halo roster lifted their first LAN trophy at HCS Valencia. The organization announced today, however, that its HCS partnership application has been rejected, leading to more confusion in the competitive community.

Acend expressed dits dissapointment at what it perceives to be a continued lack of support for Halo‘s international scene with this decision. Of the nine partnered organizations that currently make up the HCS partner program, NAVI is the only one to have a team that doesn’t compete in the North American division.

“We have put all our effort in to supporting our players and the scene to compete internationally and progress Halo beyond a one region esport,” Acend’s statement reads. “Our players have shown they are world class competitors and Europe has shown we can constantly compete internationally. Sadly it seems the region will continue to receive minimal support.”

The organization also acknowledged the Kansas City Pioneers, a popular organization that was similarly excluded from the partner program. Unlike organizations in a similar scenario, such as XSET, which has since left Halo esports, Acend appears committed to continue its pursuit of a greater place for European Halo in the future.

“We have great respect for the effort that teams such as Kansas City Pioneers have also put in to the scene and were surprised to hear that they also didn’t make it through the partnership stage,” Acend said. “We believe in our players and their abilities and will continue to support them,” Acend said.

Acend player Sica spoke out after the announcement about his frustration with the decision.

“Being partnered would have been a dream for me. I’ve been thinking about being able to represent Acend with our colors in game and the possibility of seeing all of my friends wearing the skins to show their support would have been something extremely heartwarming,” he said. “We’re confused because we, us and Acend, don’t know what we could do better to help the competitive scene. It’s a big disappointment for us especially because of the lack of communication we’re getting from those who took the decision.”

The HCS itself remains tight-lipped about the future of its partnership program or the new organizations that could be involved with the second round of applicants. But as more and more of the most popular and successful organizations currently participating in Halo esports confirm their rejections from the process, more questions shroud the conversation heading into the Orlando Major and Worlds.