Halo Championship Series - Charlotte Major - Day 3

CHARLOTTE FORMAT

Format: The event format will be very similar to what we saw in Year 1 but we’ve made a few refinements now that we’ve got a full year of global competitive results to build from. Here’s what you can expect:

• Open Bracket: As is customary, there will be an open bracket featured at the Charlotte Major (and every Major in 2023). This will take place on Friday, February 24 and will start and end on the same day. The bracket will be filled by the first 96 teams to purchase a pass. The top 4 teams from the Open Bracket will move on to Pool Play (2 from the Winner’s bracket, 2 from the Elimination Bracket) They will be placed into Pool Play and will have a shot to earn a spot in the Championship Bracket.
• Pool Play: The Top 12 teams from qualifiers will be starting the tournament from Pool Play on Friday, February 24 competing in a Best of 5 round robin format as is customary. You’ll notice this number is slightly reduced from Year 1. We made this decision to increase the competitiveness of Pool Play, as well as the competitiveness of the Open Bracket. We expect to see more intense matches, a more intense Championship Bracket, as well as more competitive teams coming out of the Open Bracket. As with last year, each of the 4 competing regions will have a set amount of slots in Pool Play and Open Bracket which we’ve also adjusted based on Year 1 results. The regional breakout is as follows:
  • North America: 8 Pool Play slots, 2 Open Bracket Travel Coverage slots
  • Europe: 2 Pool Play slots, 2 Open Bracket Travel Coverage slots
  • Mexico: 1 Pool Play slot, 1 Open Bracket Travel Coverage slot
  • Australia and New Zealand: 1 Pool Play slot, 2 Open Bracket Travel Coverage slots

IMPORTANT NOTE: As with last year, all teams in pool play will receive travel stipends. Additionally, as with last year, we’re still providing regional travel support for the next top teams regionally so that there’s still meaningful global participation at the Majors and those teams have the chances to prove themselves worthy of qualifying for pool play and the championship bracket.

• Championship Bracket: For HaloWC 2022 the top 2 teams from each pool went to the Winner’s Bracket, the 3^rd place team went to the Elimination Bracket, while the 4^th place team was eliminated from the competition. In 2023, we’re going to replicate this format for the Majors. Like with the Pool Play changes, our aim is to overall create a more competitive format where the matches are also higher stakes along the way. We felt this was a success for HaloWC and we’re excited to see it in action for the Majors.