Late last year we added Halo 5 to the “Pro Series” tournament programming and the global support for the online events both in terms of participation and viewership has been great to see – thank you so much!

With Halo Infinite now set to release this fall, we wanted to provide some more Halo 5 and Halo 3 tournament action in the first half of the year. As a reminder, here are our goals:

Our goals:

• Provide regular competitions for players around the world to compete in
• Continue to experiment with new formats and broadcast experiences where it makes sense
• Provide support for players of both MCC (Halo 3) as well as Halo 5.

MCC COMPETITION

For the most part, the format and structure here hasn’t changed from what we had set in place last fall. These are still weekly tournaments in Halo 3 with a $1,000 prize pool, but there are a few key differences:

1. Double Elimination format: Thanks to the Faceit team for upgrading their platform, these MCC tournaments will now move to a Double Elimination format.
2. Sunday competitions: In hopes of increasing participation in these tournaments, they will now be taking place on Sundays rather than previously on Fridays. We will continue to monitor player feedback, number of teams participating, and the overall tournament experience to evaluate the need for any adjustments.

Remember, there are no roster transaction restrictions, so you can feel free to compete with whomever you’d like to on a weekly basis. And as a reminder, with MCC now featuring crossplatform play, players on both Xbox and PC are able to participate. See below for all dates:

• Sunday, February 14
• Sunday, February 21
• Sunday, February 28
• Sunday, March 7
• Sunday, March 14
• Sunday, March 21
• Sunday, March 28
• Sunday, April 11

HALO 5 PRO SERIES ON XBOX

 With the main competition moving to Halo 5 last fall and the reintroduction of the 4 major regions, it’s been amazing to see the energy week in and week out from the community. Just like with MCC, the format and structure here remains the same but there are some notable changes:

1. Double Elimination Format: For the open tournaments, the format will move away from single elimination and into double elimination. The formats for the Pro and Championship tournaments (group play into single elimination) will remain the same.
2. ANZ Schedule: For the upcoming seasons of Halo 5 Pro Series, we have reduced the number of tournaments featured in ANZ and have spread out the dates a bit further as well. Overall, the participation numbers in ANZ at the moment aren’t to the level we had anticipated. Our hope is that with more time between tournaments, we will allow for individuals and Teams of 2 or 3 more time to complete their rosters and sign-up for each tournament. We will of course continue to monitor participation in the region and feedback.

Here’s the full list of dates for both Halo 5 Pro Series seasons:

NORTH AMERICA:

• Saturday, February 6 - Open
• Saturday, February 13 – Pro
• Saturday, February 20 – Open
• Saturday, February 27 – Pro
• Saturday, March 6 – Championship (Broadcasted on Twitch and YouTube)
• Saturday, March 13 – Open
• Saturday, March 20 – Pro
• Saturday, March 27 – Open
• Saturday, April 3 – Pro
• Saturday, April 10 – Championship (Broadcasted on Twitch and YouTube)

Prizing:

• Open - $1,000
• Pro - $5,000
• Championship - $10,000

REST OF WORLD:

• Saturday, February 6 – Open (Includes ANZ)
• Saturday, February 13 – Open
• Saturday, February 20 – Open (Includes ANZ)
• Saturday, February 27 – Championship
• Saturday, March 13 – Open (Includes ANZ)
• Saturday, March 20 – Open
• Saturday, March 27 – Open (Includes ANZ)
• Saturday, April 3 – Championship (Includes ANZ)

Prizing:

• Open - $1,000
• Championship - $5,000

Finally, in North America, the Top 8 teams from the prior season will automatically advance to the first Pro tournament on February 13. Teams must submit their rosters to haloevents@faceit.com, and the roster must maintain 3 of the 4 players from the prior season championship. Rosters for the first North American Pro tournament must be submitted by Tuesday, February 9.

Registration for the tournaments is now live and you can head over to the following links to sign up for free: HALO 5 - MCC. For those competing, please continue to monitor emails and official communication channels for limited time opportunities to offer feedback and input throughout the program. For the latest on Halo esports and the MCC and Halo 5 Pro Series’, be sure to follow @HCS and @FaceitHalo on Twitter.

Best of luck to all players competing!