Update: The prize pool of the Europa Halo Blackpool LAN has been increased to £7,500 by UK esports organisation Quadrant.
In addition, organisers have announced more details, for example around the online seeding tournament taking place for teams the week prior to the event.
There’s also an open stage, featuring eight groups of four teams in a round robin format. See more here:
Original article (August 17th 2023):
Europa Halo Blackpool, a new UK Halo LAN event announced a few weeks ago, is considering allowing more teams to compete.
Organisers said this was due to ‘huge demand’ they’ve seen towards the event, which is the result of a partnership between several parties: Blackpool Pride of Place Partnership, Blackpool Council, Winter Gardens, Jellymedia and EuropaHalo.
Graham Day, Head of Social & Community at Jellymedia, told Esports News UK: “Halo Esports will return to Blackpool this November 11-12th at the Winter Gardens Conference Centre after a long absence. The venue has recently had a £30 million upgrade.
“In the early 00s Halo competitions took place regularly at the Norbreck Hotel, Blackpool and included the likes of Ninja as competitors.
“The event has been set up as an alliance of the Blackpool Pride of Place Partnership, Blackpool Council, Winter Gardens, Jellymedia and EuropaHalo.
“The long-term goal is to position Blackpool as a key destination on the esports scene able to offer various sized venues surrounded by a strong infrastructure of hotels, hospitality and travel links.”
Graham Day, Jellymedia
“The test event will showcase what Blackpool has to offer inviting Halo fans and teams to the resort to compete in and watch two days of esports action.
“Team tickets were sold out within 45 minutes and EuropaHalo are in discussions to open up more team places in the coming weeks to meet huge demand. General tickets are also available and selling well.
“In the coming weeks the event will announce two high-profile sponsors and are in discussions for more. Attending fans will also be offered exclusive discounts at local attractions, restaurants and hotels in the coming weeks.”
There’s more info on the Europa Halo social media accounts, with the X (aka Twitter) account telling followers to keep an eye on their socials for more news on new team passes dropping soon.
Related article: Quadrant finish top three at Halo HCS Arlington Major
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
