Inuvik - Lucas Lemieux is the Samuel Hearne school champion of Halo 3, having won a recent tournament.

The tournament was organized by the junior boys volleyball team at the school.

Lucas Lemieux and Josh Mackenzie pose with a Halo 3 helmet. Lemieux was recently named the king of Halo 3 in Samuel Hearne school at a Halo 3 tournament. Mackenzie said the event raised money for the volleyball team. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

Halo 3 is an Xbox 360 game that was released last month. Since it arrived in Inuvik, it has been popular within gaming circles.

Coach Josh Mackenzie thought a video game tournament would be a good fundraiser.

"I wanted something that we could raise money with, for our trip this weekend," said Mackenzie.

The team is travelling to Yellowknife for the annual Spike It volleyball playoff.

Mackenzie said the event was planned and executed in a short period because of other fundraisers.

"We put the whole event together in a few days, because we had to host a volleyball tournament here in the school as well," he said.

The coach said his team acted as recruiters for the Halo 3 event.

"The team was out getting money from participants and set most of it up themselves," said Mackenzie.

Admission for the tournament was $15 per person, and 24 eager gamers showed up to compete in the virtual arena.

Mackenzie's classroom was transformed into the playing area.

"We had two projectors set up, for team matches," said Mackenzie.

The 24 players were split into five teams. Each team played in a round robin format.

"When the winning team was chosen, we had the four of them play against each other for first place," said Mackenzie.

In the end, it was Lucas Lemieux who won the title of grand champion.

Lemieux said he is an avid fan of the game series and enjoys playing with friends.

"I've played all three games in the Halo series," he said.

"It's a fun game, with good matches."

Lemieux added that he likes the first-person style of game.

The young gamer added that the competition in the tournament was heated, but he was confident in his victory.

"I'll play again, in another tournament or whenever," he said.