I have mixed emotions looking back on this. What an honor to have the LVT logo alongside these amazing organizations. It felt like we were headed in a direction where LVT was finally getting the recognition that I believe we deserve. After this announcement, I pitched many events, I brought sponsors to the scene, and we kept our heads down, focused on presenting Halo esports in the best way we could while bootstrapping LVT. On one hand, yes, HCS put $10K into the LVT LAN... By contract, that money had to go 100% to the prize pool. I know for a fact that the competitors who attended LVT LAN were extremely thankful for the prize pool boost. Truth be told, they would have liked more. But all the partners below know the prize pool is only a small part of the equation when it comes to hosting events. As mentioned, LVT LAN was not the only event I pitched to HCS. Even today, pitch decks fall flat. Understandably, LVT isn't a priority, especially after HCS was gutted. The trend of denied event funding, then staff being let go, now adds up. The powers-at-will were always out of my control. Nevertheless, thank you to the HCS staff for sharing what they could, and working with us where they couldn't. Here was the biggest downside for me and the root of my mixed emotions. Since that announcement heading into '26, many competitors and fans of Halo esports have reached out to me asking what's next for Halo, "what events I can plan for", and just for help in general. It felt like I was consistently letting our community down. I just want everyone in our community to know that I took this announcement seriously, and I did my best to get us the year we all deserved <3