Halo Championship Series 2021: Kickoff Major format explained

Halo Champions Series 2021: Kickoff Major is the first official tournament of Halo Infinite and is officially underway in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, featuring participants from around the world.

The latest installment of the long-running Halo series was released last month after being delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The title has been regarded by fans as one of the finest additions to the Halo series and a return to the franchise's roots.

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What is the format of Halo Championship Series 2021: Kickoff Major

Halo Championship Series 2021: Kickoff Major differs slightly from the usual format. The tournament is divided into three categories: open bracket, pool play and championship bracket. In total, 32 teams are participating from around the world to fight it out amongst themselves.

In the open bracket, the top eight teams from the upper bracket will move to the championship upper bracket, and the top eight teams from the lower bracket will move to the championship lower bracket. All matches at this stage are best-of-three while those which will will lead to qualification of teams into the championship bracket will be best-of-five.

For pool play, four groups of four teams will participate in a round-robin format. The top two teams of each group will advance to the championship upper bracket Round 2, and the bottom two teams of each group will go to the championship upper bracket Round 1. All of these matches will be best-of-five.

Ultimately, the championship bracket will feature a 32-team double elimination-style championship bracket to determine the winner. This will be the culmination of both the open bracket and pool play. 343 Industries have announced that the winner will be taking home the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool.

Fans can also get exclusive HCS rewards by watching the live stream of the tournament. Viewers can unlock weapon skins and armor coatings by tuning into the live stream for an hour. Read here for more details.