343 Industries has announced the final roadmap for the Halo World Championship in 2018, revealing the schedule and partners for next year’s big Halo esports push.

The HaloWC will officially kick off with the Orlando Open in Orlanda, Florida from February 16 – 18. With a $50,000 major prize-pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool, competitors from all regions can participate and earn crucial points for their standing in their respective regions – though teams won’t qualify directly to the HaloWC finals here.

The European Open Regional Final will be held in London, United Kingdom from on February 23 – 25. A $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool will be offered, and the top four teams participating in this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The ANZ Open Regional Final will be held in Sydney, Australia from March 9 – 11 with a $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool up-for-grabs, some of the most offered in the region. The top two teams for this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The LATAM Open Regional Final will be hosted in Mexico City, Mexico from from March 17 – 18 with a $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool. Only the top team for this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The NA Regional Finals will see competitors return to Columbus, OH in North America for the penultimate event from March 23 – March 25. A bump back up to $50,000 in major prizes and $5,000 for the FFA winner will encourage teams to rank for the top 9, who will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The Halo WC Finals 2018 will take everyone back home to where Halo began in Seattle, WA from April 13 – April 16, as the top 16 teams battle for the whopping $1,000,000 prize pool.

Major League Gaming and competitive Halo are re-united

Major League Gaming is now locked in as the primary partner for the Halo Championship Series, marking the much-anticipated reunion between 343 Industries and the professional esports organization. MLG has a long history of organizing competitive Halo events, including LAN tournaments, in the earlier and humbler days of esports.

MLG will operate the two North American HaloWC 2018 qualifying events, and the HaloWC 2018 Finals. Meanwhile, 343i have secured other partners to help operate events outside of North America. Gfinity will organise all Halo esports events in Europe, including HCS London, while Gamelta returns as the primary organiser of all Halo esports events in Latin America, including the HaloWC in Mexico. ESL Australia will handle all HaloWC qualifiers in the Australia/New Zealand region, including the first ever official HCS open LAN in Oceania.

343i also confirmed they are partnering with Microsoft Surface to make the Surface series of tablets the official local server hardware of the Halo World Championship 2018 – every tournament station at the HaloWC events will be outfitted with a Surface for tournament spectators.

For more information on the HaloWC 2018 format and structure, head to our detailed Halo esports page, which includes tips and recommendations on how and where to bet on your favourite team safely.

EsportBet’s opinion on Halo World Championship 2018 roadmap

More competitive Halo is always a good thing in our books. The series has always resonated with our team since the early LAN days (remember those?) and given the especially rough year 343i experienced with all of the fan criticism for how the 2017 HaloWC was presented and organised, it’s clear there’s much more effort, time and money being thrown in to ensure the 2018 season receives the proper attention the Halo esports scene has deserved from day one.

With MLG’s partnership and their long-standing history with the Halo team for creating amazing competitive tournaments, we’re confident next year will be the best the Halo esports scene and its fans will experience.

You can bet on major Halo esports events, including next year’s HaloWC at top-rated esports betting sites. We recommend our readers from Seychelles check out GG Bet for the best odds and betting options available on competitive Halo tournaments.