Earlier today, 343 Industries announced several new details about season two of the Halo Championship Series. This season will feature changes to the format as well as an increased prize pool. They’ve also finally revealed the location of the season’s second LAN, now known to be taking place in Indianapolis, as well as more info about the season finals.
Online cups feature the biggest changes, including a separation between the open bracket and the pro teams. Every Saturday will now feature an Open Cup, teams will play in a single elimination tournament with only non-top 8 HCS teams. On Sunday the top 8 from the Open Cup will be put into a “Legendary Cup” which also includes the aforementioned top 8 HCS teams. The Legendary Cup will have a $3,000 prize pool: $1,500 to first, $1,000 to second and $500 to third. These changes will open up the online tournaments to be more accessible for lesser known teams and be more open to new talent.
ESL is also introducing something known as “Pre-Season” points. Don’t worry, wins in the pre-season won’t be affecting the HCS standings. These points will be used to determine the seeding at the HCS season opener, IG Atlanta.
The final major announcements are about the second LAN of the season as well as the season finals. As previously mentioned, the second LAN will take place in Indianapolis, being hosted by Pro Gaming League. It will take place at Indy Pop Con 2015 inside the Indianapolis Convention Center on June 26-28. The tournament will headline with a $50,000 prize pool, double that of IG Atlanta. The finals will take place at the ESL Studio located in Burbank, California on July 24-26. Like last season they will be inviting the top 8 HCS to compete for the championship, this time with a prize pool increased from $100,000 to $150,000.
With all these new changes the competitive scene is as tense as ever. Pre-season events take place on April 5th and 12th with the first LAN taking place from the 17th to 19th, hope to see you there!
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Cowley is new to eSports writing but is looking to improve his skills. He mainly follows Halo, Starcraft and League of Legends as well as several obscure games. He can be contacted using his twitter, @ggCowley.
