European gamers have two weeks from today, 7th March, to register in what is the first stage of the Halo 2 Championship, hosted on the Xbox Live service. Registration closes on 20th March when eight winners will battle to win the title of UK Halo 2 Champion and, ultimately, the chance to take part in the Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Finals in April.

What is the prize?

The top eight players from the UK will fight it out in the second stage of the tournament which takes place on Saturday 9th April, 2005. But there can be only one national winner. The winner will not only take the title of UK Halo 2 Champion but they also win a state of the art Samsung digital camcorder worth over £400, a special edition 'money can't buy' half-sized Master Chief statue worth around £350, plus a Halo 2 Championship Plaque and commemorative Halo 2 T-Shirt.

Of the 14 European countries taking part, one Halo 2 Champion from each nation then has the opportunity to go through to the Worldwide Finals which will be announced later in March.

How do I take part?

First you need go to this URL and register for the tournament. Registration starts today, 7th March 12:00 GMT nd will close at 12:00 GMT on 20th March. Once registered gamers can begin the epic journey to the top of the Rumble Pit Leaderboard. Just sign into Xbox Live, select OptiMatch and start playing in the Rumble Pit. The top eight eligible players who are registered on the Rumble Pit leaderboard from the UK will win a place at the UK final.

To be eligible, gamers should subscribe to Xbox Live, be over 16 and be in one of the participating European countries – UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.