The UK-based esports promoter will begin construction of these venues in a newly announced partnership with Hoyts Group, which runs one of the biggest cinema chains in the country. Whether the plan is for a revamp of existing theatres or the introduction of additional spaces remains to be seen, but it’s exciting news for Aussie esports fans regardless.

Sydney’s Moore Park location will be the first to be built and finished by April to play host to the first ever Gfinity Elite Series in Australia, which will run for seven weeks and feature the highest-level play in the region for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League and Street Fighter V in front of a live audience.

“Sydney’s Moore Park was a natural fit for the first dedicated eSports Arena, given its history as a sporting precinct, Hoyts CEO Damian Keogh said. “With proximity to the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium, we feel this is the perfect setting to offer eSports fans the impact of a cinema styled viewing experience that will be unlike anything else in Australia.”

The esports arenas will be equipped with the latest gaming equipment and state-of-the-art broadcast and production suites to attract more future competitive gaming events in Australia. While an official broadcast partner has yet to be announced, it’s safe to say Gfinity with upload all of its coverage to live-streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming.

Gfinity has been very busy Down Under these past few months. Aside from the new Hoyts partnership, it also inked a deal with media organisation HT&E to create its Australian league, which will be run by the general manager of the Sydney Sixers cricket team, Dominic Remond with the aim to turn it into the equivalent of the Big Bash of pro gaming in Aus.

“The Esport Arenas will be a game changer for esports in Australia and will allow fans and players to enjoy the best gaming action within a high quality location,” Remond said in the official partnership announcement.

“We are excited that our inaugural Gfinity Elite Series presented by Alienware, will be the first event to be staged at the new Arena, in front of a live audience, each weekend for seven weeks.”

All participating teams in the upcoming Elite Series will be part of six city-based franchises, and the pre-existing Gfinity Challenger Series, an amateur feeder competition, acts as the official pathway to playing in the Elite Series.

While team names and the cities they will represent are yet to be finalised, last year HT&E initially announced the planned franchises as the Adelaide Photonics, Brisbane Deceptors, Melbourne Metattak, Melbourne Rebolte, Perth Subnets, Sydney Blue Surge and Sydney Opsydian.

Interested in joining the Gfinity Challenger Series as a competitor or as a gateway to the eventual Elite Series in Australia? You can register your details to compete in Gfinity online qualifier tournaments here.

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The HaloWC will officially kick off with the Orlando Open in Orlanda, Florida from February 16 – 18. With a $50,000 major prize-pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool, competitors from all regions can participate and earn crucial points for their standing in their respective regions – though teams won’t qualify directly to the HaloWC finals here.

The European Open Regional Final will be held in London, United Kingdom from on February 23 – 25. A $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool will be offered, and the top four teams participating in this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The ANZ Open Regional Final will be held in Sydney, Australia from March 9 – 11 with a $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool up-for-grabs, some of the most offered in the region. The top two teams for this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The LATAM Open Regional Final will be hosted in Mexico City, Mexico from from March 17 – 18 with a $25,000 major prize pool and $5,000 FFA prize-pool. Only the top team for this event will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The NA Regional Finals will see competitors return to Columbus, OH in North America for the penultimate event from March 23 – March 25. A bump back up to $50,000 in major prizes and $5,000 for the FFA winner will encourage teams to rank for the top 9, who will qualify directly to the HaloWC Finals.

The Halo WC Finals 2018 will take everyone back home to where Halo began in Seattle, WA from April 13 – April 16, as the top 16 teams battle for the whopping $1,000,000 prize pool.

Major League Gaming and competitive Halo are re-united

Major League Gaming is now locked in as the primary partner for the Halo Championship Series, marking the much-anticipated reunion between 343 Industries and the professional esports organization. MLG has a long history of organizing competitive Halo events, including LAN tournaments, in the earlier and humbler days of esports.

MLG will operate the two North American HaloWC 2018 qualifying events, and the HaloWC 2018 Finals. Meanwhile, 343i have secured other partners to help operate events outside of North America. Gfinity will organise all Halo esports events in Europe, including HCS London, while Gamelta returns as the primary organiser of all Halo esports events in Latin America, including the HaloWC in Mexico. ESL Australia will handle all HaloWC qualifiers in the Australia/New Zealand region, including the first ever official HCS open LAN in Oceania.

343i also confirmed they are partnering with Microsoft Surface to make the Surface series of tablets the official local server hardware of the Halo World Championship 2018 – every tournament station at the HaloWC events will be outfitted with a Surface for tournament spectators.

For more information on the HaloWC 2018 format and structure, head to our detailed Halo esports page, which includes tips and recommendations on how and where to bet on your favourite team safely.

