Twitter Mocks the State of Halo World Championship Venue

The Halo World Championship, the biggest competitive event for Bungie’s/343 Industries’ military sci-fi shooter series, is underway this weekend. But, despite its premier status and $1,000,000 prize pool, a number of people have been left horrified (or greatly amused) by the apparent poor state of the event’s venue.

Yesterday, a number of photos of what is implied to be the main event room emerged on Twitter to howls of both derision and laughter:

https://twitter.com/frankiefourfour/status/845686971058044928

A generic banner, deflated balloons, and a barely populated tent with bleachers for seats does not scream top tier. Inevitable stupefied Twitter reactions then followed:

Begging for someone to snip them loose

— Toasty (@Matt_Toasty) March 25, 2017

Even beyond the state of the venue, this year’s championship pales in comparison to that of 2016, a Raleigh Studios Hollywood event which boasted a cumulative prize pot of more than $2,500,000:

https://twitter.com/NVT_Vandy/status/845704300357672960

It soon emerged, though, that the photos of the abandoned bleachers were actually of the show’s overflow site, and that the pictures being shared were taken either before or after matches:

https://twitter.com/Greenskull/status/845744064058212352

This was the main event room, plus other, more lively photos from the event:

https://twitter.com/Greenskull/status/845738875108536320

The 2017 Halo World Championship is being hosted at the ESL America Campus – the home of esports company ESL – and speculation persists that the venue was a last resort after ESL’s first choice location fell through. Caveats aside, this year’s Halo World Championship seems quaint – even shabby – compared to the likes of the Call of Duty World Championship or Dota 2 tournament The International.