HCS London will be exclusive to European players

The Halo Championship Series (HCS) revealed important information earlier this week regarding the next European Open event, HCS London, and who would be eligible to compete. HCS London is set to take place from Sept. 15 to 17, and we now have more information about the event format, travel, and content.

Tournament format

The four-on-four tournament will feature a double elimination bracket, where matches will be played in a best-of-five and best-of-seven series. The event will use the fall 2017 maps and settings, which have not yet been released. Within HCS’ post, Tashi, the esports producer at developer 343 Industries, stated that London will have a 32-team cap. Due to him believing that this may raise concern from fans, he felt it was necessary to point out the reason why this event needs a 32-team cap. “While some might feel that this is limiting the potential of the tournament, it’s important to set clear goals and benchmarks for tournament growth over time.” Tashi said.

Event Emblem

To add incentive for fans to attend, the HCS team has promised that everyone at HCS London will receive a HCS Emblem for Halo 5. For those that don’t know, an Emblem in Halo 5 is a preference in the game that allows players to put a verity of art pieces in their player profile.

HCS London is region locked

HCS has confirmed that HCS London will be region locked, meaning that only those who live in the European region will be able to compete. HCS London is a qualifying event for DreamHack Denver, set to take place from Oct. 20 to 22. Allowing outside competition may greatly hurt a European team’s chance of qualifying for Denver, so to play it safe, no outside teams will be allowed to compete at HCS. Tashi also stated in a post that the HCS team wanted to to make an open event exclusive to the European community.

“Going into fall season in Europe we said that one of our key goals was to, ‘Add a premium open LAN for the European community to call their own and rally behind.’ HCS London is that event.” Tashi also stated in the same post that North American competition may be too dominant for the European scene, and European players have raised concern over North American teams hurting the competition. HCS provided more information related to travel and hotels in their post. They also promised to release more information about discounted hotel rates and the free-for-all schedule, which boasts a $5,000 prize pool, soon. It’s great to see HCS step up its support for the European scene. Not having an open event to compete in last season, the European scene needs events such as London to help grow the competition.