EsportBet’s opinion on Halo World Championship 2018 roadmap

More competitive Halo is always a good thing in our books. The series has always resonated with our team since the early LAN days (remember those?) and given the especially rough year 343i experienced with all of the fan criticism for how the 2017 HaloWC was presented and organised, it’s clear there’s much more effort, time and money being thrown in to ensure the 2018 season receives the proper attention the Halo esports scene has deserved from day one.

With MLG’s partnership and their long-standing history with the Halo team for creating amazing competitive tournaments, we’re confident next year will be the best the Halo esports scene and its fans will experience.

You can bet on major Halo esports events, including next year’s HaloWC at top-rated esports betting sites. We recommend our readers from South Korea check out GG Bet for the best odds and betting options available on competitive Halo tournaments.

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The league will hit Australian shores in early 2018, bringing a $450,000 prize pool spread over two seasons.

In partnership with Australian media organisation HT&E, the league will feature Rocket League, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Street Fighter V and will be run by the general manager of the Sydney Sixers cricket team, Dominic Remond.

Remond recently accepted the position as CEO of Australia’s Gfinty league, which will commence in February.

The league will first feature the Challenger Series, beginning on January 7, where amateurs have the chance to be drafted into pro teams.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for players to come from amateur status to professional, and if you think about it there’s no other sport that really does that,” Dominic told Redbull.

“If you look at rugby, or AFL or cricket unless you’re identified as part of academy programs by the time you’re 12 to 14 the chances of you being a professional are very slim.

“That’s what’s totally unique esports, and our challenger series and draft lends itself to that.

“The other big one for me is that it should be totally gender neutral, there’s no reason why men and women shouldn’t be able to compete at the same level and that’s a really interesting thing to support.”

Australian gamers can enter the league to win a share of $15,000 in monthly prizes between now and February.

“It’s that grassroots support network that you’ve typically seen in sports, but not yet seen in esports,” Gfinity’s COO, Sam Harris said.

“It provides that direct pathway from amateur to professional.

“The amateurs go online and play on that challenger platform, then at the end of the challenger series a top selection of players will go into the Draft.

“And from there professional teams will select new players from the Draft.”

Gfinity also features the Elite League, which will run over two seasons. While it’s not clear if it will appear on TV, the tournament will be streamed live on Facebook, Twitch and YouTube.

While the League will feature pro teams from six different states battling it out to be number one, it will first take place in the one city.

“You should think about it like the Big Bash, where people come in and they represent a city but they might not necessarily live there all year,” Harris said.

“Players will represent the city, as opposed to living there year-round.

“We’ll have more announcements in the weeks and months to come regarding the arena, but we’re looking at Sydney [for the esports arena’s location] at this stage.”

Find out where to bet on Gfinity Australia here or check out the available markets at Sportsbet.

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Mumbrella reports Gfinity eSports Australia and HT&E Events (formerly APN News & Media) aim to create a city-based franchise league called ‘The Elite Series’, which is based off Gfnity’s existing league framework already operating in the UK with competitive matches held for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket League and Street Fighter V.

The Australian-based Elite Series will provide “a structured competitive framework within Australian eSports, and allow amateurs and professionals to compete alongside each other,” according to the official HT&E Events press release.

The league is scheduled to commence in the summer of 2018, with franchise teams based in all major cities in Australia aside from Canberra, Darwin and Hobart (sorry guys!) – though greedy Sydney seems to get two teams for its own.

The currently announced franchises are: Adelaide Photonics, Brisbane Deceptors, Melbourne Metattak, Melbourne Rebolte, Perth Subnets, Sydney Blue Surge and Sydney Opsydian.

The Elite Series teams will duke it out on a weekly basis at as-of-yet unannounced “dedicated esports venues”, and every event will be broadcast through a variety of mediums, including television and live-streaming.

“Leveraging our unique combination of media assets, and using Gfinity’s tournament platform, Gfinity eSports Australia will also be perfectly positioned to run bespoke events for sponsors and strategic partners looking to engage with the eSports community – a highly engaged audience that will continue to grow,” said HT&E Chief executive Ciaran Davis in the official press release.

HT&E Events also announced a feeder online competition called ‘The Challenger Series’ will debut in Q3 2017, and is specifically aimed at amateur gamers who want a serious shot to compete alongside professionals in The Elite Series.

Author’s opinion: More esports in Australia is always a good thing, but it will be interesting to see Gfinity and HT&E Events go head-to-head with local broadcasting network Channel Seven, which announced its plans to open up their own esports league when they launched ScreenPLAY earlier this year. A Channel Seven spokesperson confirmed they aren’t involved with Gfinity’s league, so things are sure to get competitive (thanks, Kotaku).

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