Posted on by GameGnome

Halo World Championship 2018 – Orlando Open Format Update

HCS

The Halo World Championship 2018 events tour kicks off in just under two months in Orlando, Florida. We’ve been working closely with MLG to lock in the final format details and are excited to share more with you today.

In case you missed it, don’t forget to check out our Halo World Championship 2018 Format Overview which also covers the Orlando Open. The following is an excerpt from that news post:

12 teams will be qualified directly into group play based on a combination of the following two criteria: Performance from the Fall 2017 HCS Finals, as well as performance in the online tournaments leading up to the event.

  • 8 teams from North America
  • 2 teams from Europe & Middle East
  • 1 team from Australia & New Zealand
  • 1 team from Latin America

DIRECT QUALIFICATION

While the HCS Fall 2017 Finals are not directly connected to the Halo World Championship, we want to officially recognize the top performing teams with qualification directly into group (pool) play for the Orlando Open. In total, 5 teams from the Fall 2017 Finals will gain direct entry into group play based on placings and region but must adhere to specific roster restrictions (more on the that below) to retain that spot.

  1. NA – OpTic Gaming – SnakeBite, Royal2, Frosty, Lethul
  2. NA – Team Liquid – StelluR, Eco, Spartan, Penguin (artist formerly known as SubZero)
  3. NA – Splyce – Shotzzy, Renegade, Shooter, bubu dubu
  4. NA – Team EnVyUs – Mikwen, Pistola, Snip3down, Huke
  5. EU – Team Infused – Mose, Respectful, Jimbo, Kimbo

ROSTER RESTRICTIONS

In order to retain their spot in group play for the Orlando Open, the five teams above must adhere to the following roster rules:

  • If rosters have been changed since the Fall 2017 Finals, at least 2 out of the 4 players must be the same.
  • Rosters must be officially submitted by Monday, January 29 at 5PM EST .

In the case where two players from a team form two separate teams but only 1 spot remains, the spot will go to the team organization that was represented at the Fall 2017 Finals. In the case where fewer than 4 spots for NA are filled, or the 1 spot for EU is not filled, the spots will NOT be backfilled by teams that placed lower at the HCS Fall 2017 Finals. The spot(s) will go to the next team(s) on the points leaderboard during the Halo World Championship online qualifiers.

SEEDING

The teams listed above will NOT be seeded in Group Play by their performance at the Fall 2017 Finals. They will instead be seeded by their point total after competing in the online tournaments leading up to the Orlando Open.

As a reminder, the Orlando Open is open to teams and players from each of the four participating regions. The top teams from each region will qualify directly for group play and the championship bracket, but the teams that follow will be seeded into the open bracket based on their point totals in their respective region.

For example, if the 9th seeded North American team has fewer total points than the 3rd seeded European team – the 3rd seeded European team will be seeded higher than the 9th seeded North American team. Based on how many teams from each region will be directly qualified into group play, we feel this will provide a balanced and competitive open bracket.

LATIN AMERICA SEEDING

Two teams from Latin America (one from each sub-region) will be flown to Orlando to compete in the first event of the Halo World Championship 2018. However, only one team will qualify directly into group play, while the other must fight from the open bracket. Before group play begins in Orlando, the two teams representing Latin America will face off in a best of 5 match to determine which of the two teams will start their tournament run from group play. May the best team win!

We can’t wait to see teams from the around the world compete in the Orlando Open – the competition will be fiercer than it’s ever been. Team passes and tickets for the Orlando Open will be available starting January 5.

For all the latest on the Halo Championship Series and the Halo World Championship, keep it locked to Halo.gg and follow @HCS and @MLG on Twitter.

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