The Halo betting is slipping
You know, Halo has been trying to cope with Earth overpopulation for over a decade now. The Almighty stands witness to a world dominated by soldiers decked out in their high-tech suites and strutting an overwhelming arsenal of plasma grenades, blast guns and all sorts of gizmo designed to reduce the surplus of bipeds that perambulate the Earth. Halo seems to have had a few faux pas in the way of resolving that particularly thorny issue, and has left the scorched ruins of a world the original image of which could never be envisaged quite successfully by even the wackiest of dreamers.
Halo has been a proud and staying member of the electronic sports (eSports) scene, and as such, the game has impregnated the particularly fecund soil for eSports betting. Behold, with the latest iteration of the Sci-Fi First Person Shooter (FPS), Halo did bring more of the same, and it did so in the fiery horrific style it has been doing for over ten years.
Esports are the preserve of mostly a select few gaming titles, but Halo is proudly one of those. In the following review, we will explore the scope for Halo betting and have a quick glance at Halo betting sites.
- Where do we bet on Halo?
- What past, current and future tournaments can we expect?
- Which are the dominant figures in Halo eSports?
- What does the future hold for Halo betting?
Let us not dilly-dally too long, for there are volatile salvos fired our way.
The Halo Effect or where Halo betting takes place
Esports and associated betting are on the rise. There is hardly anything anyone could do to stem the tide of the oncoming tsunami that the eSports betting industry is shaping to be. With professional consultancies and market researchers running intricate and detailed studies that sell for $600 a pop, it is hardly a laughing matter. Or one you can be grounded not to have for a prolonged periods of time after having scored poorly in a Maths test. In fact, the omnipotence of eSports is an inexorable juggernaut. Little can be done to stop it. And this may be a good thing.
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Halo eSports has been with us for a long, long time. Over ten years in fact. But be that as it may, the game has not spawned the interest associated with eSports betting that other titles, let us say Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and League of Legends (LoL) have.
As a result, bookies offer a limited choice betting options, but a choice nonetheless, and as prize money rises, so do hopes of a future where blowing a foe out of their rocket boots would translate into heftier profits for spectators of a gambling turn of mind.
Presently, sportsbooks with an esports section which offer gambling on Halo are Bet365 and Betway. Both websites are reliable and they can turn bets into profit. Through stellar odds crunching and a variety of bets, whenever an event is live, punters are slated to rake in hefty sums. However, Halo betting as a whole may not be sustainable as events tend to be fewer than, say, CS:GO.
On the plus side, betting on a niche gaming title may have its advantages.
- Specializing in a game that is known to only a segment of today’s gamers, may allow for less competition and familiarity with long-standing leaders may translate into better profits;
- Halo eSports may still grow and become a more pronounced member of the eSports community in terms of gambling. Make no mistake, the game is a pillar of FPS eSports as we know them today and over ten years of relentless commitment on the part of Microsoft has shown that;
- There are significantly fewer odds and types of bets to be familiar with. This may be a two-edged sword as it both narrows the scope of betting and puts a damper on the aspirations of experienced bettors.
Know your eSports title is what our team has to say.
In terms of type of bets, it mostly boils down to guessing the winner of a match or a tournament. Some special odds are also available, on occasion along with handicap odds here and there, no more, no less.
Doubling back to the suggested bookies, we need to remind punters of the flawless mobile betting apps they have to offer paired with seamless transactions and responsive customer support available around the clock.
Admittedly, there is more growth room in the segment for Halo betting. But until such a time the game has realized its full potential, punters will have to navigate the all too familiar seas of a handful of bookies.
Halo 5 eSports, Tournaments of yore and future
Esports are trending. They are incontestably going to be the underpinnings of an industry so vast and far-reaching that traditional sports are easily overshadowed by the buzz and excitement video games generate. Online betting associated with eSports is driven chiefly by the availability of tournaments that offer generous prize money. No wonder there.
The reason why Halo and its fifth iteration are such a successful gaming phenomenon, especially in the eSports milieu, is that the game has had a healthy competitive community which was somewhat generously backed by various aficionados and hard-cut investors. Here is a rundown of the tournaments throughout the years and their respective prize money, which have made players, spectators and bettors salivate.
Halo World Championship
The Halo World Championship (2016) offered the substantial prize pool of $2,500,000, which has rightfully earned the game a place in the ranks of seemingly outlandish titles (at least from the standpoint of hardcore Halo fans) such as Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) 2 and LoL.
