HALO TOURNAMENT FAQs:

  • When is this tournament? Is it Saturday or Sunday?

    • Both. The tournament is too big to have on just one day. Saturday January 29th will be all pool play and Sunday January 30th will be elimination games.

  • What time does it start?

    • Check-in is going to be as soon as the doors open each morning at 9:00AM, games will begin no earlier than 10:00AM.

  • How do I enter?

  • What time do I need to be there for my game?

    • Because the first round of the tournament will be a lot of pool play on five different game stations, you won’t know exactly what time your games will be each round until probably a half hour or so before you play. Make sure you’re registered on Challonge with an email you can get on your phone, and make sure you’re in our Discord where our Scion Bot can find you. We’ll make sure you know when you’re about to play. We plan to give the pools different start times and allow teams to select a pool start time that works best for them on a first-come first-serve basis… So all the more reason to get registered early!

  • How many teams are there going to be?

    • We can accommodate up to 36 teams at this event, and we are hoping to cap it out. Make sure you get your team registered as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out.

  • How many players can be on my team?

    • The games will be 4v4, but you can have up to six players registered on your team to allow for scheduling conflicts, situational substitutions, etc. You will only be allowed to substitute players in and out between games within a match or between matches, not within a game. No extra time will be allotted for substitutions so make sure you’re ready to hot swap your players out.

  • Is it single elimination or double elimination? / How is the seeding going to be handled?

    • The format is going to be Round Robin Pools in the first stage, then a Double Elimination Tournament. Your team’s record in pool play will determine your seeding in the elimination stage. Depending on the number of teams registered, each team will play between 3 and 5 games against the other teams randomly assigned to their pool. The group assignments shown on the Challonge event page are temporary, they will be randomized once all teams are registered. No one will know who is in their pool until registration is finalized.

  • How much does it cost to play?

    • Until November 30th, all you have to pay is the $40 to register your team. After that it goes up $5.00/person until January 23rd, and then another $5.00/person ($10.00 total) until day-of signups, if there are any spots left available. The team captain is responsible for registering the team on Challonge and paying the entry fee. As always, 100% of that entry fee goes into the prize pool for the event.

  • How much does it cost to get in just to watch?

    • Totally free. This is a Scion Esports event, that’s how we roll.

  • Do I have to pay in advance to play or can I pay at the door?

    • In order to register your team, you (or your team captain) have to pay the $40.00 registration fee online when you sign up to secure your spot. If you signed up before December 1st and took advantage of the Early Bird program, that’s all you owe, you’re golden. You just need to have your free ticket from the event page on Challonge and you can pick up a wristband from the TO desk at the event. If you didn’t get your Early Bird ticket, you’ll now have to pay $5.00 to get a ticket if you’re a player. As long as you do that before January 23rd, you’re square. If you walk up with no ticket and want to play, you’ll have to pay $10.00 to get a wristband from the Tournament Organizer. The point is sign up early! Just a reminder that you don’t need a ticket at all if you’re just coming to watch.

  • How do I register?

  • Will I be logging on to my own account? / What if I don’t own the game? / Can I share an account with someone else?

    • You will use your own Xbox Live account for the entire tournament. You must own a copy of the game to play in this event. (It’s free, but you still have to “own” it on your Microsoft account.) If you do not own a copy of the game and cannot afford to purchase one, but still want to play, have your team captain send us an email and explain the situation and we’ll see what we can do to help. You cannot share an account with someone else at this event. The developers have made it clear that logging into your own account and having your presence follow you across the ecosystem is the official way to play Halo competitively. It does not matter what platform you purchased the game on, as long as you own the game and have a current Xbox Live or Game Pass subscription, you’re good to go.

  • I don’t have a Challonge account, how do I create one?

  • How do I create a Challonge team? / All this Challonge stuff seems hard, do I have to do it?

    • Guess what, there’s another handy dandy blog post for that as well. And yes, you have to do it. In order for us to have maximum functionality for running the logistics of the event, and for you to get maximum functionality and enjoyment out of all the added features we can offer if you do it this way… you have to do it. If you are struggling, don’t hesitate to email us at esports@lakecharlestoyota.com for help.

  • What are the in-game settings going to be? / What maps are we going to play on? / What game types are going to be in the playlist?

    • We are going to match all aspects of this event as closely as possible to HCS. We suggest you read the “Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem” blog on Halo Waypoint to get a feel for what the developers are trying to create in the Halo Infinite competitive multiplayer experience. Basically we’re going to copy/paste the HCS 2022 Rule Book, primarily sections VII through XIV. You can find a copy of the official HCS Ruleset on the Halo Esports Wiki or download it directly here.

    • The maps and game types will be the standard Ranked Arena playlist for Season 1. You can find out the specifics on the wiki.

  • Is this tournament going to be on PC or Console?

    • Both. There will be a variety of hardware at the game stations, although all players within the same game at a station will be playing on identical hardware. This is exactly how Esports Engine is going to be running all HCS events, including the Kickoff Major in Raleigh, and we figure if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. You cannot bring your own hardware, other than peripherals.

  • Is this tournament going to be controllers only or are mouse and keyboard going to be allowed?

    • Again, both. 343 and Esports Engine are committed to making Halo Infinite a cross platform / cross input esport. Although the game will allow you to restrict matchmaking to a certain input type online, cross platform / cross input is going to be the case in all first party LAN events. They are committed to making sure the game is balanced enough that pros will be comfortable choosing whichever input they are comfortable with, and again, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. We do recommend that you bring your own mouse/keyboard or controller, and even headset if you want to. It’s not required, but it will help you adjust to the different game stations a little easier.

  • What hardware is my next game going to be on? / My team doesn’t want to play on the “xxx” we want to wait and play on the “xxx”.

    • You won’t know what game station you’ll be playing on until shortly before your game. The TOs are going to make those decisions on the fly to get the games played as efficiently as possible. You will not have a choice in which game station you play on. The games that we play on our stream will always be played on the Main Stage which will feature state-of-the-art AMD gaming PCs and 120hz 1080p monitors. As the tournament goes on and we get to the elimination stage, the lower performance hardware will be phased out so that the final rounds will only be played on the Xbox Series Xs or the premium PCs.

  • How do I sign up?

  • … more FAQs coming soon… as soon as ya’ll ask some questions!