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 Anniversary
Release Date:
2014
Prize Money Awarded:
$468,705.05 From 20 Tournaments
Recorded Date Range:
2014-08-15 to
Halo 2: Anniversary is a remastered version of Halo 2 featuring HD resolution, extra content, and high-quality audio and graphics. It was released on November 11, 2014, as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One. It replaces Halo 4 as the competitive Halo game, and is succeeded by Halo 5: Guardians.
343 Industries announced the "Halo Championship Series" on November 5, 2014. ESL and 343 Industries organizes the league, being the only place where the best Halo players are able to compete.
Largest Prize Pools
| Tournament Name | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | » HCS Season 2 Finals | $150,000.00 |
| 2. | » HCS Season 1 Finals | $100,000.00 |
| 3. | » HCS Indianapolis 2015 | $50,000.00 |
| 4. | MMC Launch Invitational | $50,000.00 |
| 5. | » Iron Games Atlanta 2015 | $25,000.00 |
| 6. | » UGC St. Louis 2015 (H2A 4v4) | $21,000.00 |
| 7. | » Iron Games Columbus | $15,000.00 |
| 8. | EGL Battle of Europe 2015 | $11,385.00 |
| 9. | » Gamers For Giving 2015 (H2A) | $10,000.00 |
| 10. | » gamescom 2014 - Halo MCC Showdown | $10,000.00 |
| 11. | » PAX Prime 2014 Showdown H2A | $10,000.00 |
| 12. | » i55 (H2A) | $4,617.07 |
| 13. | » i54 (H2A) | $4,478.80 |
| 14. | » Gfinity Halo 2: Anniversary LAN Championship | $3,153.91 |
| 15. | » i53 (H2A) | $1,883.69 |
| 16. | » ACL Sydney 2015 (H2A) | $1,148.17 |
| 17. | » ACL Melbourne 2015 (H2A) | $1,038.41 |
| 18. | » AvT Auckland 2015 (H2A) | $0.00 |
| 19. | » ETG 8 (H2A) | $0.00 |
| 20. | » UGC St. Louis 2015 (H2A FFA) | $0.00 |
Top Players
| Player ID | Player Name | Total (Game) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Lethul | Tony Campbell | $46,125.00 |
| 2. | Roy | Justin Brown | $44,875.00 |
| 3. | Snip3down | Eric Wrona | $43,750.00 |
| 4. | Lunchbox | Jason Brown | $41,875.00 |
| 5. | OGRE2 | Tom Ryan | $21,337.50 |
| 6. |  Royal 2 | Mathew Fiorante | $21,337.50 |
| 7. | SnakeBite | Paul Duarte | $21,337.50 |
| 8. | Heinz | Richie Heinz | $17,437.50 |
| 9. | Cloud | Scott Holste Jr. | $14,650.00 |
| 10. | APG | Bradley Laws | $14,250.00 |
| 11. | Mikwen | Austin McCleary | $11,875.00 |
| 12. | Chig | Kyle Lawson | $10,500.00 |
| 13. | Maniac | Nick Kershner | $10,000.00 |
| 14. | RyaNoob | Ryan Geddes | $9,850.00 |
| 15. | FearItSelf | Justin Kats | $7,887.50 |
| 16. | Hysteria | Jacob Reiser | $7,887.50 |
| 17. | Victory X | Cameron Thorlakson | $7,637.50 |
| 18. | Pistola | Justin Deese | $7,500.00 |
| 19. | Ace | Aaron Elam | $5,762.50 |
| 20. | Naded | Brett Leonard | $5,612.50 |
| 21. |  Chalkie | Jake White | $5,468.33 |
| 22. | Ramirez | Andrew Corrigan | $5,468.33 |
| 23. | Arkanum | Jacob Santos | $5,000.00 |
| 24. | FormaL | Matthew Piper | $5,000.00 |
| 25. | Flamesword | Michael Chaves | $4,512.50 |
Online/LAN Breakdown
| Location | Prize Money | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Online Only | $0.00 | 0.00% |
| Offline/LAN | $468,705.05 | 100.00% |
Comparisons
| » Halo 5: Guardians | -$6,693,025.92 |
| » Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | -$2,143,103.88 |
| » Halo 2 | -$1,158,057.42 |
| » Call of Duty: Ghosts | -$1,125,480.20 |
| » Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | -$1,010,434.20 |
| » Halo: Combat Evolved | +$169,424.05 |
Top Countries
| Country Name | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  United States | $406,262.50 |
| 2. |  United Kingdom | $31,698.22 |
| 3. |  Canada | $21,337.50 |
| 4. |  France | $1,513.96 |
| 5. |  Australia | $1,038.44 |
| 6. |  Ireland | $189.50 |
| 7. |  Netherlands | $125.00 |
| 8. |  Norway | $125.00 |
Other Notable Players
The following players may not have necessarily competed in this game, but have contributed to the competitive scene in other ways.
| GH057ayame | Eric Hewitt | Analyst |
| Walshy | David Walsh | Analyst, Commentator |