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Who will win the Halo EMEA Championship?
Four teams are battling to qualify for the Halo World Championship. Will the UK's finest make it?
It’s a massive weekend for the UK’s best Halo 5 teams as they attempt to qualify for the Halo World Championship. Get through the Halo EMEA Championship in Cologne, and they’ll have a shot at winning the largest share of a $2m prize pool, the biggest in Halo’s history.
16 teams are competing in the tournament for the Europe, Middle East and African region, but only four will make it through to the World Championship in March where they’ll be joined by the best of North America, Latin America, plus Australia and New Zealand.
So who will make it through? Top Halo caster, ESL’s Richard Simms gave us his expert view.
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Epsilon won the UK qualifier
© Joe Brady / Gfinity
Who will win the Halo EMEA Championships?
I think, without question, you have to say the three main UK names stand out above all. Epsilon, Team Dignitas and Infused are all well known organisations in eSports, and each team features some well known names in the EU scene. That fourth spot is open up to anyone, but seeing as all four UK teams have been separated, there's a possibility that all four UK teams could attend Worlds.
As for who will actually win the tournament, I'm going to go with the safe bet and say Epsilon will take this. Their recent trip to X Games in Aspen gave them the opportunity to practise against the best in the world, and they will have gained confidence after beating top team Renegades 3-0. I cant see them losing this, and they will show why they are the best EU has to offer.
Who are Epsilon’s closest challengers?
You can never rule out Infused. There is some incredible talent on their team and they do have the ability to beat Epsilon if all their players are on point. The other main challengers will be Dignitas – they've got a good roster with two top young players in Mose and Brandon. Then there’s Septic who boasts great leadership skills and has experience on the North American scene. Finally, Fuzion has enjoyed many years of main stage time. Really, this is going to be a three-way grudge match between the UK teams.
Which teams could cause an upset?
As with any event, we always hold out hope for an underdog, and when we move into the Worlds I’m SUPER interested to see what the LATAM region has to offer. From the EMEA region, however, you have to look out for the French. Millenium, Vitality, Pulse and Supremacy are all big names and have all been taking games off one another in the Xbox Elite series. Pulse came out on top, winning the four-team French LAN event. So, without question, it will be all eyes on them going into this, but really that fourth final spot is anyone’s game.
Team Dignitas in action at the Halo UK Champs
© Joe Brady / Gfinity
The players to watch at Halo EMEA Championships.
SLG from Pulse is someone I've had my eye on for a while now; he’s a massive slayer and a real standout player from the squad.
Be sure to keep an eye on Speed from FabE and Zankioh from Millenium. These guys do amazing things with the sniper – it’s like watching a montage happen in real time. Both these guys are in the same group, and last time they met up, Speed taught everyone a lesson in 'How to head-shot' so FabE Vs Pulse is certainly a match people will not want to miss. When it comes to an all-round star, we all have to look at Jimbo from Epsilon. He started to make waves within the NA community, and no doubt we will see someone getting 'Jimboed' this weekend on the stream.
Who are the rising stars of the future?
As already mentioned, Brandon and Mose of Dignitas are two rising superstars. I say rising, because I think that until they get that first event win, they will always be in the shadow of Epsilon. Without question, they have established themselves as top level players but until they get that tournament victory under their belts and shake off the 'warrior' status, people will always see them as the online gods. The Halo World Championship was made for people like this and gives young guys the opportunity to breakout and make a name for themselves in competitive Halo.
Are any of these teams future World Champions?
I’m going to be realist here and say no. I hate to be 'that guy' and not show love and support for my EU homies but NA is simply too strong. The NA guys have always played and practised at a much higher level, and with so much money on the line for them, I cant see anyone other than Evil Geniuses, CLG or another top NA team taking home the win.
Perhaps one or two British teams can achieve a spot in the final eight for Worlds, but to do this the teams will have to knuckle down and practise hard. Epsilon caught Renegades off guard at X Games, and I can guarantee Renegades will be looking at their games to see what went wrong before fixing it. With a whirlwind of team changes before X Games, we need need to take into account that a lot of the NA teams are still bonding together in practice.
Once Worlds come around, the NA aggression train will be full steam ahead and kicking off passengers who don’t pay up. It would be great if EU teams could go out early to a team house and get some grinding in against NA teams before the tournament.
Watch the Halo EMEA Championship on
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