With Split 2 of this HCS season kicking off this weekend, we wanted to get ahead of some frequently asked questions regarding official tournament formats, dates, and what's on the line.

Split 2 Online Tournaments:

• HCS Pro Series - Open Qualifiers (All regions)
• HCS Pro Series - Pro Finals (All regions)
• HCS Open Series (All regions)
• Regional Qualifiers (EU/MX/ANZ)
• HCS NA Super - Qualifier
• HCS NA Super - Open
• HCS NA Super - Championship
• Open Championship (NA/EU/MX)

Split 2 LAN Tournaments:

• HCS Regional Finals (EU/MX/ANZ)
• HCS Orlando Major (Global)
• Halo World Championship 2022 (Global)

Important Links:

• Player Handbook
• FACEIT: Tournament Registration
• HCS Leaderboards
• Player Discord

HCS PRO SERIES - OPEN QUALIFIERS

What dates are Pro Series Qualifiers on?

• May 29: All regions
• Jun 5: All regions
• Jun 12: All regions

What time do Open Qualifier tournaments start?

• 12:00 PM local time in each region

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until qualifying rounds in Winners and Elimination (best of 5)

What's at stake?

• Finals Qualification: Top open teams in each region advance to the next Pro Finals.
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• All teams are eligible to play, except for the Top 8 Pro teams in NA/EU and Top 4 Pro teams in ANZ/MX who have automatically qualified for Pro Finals. (Automatic qualification based on either the last Major LAN placing or most recent Pro Series placing)

How many teams qualify from the Open Qualifier to the Pro Finals?

• NA / EU: Top 8 teams qualify - 4 teams from Winners Bracket and 4 teams from Elimination Bracket
• MX / ANZ: Top 4 teams qualify - 2 teams from Winners Bracket and 2 teams from Elimination Bracket

How is the Pro Series Open Qualifier seeded?

• The Open Qualifiers are seeded by HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• No

HCS PRO SERIES - PRO FINALS

What dates are the Pro Series tournaments on?

• NA: Jun 2, Jun 9, and Jun 16
• EU: Jun 1, Jun 8, and Jun 15
• ANZ: May 31, Jun 7, and Jun 14
• MX: May 31, Jun 7, and Jun 14

What time do Pro Series tournaments start?

• 12:00 pm local time in EU/MX
• 3:00 local time in NA
• 6:00 local time in ANZ

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until Winners Finals, Losers Finals and Grand Finals (best of 5)

What's at stake?

• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • NA Prize Pool: $2,000
  • EU Prize Pool: $1,500
  • MX/ANZ Prize Pool: $1,000
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• Invite only tournament
• NA/EU: 16 teams (Top 8 from previous LAN / Pro Series Finals and Top 8 from previous Pro Series Open Qualifier)
• ANZ/MX: 8 teams (Top 4 from previous LAN / Pro Series Finals and Top 4 from previous Pro Series Open Qualifier)

How is the Pro Series seeded?

• NA / EU:
  • Top 8 from previous LAN / Pro Series Finals are seeded 1-8 based on previous placing
  • Top 8 from Pro Series Open Qualifier are seeded 9-16
• MX / ANZ:
  • Top 4 from previous LAN / Pro Series Finals are seeded 1-4 based on previous placing
  • Top 4 from Pro Series Open Qualifier are seeded 5-8

Is there a roster lock?

• Yes. Teams advancing from the Pro Series Open Qualifier must use the roster they qualified with. After a LAN, the automatically qualified teams only have to maintain 3/4 of their roster for the first Pro Series. For every other Pro Series Finals, auto-qualifying teams must maintain their full roster from the previous Pro Series Finals.

HCS OPEN SERIES

What dates are Open Series tournaments?

• Jun 19 & 26: NA / MX / ANZ
• Jul 10: NA / EU / ANZ
• Jul 17: EU / ANZ
• Jul 31: EU / MX
• Aug 14: All regions
• Aug 21: NA / EU / MX

What time do Open Series tournaments start?

• 12:00 PM local time
• NA Open Series tournaments play out until only 8 teams remain and finish on the following Thursday.

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until Winners Finals, Elimination Finals and Grand Finals (best of 5)

What's at stake?

• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • NA Prize Pool: $2,000
  • EU Prize Pool: $1,500
  • MX/ANZ Prize Pool: $1,000
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• All teams can play

How is it seeded?

• Seeded by HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• No

REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

What dates are the Regional Qualifiers?

• EU: Jun 19
• MX: Jul 10
• ANZ: Aug 21

What time does the Regional Qualifier start?

