A brief guide to the HCS Dallas Open 2025

Following four online Open series and a Major qualifier, the HCS Dallas Open 2025 event takes place this weekend (May 23rd and 25th, 2025).

The second LAN event of the 2025 Halo season will see 16 teams from across the world compete for a share of the prize money and an opportunity to secure qualification for the second Major taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, later this year.

HCS Dallas is one of four Majors that form Halo’s esports calendar. Esports Insider has everything there is to know about the event taking place as part of DreamHack Dallas.

The event will feature 16 teams competing in the group stage, with four teams competing against each other for a chance to secure a place in the knockout bracket.

12 of the 16 teams are determined by placements from the Arlington Major, online qualifiers, and HCS seeding points, while the other four are teams that earn a place by competing through the event’s open bracket.

The open bracket features amateur teams looking for a chance to compete against the best rosters in the world.

HCS Dallas comes with a $150,000 (~£112,193) prize pool split among the top 16 teams. In addition to prize money, teams will earn HCS Points.

Below is a full breakdown of the prize money:

Defending HCS champions OpTic Gaming head into the event as one of North America’s strongest Halo teams. After managing to defeat Shopify Rebellion by resetting the winner’s bracket advantage, the Green Wall looks to cement its position at the top of the HCS.

Shopify Rebellion will look to avenge its Arlington defeat with another strong showing in Dallas as the season nears its halfway stage.

From a European perspective, Team Nemesis and Zero Tenacity have another opportunity to show the region can compete for wins against top North American talent. Team Nemesis scored a top-six finish in Arlington and has shown glimpses of springing surprises against the more established names.

HCS Dallas will be broadcast across Halo’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Viewers who tune into the action and watch for a specified amount of time have the opportunity to earn a wealth of rewards that include a variety of in-game cosmetics.