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: Reach
Release Date:
2010
Prize Money Awarded:
$772,089.97 From 29 Tournaments
Recorded Date Range:
2010-10-30 to
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It serves as a prequel for Halo: Combat Evolved, and replaces Halo 3 as the competitive Halo game. It was released on September 14, 2010.
The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant. Players assume the role of Noble Six, a supersoldier engaged in combat with an alien collective known as the Covenant. Gameplay is more similar to Halo: Combat Evolved than later games in the series.
Halo: Reach, 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. |  Lunchbox | Jason Brown | $45,200.00 |
| 2. | Roy | Justin Brown | $45,200.00 |
| 3. | OGRE2 | Tom Ryan | $44,375.00 |
| 4. | Pistola | Justin Deese | $43,000.00 |
| 5. | SnakeBite | Paul Duarte | $31,325.00 |
| 6. |  Royal 2 | Mathew Fiorante | $28,625.00 |
| 7. | Ace | Aaron Elam | $22,750.00 |
| 8. | Dersky | Sean Swidersky | $22,100.00 |
| 9. | Enable | Ian Wyatt | $19,400.00 |
| 10. | Flamesword | Michael Chaves | $19,400.00 |
| 11. | Clutch | Weston Price | $19,000.00 |
| 12. | Lethul | Tony Campbell | $18,400.00 |
| 13. | APG | Bradley Laws | $17,250.00 |
| 14. | Snip3down | Eric Wrona | $16,825.00 |
| 15. | FormaL | Matthew Piper | $16,700.00 |
| 16. | Destin | Ryan Means | $16,500.00 |
| 17. | RyaNoob | Ryan Geddes | $16,450.00 |
| 18. | Heinz | Richie Heinz | $16,100.00 |
| 19. | Tizoxic | Joseph Campbell | $15,900.00 |
| 20. | Cloud | Scott Holste Jr. | $15,800.00 |
| 21. | Maniac | Nick Kershner | $15,000.00 |
| 22. | Assault | Clete LoRusso | $13,850.00 |
| 23. | Reliable | Alan Montgomery | $13,150.00 |
| 24. | Blaze | Chris Chapon | $11,900.00 |
| 25. | Str8 SicK | Cory Sloss | $10,650.00 |
Online/LAN Breakdown
| Location | Prize Money | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Online Only | $60,000.00 | 7.77% |
| Offline/LAN | $712,089.97 | 92.23% |
Comparisons
| » Counter-Strike | -$12,852,070.21 |
| » Halo 5: Guardians | -$6,389,641.00 |
| » Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | -$1,839,718.96 |
| » Halo 3 | -$1,545,989.43 |
| » Halo 2 | -$854,672.50 |
| » Call of Duty: Ghosts | -$822,095.28 |
| » Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | -$707,049.28 |
| » Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | -$388,951.59 |
| » Halo 4 | +$341,341.21 |
| » Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | +$346,680.70 |
Top Countries
| Country Name | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  United States | $696,112.60 |
| 2. |  Canada | $28,875.00 |
| 3. |  United Kingdom | $15,692.48 |
| 4. |  Netherlands | $1,985.01 |
| 5. |  Finland | $1,267.92 |
| 6. |  Belgium | $1,205.62 |
| 7. |  Switzerland | $905.69 |
| 8. |  Australia | $207.68 |
| 9. |  France | $80.64 |
| 10. |  Norway | $80.64 |