Major Halo tournaments struggle to attract viewers, and the events themselves are few and far between. So what happened? Competitive Halo fans will point to the Halo: Reach and Halo 4 as the cause of the decline of Halo esports. But is it really? Or is there something else they aren't seeing?
Halo 2
Release Date:
2004
Prize Money Awarded:
$1,626,762.47 From 74 Tournaments
Recorded Date Range:
2005-01-29 to
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. The game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. The game features a new game engine, as well as using the Havok physics engine; added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 allows players to compete with each other via Xbox Live, in addition to split-screen and LAN multiplayer features. The game was succeeded by Halo 3 as the competitive Halo game.
Halo 2, along with much of competitive Halo's history, has usually been associated with Major League Gaming. The MLG Pro Circuit was where the best Halo players competed, and professional Halo players were considered to be "MLG pros".
Largest Prize Pools
Top Players
| Player ID | Player Name | Total (Game) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  OGRE2 | Tom Ryan | $119,074.03 |
| 2. | OGRE1 | Dan Ryan | $116,524.03 |
| 3. | Walshy | David Walsh | $116,244.97 |
| 4. | Karma | Ben Jackson | $109,022.26 |
| 5. | GH057ayame | Eric Hewitt | $81,762.26 |
| 6. | ShockWav3 | Chris Smith | $79,962.26 |
| 7. | Strongside | Michael Cavanaugh | $77,547.99 |
| 8. | Gandhi | Scott Lussier | $77,212.26 |
| 9. | Tsquared | Tom Taylor | $54,974.51 |
| 10. | Legit | Bryan Rizzo | $50,691.81 |
| 11. | Saiyan | Ryan Danford | $50,475.00 |
| 12. | Elamite | Kyle Elam | $39,424.51 |
| 13. | Naded | Brett Leonard | $38,521.31 |
| 14. | Fonzi | Alfonso Chartier | $36,950.00 |
| 15. | Foulacy | Peter Dietrich | $32,225.00 |
| 16. | Cpt Anarchy | Carlos Morales | $29,550.00 |
| 17. | Neighbor | Mason Cobb | $27,674.51 |
| 18. | Victory X | Cameron Thorlakson | $18,830.89 |
| 19. | SK | Justin Mann | $18,055.89 |
| 20. | Mackeo | Joseph Reinhart | $17,105.00 |
| 21. | Ace | Aaron Elam | $13,650.00 |
| 22. | Maniac | Nick Kershner | $12,750.00 |
| 23. | Bonfire | Corey Howard | $12,125.00 |
| 24. | Soviet | Dmitriy Gulyan | $11,680.00 |
| 25. | KillerN | Nick Urso | $11,075.00 |
Online/LAN Breakdown
| Location | Prize Money | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Online Only | $137,400.00 | 8.45% |
| Offline/LAN | $1,489,362.47 | 91.55% |
Comparisons
| » Counter-Strike | -$11,997,397.71 |
| » StarCraft: Brood War | -$5,929,153.21 |
| » Halo 5: Guardians | -$5,534,968.50 |
| » Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | -$985,046.46 |
| » Halo 3 | -$691,316.93 |
| » Call of Duty: Ghosts | +$32,577.22 |
| » Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | +$147,623.22 |
| » Quake III Arena | +$428,656.45 |
| » Painkiller | +$611,762.47 |
| » Halo: Reach | +$854,672.50 |
Top Countries
| Country Name | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  United States | $1,529,657.62 |
| 2. |  Canada | $22,304.92 |
| 3. |  France | $5,000.00 |
| 4. |  Germany | $0.00 |
| 5. |  Netherlands | $0.00 |