‘The Shamock Kings’ were crowned as Halo: Reach champions after they defeated the Celebrity Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Squad. The celebrity team comprised of star of HBO’s The Wire and BBC’s Luther, Idris Elba, Irish rugby player Jamie Heaslip, RTE TV presenter Baz Ashmawy and 98FM DJ Steven Cooper.
The winning team included Zachary Campbell, Padraig Lalor, Derek Browne and Shane O’Donnell. They defeated the celebrity team 74-11 in the final.
They played in a knockout competition for the much coveted prize of a limited edition Halo: Reach console, a copy of the game and a 12-month Xbox LIVE subscription each.
The Shamrock Kings won the opportunity to play the Celebrity Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Squad after a nationwide search for the top Halo players in the country. Eight teams of four were selected to challenge the Celebrity Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Team.
“This has been a fantastic launch for us, with Halo: Reach proving to be extremely popular with Irish gamers,” said Kieran Penwill, Ireland country manager for Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division.
“Copies of the game have been flying off the shelves across Ireland since midnight on Monday, when 64 stores opened to cater for demand.
“To cap it all off, we had a great launch where our celebrity team put up a brave fight, but were no match for Ireland’s best Halo fans, the Shamrock Kings!” he said.
Halo: Reach is developed by Bungie. It’s the latest instalment of the phenomenally successful Halo franchise.
The stores which opened on midnight on Monday for the launch included 52 Xtravision and 12 GameStop stores
Halo: Reach adds to the Halo mythology, telling the heroic tale of Noble Team, a group of Spartan III Warriors who, through sacrifice and courage, save countless lives against all odds on planet Reach – humanity’s last line of defence against the encroaching Covenant force, whose ultimate goal is the destruction of Earth.
Halo: Reach is available for the Xbox 360 in standard edition for €69.99, in Limited Edition for €79.99 and in Legendary Edition for €119.99.
