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:

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:

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:

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:

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

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.