• Start time 12:00 PM local

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until qualifying rounds in Winners and Elimination Bracket which are best of 5

What's at stake?

• A secured spot in Pool Play for the Regional Finals
  • EU: 4 Pool Play qualifying spots
  • MX / ANZ: 2 Pool Play qualifying spots
• Travel coverage to the Regional Finals
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• All teams can play, except for the teams already qualified for pool play in each region via their placing at the last Major or highest total HCS points (8 NA/EU, 4 MX/ANZ)

How is the Regional Qualifier seeded?

• HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• No

HCS NA SUPER - QUALIFIER

When is the NA Super Qualifier?

• Jul 24

What time does the NA Super Qualifier start?

• 12:00 PM ET

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until qualifying rounds in Winners and Elimination bracket which are best of 5

What's at stake?

• A secured spot in Pool Play in the HCS Super Championship
  • NA: 4 teams advance to pool play
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• All NA teams can play, except for the teams automatically qualified for pool play via previous Major placing or highest total HCS points.

How is the NA Super Qualifier seeded?

• HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• No

HCS NA SUPER - OPEN

This is the Open Bracket portion of the HCS NA Super Championship.

When is the NA Super Open?

• NA: Jul 31

What time does the NA Super Open start?

• 12:00 PM ET

Format:

• Double elimination Bracket
• Best of 3 until qualifying rounds in Winners and Elimination bracket which are best of 5

What's at stake?

• A secured spot in Pool Play/Champ Bracket in the HCS NA Super
  • 4 Pool Play spots
  • 4 Champ Bracket Elimination Round 1 spots

Who can play?

• All NA teams can play, except for the teams already qualified for the Super Championship (12 teams are already qualified)

How is the NA Super Open seeded?

• HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• No

HCS NA SUPER - CHAMPIONSHIP

When is the NA Super Championship?

• NA: Aug 5 – 7

What time does the Super Championship start?

• 12:00 PM ET

Format:

• 20 team tournament
• 16 teams in pool play that leads into Championship Bracket
• 12 pool play teams advance to Winners Bracket
• 8 pool play teams go down to Elimination Bracket

What's at stake?

• A secured Pool Play spot at the next Major (HCS Orlando)
  • Top 8 teams
• Travel Coverage to the next Major (HCS Orlando)
• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • Prize Pool: $125,000
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT

Who can play?

• Invite only – NA teams that have earned spots in the Super Championship via Major placing, or earning spots via HCS point totals, or placement in either the Super Qualifier or the Super Open

How is the NA Super seeded?

• 1-8 are seeded in order of highest Major placing or highest point total
• 9-12 are seeded in order of highest point total
• 13-16 are seeded in order of highest point total
• 17-20 are seeded in order of highest point total

Is there a roster lock?

• Yes, for teams that have automatically qualified, those teams must maintain 3/4ths of their roster. It begins July 11^th and closes July 29^th. For teams that qualified through the Super Qualifier or the Super Open, those teams must compete with the exact roster they qualified for the Super with.

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

What dates are the Open Championships?

• August 27-28 for all regions (except ANZ)
• ANZ does not have a Split 2 Open Championship because they will use their Regional Final to determine travel coverage to HCS Orlando.
  • 1st: Orlando Pool Play + Travel Coverage
  • 2nd/3rd: Orlando Travel Coverage

Format:

• NA / EU: 16 team pool play (4 pools of 4) that leads into a championship Bracket
• MX: 8 team pool play (2 pools of 4) that leads into a championship Bracket

What's at stake?

• Each region's top 2 open teams will earn Travel Coverage to the next Major.
• No HCS Points will be rewarded

Who can play?

• Invite only – The teams that have already qualified for pool play at the next Major (8 NA, 4 EU, 3 MX and 1 ANZ) are ineligible. In NA/EU, the top 16 ranked teams in terms of HCS points and in MX, the top 8 ranked teams in terms of HCS points are invited.

How is the Open Championship seeded?

• HCS points

Is there a roster lock?

• Yes. Rosters lock on August 22

HCS REGIONAL FINALS

What dates are the Regional Finals?

• EU: Jul 1 – 3
• MX: Jul 22 - 24
• ANZ: Sep 2 - 4

EU Format:

• Open Bracket and pool play leading into 20 team championship Bracket
• 16 teams in pool play
• 8 pool play teams from previous Major (if not possible, next option is granting teams pool play spots through most HCS points)
• 4 pool play teams determined from Regional Qualifier, 4 pool play teams determined from Open Bracket
• 4 teams from Open Bracket straight to Elimnation Bracket

MX / ANZ Format:

• Open Bracket and pool play leading into 10 team championship Bracket
• 8 teams in pool play
• 4 pool play teams from previous Major (if not possible, next option is granting teams pool play from most HCS points)
• 2 pool play teams determined from Regional Qualifier, 2 pool play teams determined from Open Bracket
• 2 teams from Open Bracket straight to Elimination Bracket

What's at stake?

• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • EU Prize Pool: $100,000
  • MX/ANZ Prize Pool: $50,000
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found in the "Rules - 11. Prizing Information" section of each tournament page on FACEIT
• Travel Coverage to the next Major (HCS Orlando)
• A secured Pool Play spot at the next Major (HCS Orlando)
  • EU: Top 4 teams
  • MX: Top 3 teams
  • ANZ: 1st place team

Who can play?

• All teams can play in their respective region's tournaments.

How are the Regional Finals seeded?

NA / EU Seeding:

• 1-8 are seeded in order of highest recent Major placing or highest point total
• 9-12 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through the Regional Qualifier
• 13-16 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through Open Bracket (Upper/Winners)
• 17-20 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through Open Bracket (Lower/Elim)

MX / ANZ Seeding:

• 1-4 are seeded in order of highest recent Major placing or highest point total
• 5-6 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through the Regional Qualifier
• 7-8 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through Open Bracket (Upper/Winners)
• 9-10 are seeded in order of highest point total after qualifying through Open Bracket (Lower/Elim)

When is the roster lock?

• EU:
  • June 20: Teams qualifying for Pool Play & Travel Coverage
  • June 27: All other teams
• MX:
  • Jul 11: Teams qualifying for Pool Play & Travel Coverage
  • Jul 18: All other teams
• ANZ:
  • Aug 22: Teams qualifying for Pool Play & Travel Coverage
  • Aug 29: All other teams

HCS ORLANDO MAJOR

When is the HCS Orlando Major?

• Sept 23 – 25

Format:

• Pool play and Open Bracket leading into Championship Bracket
• 20 pool play teams (8 NA, 4 EU, 3 MX, 1 ANZ and 4 Open Bracket teams)
• Pool play spots for each region are earned through Regional / Super placings
• 4 Open Winners Bracket teams advance to pool play
• 4 Open Elimination Bracket teams advance to Championship Elimination Bracket Round 1

Who can play?

• Global eligibility: all teams in all regions can participate

What's at stake?

• The Top 12 teams earn a secured Pool Play spot at the Halo World Championship
• Travel Coverage to the Halo World Championship
• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • Prize Pool: $250,000 + Crowdfunding
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found on the HCS Orlando event page. (Coming soon)

How is the Orlando Major seeded? Pool play is seeded in this order:

• 1-8 NA
• 9-12 EU
• 13-15 MX
• 16 ANZ

When is the roster lock?

• Sept 5: Teams qualifying for Pool Play & Travel Coverage
• Sept 19: All other teams

HALO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

When is the Halo World Championship

• Oct. 20^th – 23^rd

Where is the Halo World Championship taking place?

• Seattle, Washington

Format:

• Invite only tournament consisting of a Play-In Stage (8 teams), Pool play (16 teams), and then a Championship Bracket consisting of 8 teams (bottom two from each pool get eliminated)

Who can play?

• Invite only tournament
• Qualify by placing top 12 at HCS Orlando or Top 4 in Play-In Bracket
• Play-In Stage consists of 8 teams (2 NA, 2 EU, 2 MX and 2 ANZ)
• Play-In Stage teams are determined by the Top 2 teams from each region at HCS Orlando that did not already qualify for Pool Play. (HCS points used as tiebreaker)
• Top 4 teams from Play-In Stage advance to Pool Play
• In Pool Play, the top 2 teams from each pool advance to the Championship Bracket and the bottom 2 teams are eliminated
• Double elimination Championship Bracket

What's at stake?

• The title of best Halo team in the world
• Cash prize: Breakdowns in Player Handbook
  • Prize Pool: $1,000,000 + Crowdfunding
• HCS Points: Point breakdowns can be found on the Halo World Championship event page. (Coming soon)

How is the Halo World Championship seeded?

• 1-12: Placing Top 12 at Orlando
• 13-14: Advancing through Winners in Play-In Stage
• 15-16: Advancing through Elimination Bracket of the Play-In Stage
• HCS points used as tiebreakers

Is there a roster lock?

• Yes, the teams that have qualified for either the Halo World Championship or the Play-In Stage are required to maintain their full rosters.