Major League Gaming

From Liquipedia StarCraft 2 Wiki


[e][h]Major League Gaming
Company Information
Founded:
2002
Headquarters:
New York City, New York, USA
Links

About[edit]

Major League Gaming, often abbreviated as MLG, was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. It is a North American professional competitive video gaming organization, headquartered in New York City. MLG has held large video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada, some of them even being broadcast to a television audience. The company has also been involved in game development, having bought a software developer that specializes in building online gaming communities [1].

MLG's aim is to elevate computer and console video game tournaments to become viable and mainstream competitive spectator events [2]. Beginning with a focus on FPS (First Person Shooter games) and fighting games, MLG eventually embraced the RTS (Real Time Strategy games) and MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games) genres with the adoption of StarCraft II and League of Legends, in 2010 and 2011.

On April 17, 2012, it was announced that Major League Gaming has reached a partnership agreement with CBS Interactive. CBS Interactive is now the exclusive online broadcaster for Major League Gaming's Pro Circuit competitions. CBS Interactive will also provide advertising representation for Major League Gaming moving forward.[3][4][5][6]

Game Roster[edit]

The MLG Pro Circuit roster currently includes Halo: Reach for the Xbox 360 and StarCraft II for the PC. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PlayStation 3 is the only online Pro Circuit title. Chris Puckett (Puckett) is the lead Play-by-Play commentator for MLG Live Events. Scott Lussier (Gandhi) provides professional insight into many MLG broadcasts. Danish Maqbool (DMAQ) is the co-host of the MLG Pregame show. Julie Alexandria (Julie) hosts the Old Spice Report, as well as reporting from the sidelines at MLG Live events.

Major League Gaming also hosts a series of online qualifier ladders for the online-only pro circuit titles leading to the national championship. In the past, MLG hosted Super Smash Bros Melee tournaments during the 2006 MLG season and other games such as Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Tekken 5, Gears of War, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Shadowrun, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War 2.

Each team must purchase a team pass to compete. Halo 3, Gears of War, and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 teams include 4 members, while World of Warcraft teams include 3 members.

On February 6, 2009, MLG Commissioner John Nelson addressed the MLG community about changing the format for the 2009 pro circuit. Semi-pro teams now have the opportunity to gain pro status. The rolling rank points system and the championship bracket were also modified.

In March 2010, it was announced that fighting games will be returning to the pro circuit, with Tekken 6 exclusively on the PlayStation 3, and the return of the Smash competition with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These two games will appear in the season opener in Orlando, along with the league's flagship, Halo 3, which will make its third season with the league.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be making its debut on the Online Pro Circuit on Gamebattles for PlayStation 3. Originally, the game was on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Due to excessive hacking on the Xbox 360 console via JTAGs, it has been stripped of its "Pro Circuit" branding. Prize payouts will remain the same on both consoles. PlayStation 3 players will be eligible to accumulate Pro Points. Those who have enough Pro Points at the end of the 3rd season of the Online Pro Circuit will be eligible to compete live at the MLG Nationals held in Dallas. Those competing on the Xbox 360 will not earn pro points and will have championships held online.

StarCraft II Events Organised[edit]

MLG Pro Circuit[edit]

The early editions of MLG Pro Circuit featured mostly First Person Shooter games such as Halo, and fighting games such as Super Smash Bros. However, the league welcomed its first Real Time Strategy game in August 2010, with the held of its first StarCraft II tournament in Raleigh. Since then, the league has become one of the most popular premier StarCraft II events, and now has an agreement with the Korean league organiser GOMTV that allows MLG to grant GSL Code S seeds and to invite Korean progamers. The StarCraft II tournament earned more and more recognition throughout the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and eventually took Halo's place on main stage during 2011 MLG Columbus.

MLG Global Invitational[edit]

From September to October 2011, 24 of the world's best players were invited by MLG to compete in three regional brackets, featuring North America, Korea, and Europe, with the top finisher from the 2011 BlizzCon Invitational receiving an invitation to the finals as well.[7] IdrA, NaNiwa, Mvp, and NesTea (the runner-up from Blizzcon receiving the invitation since Mvp had already won the Korean Invitational), the champions of their respective events received a spot in the Finals. The finals were be held live at the 2011 MLG National Championship in Providence, casted by Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski and JP "itmejp" McDaniel. NaNiwa won the tournament over NesTea, receiving the $2000 prize.[8]

Tournaments[edit]

List of MLG Pro Circuit Events[edit]

  *  = Extended Series
= Global Event
= MLG Championship

List of MLG Invitational Events[edit]

