Halo World Championship 2023: The Year To See It
So many memories after spending the long weekend in Seattle, watching some of the best Halo match-ups of the year - at the Halo World Championship 2023. My spouse and I managed to snag our tickets and get some early access to the venue since the start of the event, and - wow. Seeing old and new friends, taking a tour of the entire set-up, being part of the FFA tournament, seeing the voice actors of my childhood on stage, this has been one year to not miss for any Halo fan.
![Attendee check-in lines at the Halo World Championship 2023 in Seattle.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/attendee-checkin.jpg)
As a total side-note, from the start we were impressed by the high-quality badges as little mementos from HWC - one for event access and another for FFA tournament participation. You know how there are people who collect conference badges? Yeah, I want that for HCS events.
![Halo World Championship badges, one for FFA and the other for VIP access.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/badges.jpg)
The stage area was massive - don’t be fooled by the emptiness, we got early access to the venue and I tried to take a picture right before it all started.
![The Halo World Championship 2023 stage at the Seattle Convention Center.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/halo-wc-new-stage.jpg)
![Me standing in the midst of empty rows at the Halo World Championship 2023.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/mainstage-empty.jpg)
And as VIP attendees (the pass was totally worth it, by the way), we got the chance to take photos on the big stage!
![The eagle-eyed reader might spot Lucid practicing in the background.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/mainstage-lucid-halowc.jpg)
There was also a dedicated play area where you could stop by and play the brand-new Season 5 (came out yesterday - you should try it). The Forbidden and Prism maps add so much chaos to the gameplay, that one of my friends and I had to go back in line after one play-through just to play it again and again.
![Season 5 playthrough area.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/empty-venue-day-one.jpg)
While the venue was empty, we did the rounds around all of the booths - and the Faze one was the first on the list.
![Stopping by the Faze Clan booth.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/faze-booth.jpg)
No Halo event can be a real event without a Warthog, and sure enough - there was one right at the entrance.
![Me being _really_ happy next to a Warthog model (I think it can actually drive).](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/warthog.jpg)
The Community Stage was great as well, with all the candid interviews and opportunities to connect with developers and some of the most familiar Halo faces.
![Standing next to the Community Stage. Props were oddly reminiscent of the Halo Museum ones.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/before-start-community-stage.jpg)
Xbox Gear Shop also had a booth with some discounted and unique HCS merch which, by day three, was quite bare - everyone wanted something to remember the event from:
![Xbox Gear Shop at Halo World Championship in Seattle.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/xbox-gear-shop.jpg)
I absolutely had to take a photo with a professional-grade Bandit replica at the Sentinels booth:
![Me with a Halo Infinite Bandit replica.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/sentinels-bandit.jpg)
Right before you get to the dark, spotlight-lit stage venue, you have to go through the Halo-themed “intro,” which throws you into the right mood with a surround sound Halo theme blasting, Halo Reach figures from the Halo Museum, and of course Master Chief was right in the middle of it all.
![The different Spartan statues, as seen right as attendees head to the stage.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/halo-exhibit-hall.jpg)
![Another angle of the "intro" area of the venue.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/main-hall.jpg)
![Halo World Championship 2023 - the first hall you step through to get to the stage.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/hall-red-flags.jpg)
![Stage announcements as teams are brought on.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/halo-wc-stage.jpg)
![OpTiC vs. Faze Clan match-up on the Halo World Championship 2023 stage.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/optic-faze-halowc-2023.jpg)
![Side stage - a fun activity to watch while waiting for the FFA queue.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/side-stage.jpg)
One of the memorable parts of the event was seeing the elaborate Spartan suits that folks built - the cosplay quality blew us away. When we were watching the Community Stage as they went through the different cosplay contest participants, I honestly didn’t envy the judges. They were all so good.
![Spartan in Mark-VII armor next to Master Chief.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/chief-blue-side.jpg)
![Cosplay contest participants on the Community Stage.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/community-stage.jpg)
![Cosplay contest participants that are part of Heat 1 (day one of the event) on the Community Stage.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/cosplay-contest.jpg)
While there, I did participate in the Free-For-All (FFA) tournament and quickly realized that I am not as good as I thought. Yes, I brought my own controller and headset. Yes, I played on familiar maps. Yes, I got destroyed in the second elimination round. In the first round, funnily enough, I was tied with another player and the only reason I got through was because I had less deaths. Let that be a lesson - it’s not only about slaying but also about staying alive.
Massive kudos to all the players there - was so great to be challenged and proven just how much more there is to go to being good at map awareness and basic game mechanics.
![Me frantically trying to figure out where the battle was in the FFA tournament.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/ffa.jpg)
![My moment of glory in the FFA tournament - being out in the second set of games.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/halo-ee-gg-ffa.jpg)
My favorite part of the event, though, was the rare opportunity to get some autographed copies of my Halo 4 Collector’s Edition guide and the Halo: Master Chief Collection disc. My wife (whom I am forever grateful to for her patience of coming with me for all three days) and I both stood in line for two hours to get these, but it was so worth it. Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, and Keith David are so nice in person - just like you would imagine them to be.
![Signed copy of Halo: Master Chief Collection.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/halo-mcc-signed.jpg)
As a totally unexpected surprise, while we were standing in line to get cast photos, none other than Pierre Hintze himself randomly stopped by with a signed The Weapon, Master Chief, and Arbiter card. An event to remember, for sure.
![Signed copy of the Halo 4 Collector's Edition guide.](https://assets.den.dev/images/postmedia/halo-world-championship-2023/signed-book-card.jpg)
What a year to be a Halo fan. Onward to Season 5 and beyond!