Spartans For Troops Arena Tournament Information and Registration

As part of the Spartans For Troops Halo Community Livestream, Podtacular will host a Halo 5: Guardians Arena tournament after the pro exhibition.  This tournament is open to all Halo community members and veterans and will follow a format similar to the HCS online qualifiers.  Up to 16 teams will play in this tournament for a chance to win Xbox Live gift cards, REQ packs and official stream t-shirts.  The tournament will be broadcasted using Halo 5’s spectator mode with commentary on the livestream.  If you are interested in competing, here’s the info and rules you need to know.

Information

Registration: goo.gl/forms/hKADSmrfYq
Deadline: March 5th, 3:00AM EST; Midnight PST
Tournament Start: March 5th, 9:00PM EST; 6:00PM PST
Duration: Up to four hours
Tournament Style: Single Elimination

Rules

Registration

All fireteams must be registered by their team captains using the registration form here by the registration deadline of Saturday, March 5th at 3:00AM Eastern, midnight Pacific.  Fireteam captains must completely fill out the registration form using the players’ gamertags that will be played on for the tournament.  For teams who register gamertags that do not exist, first the fireteam captain will be contacted for a correction.  If a correction is not provided by 3:00PM Eastern; Noon Pacific, the team will be removed from the tournament.  Fireteams may register a fifth substitute player that may take the place of any fireteam member in between matches, except for the captain.  Up to 16 teams will be accepted to play on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Any additional teams who register will be placed on standby in case a team fails to report for the tournament or a team is removed for improper registration.

Tournament Play

The tournament will consist of a single elimination bracket that will be provided at team check-in.  Check in for the tournament opens one hour from the start of the tournament and must be done by all fireteams, including standby teams 30 minutes prior to the start of the tournament.  While the schedule is still subject to change, play is currently scheduled to start promptly on Saturday, May 5th at 9:00PM Eastern; 6:00PM Pacific.

Each match in the first two rounds of play will be the best of three games and for the semi-finals and finals will be the best of five games.  Game modes and map combinations will be posted here soon, but will consist of Slayer, Capture the Flag and Strongholds.  With the recent addition of Assault, teams will be allowed to call in an Assault game as long as both teams agree to the change.  Settings for Slayer, Capture the Flag and Strongholds will be the same as those set for the Halo Championship Series.

In the event of match ties,  games will be played in addition to the current game in the following manner:

• Slayer: First team to 15 points; 5 minutes
• Capture the Flag: First team to score; 5 minutes
• Strongholds: First team to 30 points; 5 minutes
• Assault: First team to score; 5 minutes

If there remains a tie after these game additions, objective game wins will be determined by the K/D ratio of both teams, followed by KDA ratio and slayer game wins will be determined by KDA ratio.

Fireteam captains must have Spectator mode enabled for their account to allow for matches to be broadcasted during the stream.  The stream host will check the ability to view a game using Spectator mode for each team during check-in.

Any fireteam playing with players who were not specified as a fireteam member during registration will be disqualified from the tournament.

Substitute Players

A substitute player may be used to replace a player in the fireteam once and cannot replace the fireteam captain.  Once the substitute player is in the tournament, they must complete the tournament.  The person who was replaced will not be allowed back on the fireteam and will not be eligible to win any prizes the team may win.  Substitutes may only be called in between team matches and cannot be done during a series of games without the need of permission from the tournament organizer.  If a team does want to substitute a player in the middle of a series, the opposing team must agree to the substitution and both teams must notify a tournament organizer before playing the next game in a series.  If a team is caught substituting a player without approval during a series or re-substitutes any player who was substituted out, they will be disqualified from the tournament.

Game Reporting

Games must be reported by both teams after a match has been completed.  The reporting form will be provided after check-in but before play starts to ensure the final list of teams are available in the form.  Fireteams who fail to report games may be disqualified from the tournament.

Prizes

First place team will win Xbox Live $10 gift cards and the official Spartans For Troops t-shirts.  Second place team will win Gold REQ Pack codes.

*Rules are subject to change and may be updated at any time prior to check-in for the tournament.