Starleague Date Winner Runner-Up Score TL Articles
2010 MLG Pro Circuit
2010 MLG Pro Circuit Raleigh 2010 (2010-08-27 – 2010-08-29) Canada Protoss HuK Canada Protoss KiWiKaKi 4-2* Recap
2010 MLG Pro Circuit D.C. 2010 (2010-10-15 – 2010-10-17) United States Zerg IdrA South Korea Terran SeleCT 2-0 Recap
2010 MLG Pro Circuit Dallas 2010 (2010-11-05 – 2010-11-07) Sweden Terran Jinro Canada Protoss TT1 4-1* Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Dallas 2011 (2011-04-01 – 2011-04-03) Sweden Protoss NaNiwa Canada Protoss KiWiKaKi 4-2* Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Columbus 2011 (2011-06-03 – 2011-06-05) South Korea Terran MMA South Korea Zerg LosirA 4-1* Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Anaheim 2011 (2011-07-28 – 2011-07-31) South Korea Terran Mvp South Korea Terran MMA 2-1 Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Raleigh 2011 (2011-08-26 – 2011-08-28) South Korea Terran Bomber South Korea Zerg CoCa 4-1* Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Orlando 2011 (2011-10-12 – 2011-10-16) Canada Protoss HuK South Korea Protoss MC 4-1* Recap
2011 MLG Pro Circuit Providence 2011 (2011-11-18 – 2011-11-20) South Korea Zerg Leenock Sweden Protoss NaNiwa 4-1* Recap
2012 MLG Pro Circuit
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Winter Arena 2012 (2012-02-24 – 2012-02-26) South Korea Terran MarineKing South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu 4-2*
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Winter Championship 2012 (2012-03-23 – 2012-03-25) South Korea Terran MarineKing South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu 5-2*
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Spring Arena 1 2012 (2012-04-20 – 2012-04-22) South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu South Korea Terran MarineKing 4-3
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Spring Arena 2 2012 (2012-05-18 – 2012-05-20) South Korea Zerg viOLet South Korea Zerg Symbol 3-1
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Spring Championship 2012 (2012-06-08 – 2012-06-10) South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu South Korea Protoss Alicia 3-1
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Summer Arena 2012 (2012-07-20 – 2012-07-22) South Korea Terran TaeJa South Korea Protoss Alicia 4-2
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Summer Championship 2012 (2012-08-24 – 2012-08-26) South Korea Zerg Leenock South Korea Protoss First 4-1
2012 MLG Pro Circuit Fall Championship 2012 (2012-11-02 – 2012-11-04) South Korea Zerg Life South Korea Zerg Leenock 4-3
2013 MLG Pro Circuit
2013 MLG Winter Championship 2013 (2013-03-15 – 2013-03-17) South Korea Zerg Life South Korea Terran Flash 4-2 Recap
2013 MLG Spring Championship 2013 (2013-06-28 – 2013-06-30) South Korea Terran Polt South Korea Zerg HyuN 3-2 Recap
2014 MLG Pro Circuit
2014 MLG Anaheim 2014 (2014-06-20 – 2014-06-22) South Korea Protoss Trap South Korea Terran Polt 4-0
Starleague Date Winner Runner-Up TL Articles
2011 MLG Global Invitational
United States 2011 MLG North American Invitational 2011 (2011-09-13 – 2011-10-20) United States Zerg IdrA United States Zerg Sheth
Europe 2011 MLG European Invitational 2011 (2011-09-15 – 2011-10-20) Sweden Protoss NaNiwa Ukraine Protoss White-Ra
South Korea 2011 MLG South Korean Invitational 2011 (2011-09-20 – 2011-10-25) South Korea Terran Mvp South Korea Terran MMA
2011 MLG Global Invitational Finals 2011 (2011-11-18 – 2011-11-20) Sweden Protoss NaNiwa South Korea Zerg NesTea
= Global Event

Trivia[edit]

  • HuK's win at 2011 Pro Circuit Orlando was both the first repeat championship as well as the first MLG StarCraft II tournament not to be won by a player attending his first MLG event.
  • HuK is the only foreigner to win MLG after Korean participation began following the GSL-MLG Exchange Program
  • Life was the first player to win back-to-back MLG championships

Selected Statistics[edit]

Medals won per Race[edit]

Race Total
Zerg 8 6 4 3 21
Terran 7 5 13 4 29
Protoss 4 8 6 8 26

Medals won per Player[edit]

Gold[edit]

Canada Protoss HuK  -  South Korea Terran MarineKing  -  South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu  -  South Korea Zerg Leenock  -  South Korea Zerg Life
United States Zerg IdrA  -  Sweden Terran Jinro  -  Sweden Protoss NaNiwa  -  South Korea Terran MMA  -  South Korea Terran Mvp  -  South Korea Terran Bomber  -  South Korea Zerg viOLet  -  South Korea Terran TaeJa  -  South Korea Terran Polt  -  South Korea Protoss Trap

Silver[edit]

Canada Protoss KiWiKaKi  -  South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu  -  South Korea Protoss Alicia
South Korea Terran SeleCT  -  Canada Protoss TT1  -  South Korea Zerg LosirA  -  South Korea Terran MMA  -  South Korea Zerg CoCa  -  South Korea Protoss MC  -  Sweden Protoss NaNiwa  -  South Korea Terran MarineKing  -  South Korea Zerg Symbol  -  South Korea Protoss First  -  South Korea Zerg Leenock  -  South Korea Terran Flash  -  South Korea Terran Polt

Bronze[edit]

