Winter Season to Feature Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™
Includes MLG Winter Regional Online Qualifiers, January 31-February 8; MLG Winter Arena in New York City, February 24-26; MLG Winter Championship in Columbus, Ohio, March 23-25
NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After closing out the most successful Pro Circuit season in its history, Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest competitive video game league, today unveiled a new Pro Circuit structure for 2012 providing even more competition online and in person with the best players from around the globe. The ninth annual 2012 Pro Circuit will be divided into four seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Each season will feature online regional qualifiers and a LIVE-streamed Arena event that will impact seeding and culminate with a final LIVE in-person Championship competition. The first title to be confirmed for 2012 is Blizzard Entertainment's blockbuster real-time strategy game StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™. Additional details regarding the Winter season, qualifiers, and Pro Circuit console titles will be released in the coming weeks.
Winter Season Details - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
The season kicks off January 31-February 8 with three invitation-only, MLG Winter Regional Online Qualifiers featuring top StarCraft II players from around the globe. Regions and online competition dates are as follows: January 31-February 2 (Europe); February 3-5 (Korea/Taiwan) and February 6-8 (North America).
The top eight finishers from the MLG Pro Circuit 2011 National Championships held in Providence last November will be invited to join the top eight finishers from each of the MLG Winter Regional Online Qualifiers for the first ever MLG Winter Arena in New York City, February 24-26. The 32 players will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City where they will compete for more than $26,000 in prizes and Pool Play placement at the MLG Winter Championship. The MLG Winter Arena will be viewable via LIVE streaming.
The season will conclude with the MLG Winter Championship, a large-scale, spectator event in Columbus, Ohio, from March 23-25 at the SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center. The top 16 players from the MLG Winter Arena will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Columbus for the Winter Championship. The MLG Winter Championship will be viewable in-person and via LIVE streaming.
"Our 2012 MLG Pro Circuit season is poised to be our most robust to date – with even more competition online and in person, more broadcasts and more of the world's best players," said Sundance DiGiovanni. "We listened to our community and players to update our Pro Circuit format and ensure that placement in tournaments was a direct result of player performance. Our new Pro Circuit structure is designed to further the world of e-sports and take competitive gaming to a new level."
2011 Pro Circuit – The Largest Viewership to Date
The 2011 MLG Pro Circuit season was the 8th and most successful to date reaching more than 3.5 million unique stream viewers during combined Pro Circuit weekends. The 2011 Pro Circuit National Championships held in Providence, Rhode Island, November 18-20, drew an all-time high of 241,000 peak concurrent online viewers and more than 3.6 million hours of video were consumed over the weekend. Viewers from 175 countries tuned in to the final tournament, the highest number of countries to date. The top five countries watching included USA, Germany, Canada, Sweden and United Kingdom. Over the 2011 season, more than 15 million hours of video were consumed during Pro Circuit weekends.
ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING :
Founded in 2002, Major League Gaming (MLG) (www.majorleaguegaming.com) is the dominant media property exclusively targeting tens of millions of consumers worldwide who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. The company gives aspiring gamers around the world an opportunity to compete, improve their skills, and socialize through a thriving competitive community with more than 750,000 matches each month online and LIVE in-person Pro Circuit tournaments in cities nationwide. MLG broadcasts all Pro Circuit play via LIVE streaming online to hundreds of thousands of fans from more than 170 countries.
ABOUT BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.:
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq:ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes thirteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
For more information:
Katie Goldberg - VP Communications and PR
Major League Gaming
P: 917-338-2391
kgoldberg@mlgpro.com
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The following pictures are available for download:
| [Image] | MLG Pro Circuit Logo |
| [Image] | MLG Pro Circuit 2011 Columbus |