With the HCS Major Arlington hosted by OpTic Gaming this weekend we’re about to conclude the first split of Year 2 of the HCS for Halo Infinite and what a wild ride it’s been. We’ve seen the closest competition yet so far and arguably the closest Halo’s illustrious esports history.

Due to HCS being a global scene with 4 distinct regions, the teams all compete online separately with LAN events being the place where we get to see them clash. Because of this, we use as much historical data as we can including number of teams competing and placements to decide the strength of each region to determine how many teams go into pool play, what are their seeds, how many teams go into open bracket, or how many teams attend a Global Invitational. We believe this approach has worked up to this point however over time it’s our goal to let the results speak for themselves directly more and more. And with all LAN events in HCS Year 2 being open to all regions, this gives us an opportunity to lean into that philosophy even more.

For the Arlington Major this weekend, there are no changes to the format and it’s what players expect.

• 16 team pool play (12 pre-qualified / 4 open)  
• 1^st/2^nd in pools advance to WR1 (Winners Round 1)
• 3^rd in pools advance to ER1 (Elimination Round 1)
• 4^th in pools eliminated 

For the next event however, the HCS Global Invitational hosted by Spacestation Gaming, the format will remain the same but the seeding will be slightly altered.

Format:

• 16 team pool play
• 12 team championship bracket
• 1^st / 2^nd in pools advance to WR1 (Winners Round 1)
• 3^rd in pools advance to ER1 (Elimination Round 1)

Seeding:

• Top 8 from Arlington Major, regardless of region.
• 9-12 NA (Top 2 from SSG qualifier, Top 2 in HCS points after SSG qualifier)
• 13-14 EU (Winner from SSG qualifier, Top 1 in HCS points after SSG qualifier)
• 15 MX (Winner from SSG qualifier)
• 16 ANZ (Winner from SSG qualifier)

Open Championship for Ft. Worth 

• Travel coverage to HCS Major Fort Worth Open Bracket teams will be on the line after the next HCS Global Invitational for each region. The top teams in each region from this tournament will earn travel coverage and a spot in the open bracket. More details to come soon regarding dates and qualifier format.
• Top 2 NA 
• Top 2 EU 
• Top 1 MX 
• Top 2 ANZ 

Fort Worth Major Format 

• 16 team pool play (12 pre-qualified / 4 open) 
• Seeding will go as follows: 
  • 1-6: Top 6 from HCS Global Invitational hosted by SSG
  • 7-8: NA 1-2 in HCS points 
  • 9-10: EU 1-2 in HCS points 
  • 11: MX 1 in HCS points
  • 12: ANZ 1 in HCS points
  • 13-14: Ft. Worth Open Brackets Winners teams 
  • 15-16: Ft. Worth Open Bracket Elim team 
• 16 team championship bracket 
• No eliminations out of pools 
• 1^st in pools advance to WR2 (WR1 BYE) 
• 2^nd/3^rd in pools advance to WR1 
• 4^th in pools advance to ER1 

HaloWC Qualification Path 

• Top 8 from HCS Fort Worth, regardless of region 
• Top 4 NA rosters in HCS points 
• Top 2 EU rosters in HCS points 
• Winner of MX Regional Playoff* at Fort Worth 
• Winner of ANZ Regional Playoff* at Fort Worth 

Regional Playoffs for MX and ANZ 

• *For both the MX and ANZ regions, the top 2 teams from each region will face off against each other for their region’s designated spot. This Best-of-7 series will occur on LAN at the Fort Worth Major and will be broadcasted on Championship Sunday. If a team from the region places top 8, they will not have to play in the regional playoff, and the playoff will be between the next 2 top placing teams
• This is to account for a fair opportunity for all teams in the region to earn a spot at HaloWC. With only one pool play spot being awarded to these regions at the Global Invitational, the point opportunities for teams in this region are disproportionate. What better way to settle this than a head-to-head playoff matchup on LAN? 

HaloWC Format 

• 16 team pool play (all teams pre-qualified) 
• Seeding format will go as follows: 
  • 1-8: Fort Worth Top 8 
  • 9-12: NA 1-4 in HCS points 
  • 13-14: EU 1-2 in HCS points 
  • 15: MX 1 
  • 16: ANZ 1 
• No play-in bracket 
• 3-day tournament and event 
• 12 team Championship Bracket 
  • 1^st/2^nd in pools advance to WR1 
  • 3^rd in pools advance to ER1 
  • 4^th in pools eliminated 

Overall we believe these format changes will allow for more globally competitive tournaments as well as entertaining moments throughout it all.

Best of luck to all teams competing this weekend, be sure to watch live every day at 12pm CT on Twitch.tv/Halo.