December 2007 will host the first $1,000,000 Halo 3 Competition in Dallas, TX. Put on by the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) it looks to be a very serious competition. I first read about this over at GamingBits. Now it is being picked up all over the web. Halo 3 has definitely reset the bar in terms of how well an entertainment property can do during its opening week.

Here is how the $1,000,000 is actually split up:

The cash prize distribution for the $1,000,000 “Halo 3? Xbox 360 competition is:
$250,000.00 - 1
$170,000.00 - 2
$100,000.00 - 3
$75,000.00 - 4
$50,000.00 - 5
$40,000.00 - 6
$30,000.00 - 7
$25,000.00 - 8
$15,000.00 - 9 thru 12
$10,000.00 - 13 thru 16
$5,000.00 - 17 thru 32
$2,500.00 - 33 thru 64

Wow! Not bad for coming in 64 - you get $2,500.00 just for being awesome at Halo 3.

This does however make me want to revisit my question originally posted on Multiplayer Games about whether or not gaming is a sport. I think for a $1,000,000 prize pool to win from it definitely raises the argument that gaming is approaching a new threshold of professionalism. There have been more “best of” and “championship” gaming series in the last few years, and it is becoming more and more possible to make your living from gaming.

Obviously the coverage of gaming has become lucrative as well, but the point is that this type of contest was unprecedented only a few years ago. Watch this space to see who the winner is.