Pioneers denied HCS partnership, sparking community outrage

Pioneers, a popular Halo team, were denied a spot in Halo franchising despite consistent performances and hosting a Major.

LJ Browne, the co-founder of the Pioneers, broke the news that the team was denied partnership for the Halo Championship Series. In his initial tweet, he said that the team was “deep into consideration” but was not accepted in the end. This tweet was quoted on the main Pioneers account for fans to see, causing outrage and confusion from the Halo community. 

“This is tough to hear, high placements throughout infinite and have even put on boot camps promoting Halo,” FaZe Clan’s Snip3down said. “Would love to hear the reasoning for this one…”

The Pioneers have consistently performed at tournaments despite not having a partnership spot. They finished top six at both of the Majors in Raleigh and Kansas City earlier this year while also placing top six at HCS Anaheim. Pioneers have also won or placed top two at several minor and open tournaments. After hosting the Major in Kansas City and having consistent placements, Pioneers’ players thought they would be given a partnership spot. 

“I’d literally have to try to do what 343 and HCS did to Halo, it’s beyond trolling at this point,” Pioneers’ Roman “Druk” Nasirudin said. “Not even the partnership but the state of the franchise compared to what it used to be or what it coulda been with Infinite is sad and it’s the same people making the worst decisions.”

The HCS has not commented on the situation surrounding the Pioneers or who was accepted into the partnership program at the time of writing.