Teams to watch at the Halo World Championship 2025

The Halo World Championship 2025 is Halo Infinite‘s final esports event before the Halo Championship Series (HCS) retires the first-person shooter title.

Taking place from October 24th to 26th, 16 teams from the Americas, Europe, and Australia will compete for a share of a $1m (~£749,900) prize pool and a chance to be crowned Halo Infinite’s last world champion.

With several established organisations fielding rosters, Esports Insider takes a closer look at the Halo World Championship 2025 contenders and potential dark horses.

Heading into the World Championship as the most recent HCS Major winners, Shopify Rebellion has put itself in the perfect position to end the Halo Infinite era on a high.

A win in Seattle, Washington, will cement three-time world champion Matthew ‘Royal2‘ Fiorante as one of the very best console esports players of all time, adding another accolade to an extensive trophy cabinet.

Victory at this year’s World Championship would also see Bradley ‘Frosty‘ Bergstrom become a four-time world champion, cementing Shopify Rebellion’s place among the best Halo teams in history.

Another North American powerhouse on the verge of Halo greatness is OpTic Gaming, a team that has narrowly missed out on conquering Shopify Rebellion in Major tournaments.

Before the World Championship, the Green Wall and the 15 other teams competed in the third edition of the HaloWC Warmup. OpTic emerged victorious after defeating Shopify Rebellion in the Grand Final, laying the foundations for a deep run.

Every member of OpTic Gaming has a world title under their belt and knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of Halo esports. Having been closely matched to other teams, the Green Wall could stand tall once again.

Following the departures of Quadrant and Team Nemesis, European Halo continues to feature at the biggest international events.

Luminon EU acquired the former Team Nemesis roster in September and is the region’s sole representative at this year’s tournament.

Following a top-eight finish at the Halo World Championship 2024, it will be interesting to see if the Europeans can spring a surprise against the established American sides.