It is exactly through the existence of such generous funds that Halo betting is encouraged and bookies are striving to provide better odds. But apart from this quickly turning into a discussion of which is the best bookie, we will recommend that as a wise punter, you always spread your bets and direct your money to the website with the better odds – and those odds are not carved in stone, so leave your chisels home. As odds vary, we recommend that you keep a wary eye on every available bet out there and make the most of it.
However, the initial prize pool was, should we say, a tad humbler at $1,000,000. REQ Pack purchases quickly tipped the balance in favor of the stonking amount fans and Halo 5 eSports teams battled for. Well, fans were not really battling, they chose a rather pacifist stance and cheered, with a tinge of aggressiveness well tucked away under a general appearance of ebullience.
The event, in all its splendor (or alleged shabbiness) can be watched here.
Halo Championship Series (HCS)
The Halo World Championships were presaged by the Halo Championship Series (HCS) prior to Microsoft’s decision to rev up its prize money for the event and introduce Halo 5 as a tad more competitive title. The prize pool for the HCS was substantially lower than the whopping $1,000,000 commitment to the Halo World Championships.
Major League Gaming (MLG)
This is perhaps the most-respected gaming tournament worldwide. Halo events originated back in 2005 and tournaments had been rearing their heads even before that. MLG has been a proud follower of tradition and Halo 5 eSports is a thing today as it used to be over ten years ago. Even the most absent-minded reader would be table to tell that where there are large-scale tournaments, there is also concomitant Halo betting. Correct.
Electronic Sports League
It comes as no surprise for anyone who has been reading us on regular basis, that any new eSports is usually adopted by the Electronic Sports League (ESL) that is also quite hasty to drop titles. Be that as it may, Halo and its latest iteration, Halo 5, continue to trend on ESL, which is maintaining a healthy number of leagues and players who are eager to cut their teeth and learn the rope up against tougher opponents.
A number of smaller events is still readily available. Cruising the internet, however perfunctory, will show results such as the tentative ‘How do I introduce Halo to my local college?’
Back in 2015 there were rumors about making Halo gambling a fully-fledged part of the Halo community. However, those rumors have since subsided and possibly died altogether for we, despite keeping our ears close to the ground, could not catch any wind of such legendary stuff in the making.
Further down the list, we have brought to you – teams! Should we fear them, could we eat them and what makes them successful?
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Halo 5 eSports teams and losing one’s halo
Not too shabby, not too shabby, Halo and well done with establishing professional and committed communities around yourself. As eSports have risen to prominence, so did salaried professional gamers. There are a handful of teams by which bettors can set their watches. Some of the better known teams are:
- Evil Geniuses;
- Counter Logic Gaming;
- Denial eSports;
- OpTic Gaming;
- Cloud9
- Str8 Ripping
Most of those teams represent entire organizations and have vast sponsorship so it is often advisable to wager one’s precious money on recognizable names rather than some obscure rookies. Halo is perhaps not the best title for new teams, as out-of-the-blue success stories are a rare occurrence, unlike in the MOBA genre where new teams shoot up to glory every year.
As is the wont of such teams, they are volatile and their rosters change quite often, with whole organizations being disbanded in a blink of the eye. We recommend that prospective gamblers keep an eye on what is going with every respective team and not overtrust the brand. Still, recognizing the name could be enough. Wacky, isn’t it?
Is Halo (5) eSports out of puff?
We don’t think so. From one iteration to the other, Halo has come back with vim and vigor and associated Halo betting has not abated. We shall persevere, and so we have, after over a decade of flinging explosive substance at each other. A goddamn feat, I dare say.
Outlining a general betting strategy, we advise punters to be on the watch out for:
- Established teams which have substantial track record. Be diligent and trawl their past performances. See if anyone of value has left or joined the team prior to placing a bet. Betting odds alone are not always enough and that intimate knowledge may truly sway matters in one’s favor;
- With Twitch.tv and Twitter steadily updating fans about their favorite players, it is easy to keep track of any subtle changes that may happen within an eSports cabal, so do make the most of social media and stay ahead of the curve when placing bets;
With Halo being a rather straightforward game in terms of variety of bets, punters will remain well within the confines of traditional betting, which, let’s face it, boils down to trying to guess the winner of a match.
Oh Halo eSports, may you live and prosper
Past and continuous support for Halo has shown that the game can walk the years without time dragging it down. If anything, Halo has come with renewed forces and joined the current context of eSports while it has been contributing a whole lot to shaping it, even from the margins.
Anyone who loves Halo or finds it an auspicious opportunity for turning a quick buck should consider the game as a viable betting option. Punters, we implore of you, watch out for the next plasma grenade. It may be loaded with cash.