Halo: Reach

LONDON – Friday 27 August 2010 – Xbox today revealed the final member and lucky team captain of the Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Squad – 17-year old Halo fan, Lewis Chapman. After fending off intense competition from the other finalists from the ‘Searching for a Leader’ promotion, which saw nearly 800 entrants, Lewis Chapman from Newark in Nottinghamshire, has been crowned Captain of the celebrity Elite Spartan Squad. Team members include, R’n’B / pop artist Mr Hudson, England and Manchester United footballer extraordinaire, Rio Ferdinand; Model and T4 presenter, Jameela Jamil; England Rugby star, Ben Cohen; and Gadget Show presenter, Jason Bradbury.

As part of the final selection process, Lewis took part in a rigorous interview process where he was grilled by a panel about his knowledge of Halo, his dreams and aspirations as well as why he was the best man for the job. As well as becoming the team Captain, Lewis will be training the celebrity members in a series of one-to-one’s, before, as a team, participating in the most exciting live Halo battle in gaming history at Halo: Reach’s official ‘Blue Carpet’ launch event, taking place in a few weeks. Additionally, a team of six top gamers were selected from the community and they will face-off against the Elite Spartan Squad and their newly-crowned Captain at the Reach mega-launch.

Lewis said, “I’m really excited that Xbox has given me this opportunity – Halo is my biggest passion and this is a dream come true. I would like to say to my new team members, ‘Get practicing! You might be celebrities, but you better be good on the night!’ I will do everything that I can, as their leader to beat the opposing team.”

Arriving in the UK on 14 September and created by acclaimed developer Bungie, Halo: Reach is set to be the BIGGEST entertainment event of 2010, and will be available exclusively on Xbox 360. Halo: Reach tells the heroic story of Noble Team, a group of Spartan III Warriors who, through great sacrifice and courage, save countless lives in the face of impossible odds on planet Reach - humanity’s last line of defence against the encroaching Covenant force, whose ultimate goal is the destruction of Earth.

To see the new leader of the Elite Spartan Squad being put through his paces during the selection process, visit Xbox.com

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