South Korea Zerg DongRaeGu  -  Canada Protoss HuK  -  South Korea Terran Heart  -  South Korea Terran TheStC
Germany Protoss Socke  -  United States Terran PainUser  -  South Korea Protoss MC  -  South Korea Terran SeleCT  -  South Korea Terran BoxeR  -  South Korea Terran GanZi  -  France Zerg Stephano  -  South Korea Terran MarineKing  -  South Korea Protoss First  -  South Korea Protoss Oz  -  South Korea Terran TaeJa  -  South Korea Terran Bomber  -  South Korea Terran Flash  -  South Korea Terran INnoVation  -  South Korea Zerg viOLet

Copper[edit]

United States Zerg IdrA -  South Korea Protoss MC
United States Terran LastShadow  -  Canada Protoss KiWiKaKi  -  United States Protoss Tyler  -  United States Protoss iNcontroL  -  South Korea Terran GanZi  -  South Korea Terran NaDa  -  South Korea Terran Mvp  -  South Korea Protoss Oz  -  Sweden Protoss SaSe  -  Canada Protoss HuK  -  Canada Zerg Scarlett

Medals won per Country[edit]

Country Total
South Korea South Korea 14 15 19 5 53
Canada Canada 2 3 2 3 10
Sweden Sweden 2 1 0 1 4
United States USA 1 0 1 5 7
Germany Germany 0 0 1 0 1
France France 0 0 1 0 1

Medals won per Team[edit]

Rank Team Total
1. FreecsFreecs Freecs 3 0 0 0 3
2. MVPMVP MVP 2 2 2 0 6
3. Incredible MiracleIncredible Miracle Incredible Miracle 2 1 2 1 6
4. PrimePrime Prime 2 1 1 0 4
5. Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses Evil Geniuses 2 0 1 4 7
6. Team LiquidTeam Liquid Team Liquid 2 0 2 1 5
7. FXOpen e-SportsFXOpen e-Sports FXOpen e-Sports 2 0 0 1 3
8. SlayerSSlayerS SlayerS 1 4 1 1 7
9. Team DignitasTeam Dignitas Team Dignitas 1 1 1 0 3
10. MilleniumMillenium Millenium 1 0 1 0 2
11. Team EmpireTeam Empire Team Empire 1 0 0 0 1
12. ROOT GamingROOT Gaming ROOT Gaming 0 2 0 1 3
13. compLexity GamingcompLexity Gaming compLexity Gaming 0 1 3 0 4
14. Old GenerationsOld Generations Old Generations 0 1 2 1 4
15. FnaticFnatic Fnatic 0 1 2 0 3
16. Team SCV LifeTeam SCV Life Team SCV Life 0 1 0 0 1
16. CM StormCM Storm CM Storm 0 1 0 0 1
18. Quantic GamingQuantic Gaming Quantic Gaming 0 0 1 1 2
19. Team ALTERNATETeam ALTERNATE Team ALTERNATE 0 0 1 0 1
19. Lazarus GamingLazarus Gaming Lazarus Gaming 0 0 1 0 1
20. SK GamingSK Gaming SK Gaming 0 0 0 1 1
20. Tollenz LionsTollenz Lions Tollenz Lions 0 0 0 1 1
- No team 0 0 1 1 2

Racial Distribution[edit]

2010[edit]

At Raleigh, there was no final ranking so the table shows the full 64 players' distribution. DC and Dallas had a top 16 and that's what's shown. NYD really means Unknown.

ProtossTerranZergRandom
2010 Raleigh
172512NYD
2010 DC
682
2010 Dallas
5641

2011[edit]

For the Championship bracket, only.

ProtossTerranZerg
2011 Providence
61412
2011 Raleigh
81410
2011 Orlando
111110
2011 Anaheim
13127
2011 Columbus
81311
2011 Dallas
8137

All competitors, including invites.

ProtossTerranZergRandom
2011 Columbus
10073902NYD
2011 Anaheim
9787844NYD
2011 Providence
8075992NYD
2011 Raleigh
8684701NYD
2011 Orlando
667182NYD
2011 Dallas
7956673NYD

2012[edit]

For the Championship bracket, only.

ProtossTerranZerg
2012 Summer
121711
2012 Spring
91112
2012 Winter
12128

2013[edit]

For the Championship bracket, only.

ProtossTerranZerg
2013 Winter
121010
2013 Spring
754

2014[edit]

For the Championship bracket, only.

ProtossTerranZerg
2014 Anaheim
5510

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Agora Games acquired"
  2. ↑ Major League Gaming goes big league
  3. ↑ MLG and Twitch Partner with CBSi Team Liquid, last accessed 4/17/12
  4. ↑ Major League Gaming Partners with CBS Interactive Major League Gaming, last accessed 4/17/12
  5. ↑ CBS Interactive partners with Twitch.tv and Major League Gaming to form esports behemoth Alex Wilhelm, TNW Insider, last accessed 4/17/12
  6. ↑ Major League Gaming Announces Partnership with CBS, Paul Tassi, Forbes, last accessed 4/17/12
  7. ↑ "[MLG] Global Invitational"
  8. ↑ "NaNiwa Defeats NesTea to Win the SC2 Global Invitational!"
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