Halo 5 Tournament Will Be at this Year's X Games
By Weston Albert 26 January 2016
The Halo World Championship Tour will be at X Games Aspen later this month in a special invitational competition, airing on ESPN and being streamed live.
These days eSports are becoming a bigger and bigger deal all the time. Activision Blizzard just purchased MLG earlier this month and eSports events are proving they can draw an audience, even filling up stadiums. ESPN has even started covering eSports more often on its channels, despite the seemingly unending debate over whether it belongs there or not.
It appears that ESPN isn’t backing down on featuring eSports either, as it was announced today that the X Games will feature Halo 5: Guardians at its event in Aspen later this month. The Halo World Championship Tour, which features multiplayer competition of Halo 5, will be shown in various highlights and segments during the X Games Aspen telecasts on ESPN between January 28-31.
Eight of the top teams from around the world — six from North America and two international teams — will compete in group play that will culminate in a single-elimination bracket-style tournament onsite at X Games Aspen for medals and $30,000 in prize money.
The Halo World Championship Tour is an ongoing competition where teams earn points for league placements in the chase for a huge jackpot in the finals; however the tournament at X Games Aspen will not contribute any points to teams and will not affect placement for the regional finals. Outside of the prize money up for grabs, this specific competition is more of an exhibition match in that regard.
This will be the first time that the Halo World Championship Tour will be aired on ESPN, marking yet another step forward for eSports and competitive gaming. X Games Vice President Tim Reed says Halo is a good fit for the X Games:
“We are thrilled to team with Xbox to feature the top gamers at X Games Aspen. Gaming plays a big role in the youth culture and the Halo World Championship Tour: X Games Aspen Invitational nicely complements the world-class action sports competition and musical elements at the X Games.”
It has been quite clear that 343 Industries put a lot of time and effort into the multiplayer design of Halo 5, with hopes of growing it as an eSport. Head of 343 Industries, Bonnie Ross, said this is another step in making Halo a huge part of eSports:
“We are committed to the long-term growth of Halo esports through world-class events and the expansion of viewership around the globe. There is no one better than X Games and ESPN to team up with for the Halo World Championship Tour, and we’re excited to see the best teams compete for gold this January at the X Games Aspen Invitational.”
The teams will face off on-site at X Games Aspen and the event will be streamed on WatchESPN, twitch.tv/halo, and mlg.tv/halo.
What do you think about Halo 5 being televised as part of the X Games? Will you watch?
Source: ESPN X Games
