The upcoming Halo Championship Series will no longer include spectators at the event due to rising concerns of COVID-19.
Announced in a tweet today, the official Halo Esports Twitter account wrote: “Due to the rapidly changing environment around COVID-19 and the rising number of cases, we will be changing the upcoming Anaheim Regional Championship to no longer include spectators.”
The post also explained how the brackets would now be taking place online. “The open bracket will now take place online ahead of the event to determine the in-person teams. In order to ensure a competitive tournament that is inclusive of the broader community, we will instead be hosting an online qualifier to find the remaining eight teams that will join the Top eight teams from the HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021.”
An update regarding the @HCS NA Regional Finals at @DreamHack Anaheim 2022 pic.twitter.com/LCZ8s3Bc18
— Halo Esports #HCS (@HCS) January 8, 2022
Safety is a big priority of the Esports organisation in this situation. “The safety of the Halo community, as well as our staff, is and always will be the top priority, and we will be taking additional measures on-site in Anaheim to ensure the highest level of safety while also aligning with local regulations.”
The statement also notes that more information will be revealed next Friday, January 14, “including qualifier format and dates, event format, and more.”
California is currently averaging just over 43,000 COVID cases a day at the moment, which is likely the main factor in moving the qualifiers to an online only format, and for no longer including spectators at the physical event.
Former Halo player and Gamers First owner Makowski responded to the announcement supporting the decision, hoping that “everything works out.” Other responses found the statement confusing regarding how the online qualifiers would work.
In other news, Twitch streamer Pokimane has recently received a 48-hour long ban for streaming the animated TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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