NEW YORK, May 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest competitive video game league, and the Korean eSports Association (KeSPA), announced today an exclusive multi-year global partnership that will bridge the Western and Korean StarCraft worlds. As part of the collaboration, KeSPA players will compete in MLG events—marking the first time in eSports history that KeSPA players will participate in video game tournaments in the United States.
The partnership will kick off at the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, June 9 at 9pm PT, when KeSPA Pro players will compete in a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty exhibition tournament. Participants will be selected from the top KeSPA teams; the players will be announced in the coming weeks. Spectator Passes for the event are now available online. For those not attending in person, the expo match and the entire Spring Championship will be broadcast LIVE online via HD streams at www.majorleaguegaming.com.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with the most prestigious eSports league in the world, and feel our partnership will forever change competitive gaming," said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO of Major League Gaming. "KeSPA has long been a true leader in this industry and has been instrumental in its success, and this is just the beginning of our work together. We look forward to continued growth and expansion in the years to come."
"We are pleased to join with MLG to bring the best players in the world to the international stage," said Lee Young Hee, President of KeSPA. "Together, KeSPA and MLG are building the global future of our sport."
The Spring Championship on June 8-10 is expected to be the largest Pro Circuit competition in the ten-year history of MLG. Thousands of fans will descend upon the Anaheim Convention Center, and millions more will watch online as the world's best players compete. Spectator passes are now available at www.majorleaguegaming.com.
David Copper
Major League Gaming
dcooper@mlgpro.com
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 KESPA:
KeSPA (the Korean eSports Association) was established in 2000 under the authority of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It aims to protect professional gamers and pro-gaming teams, and to establish eSports as a new leisure activity, representing Korea's next generation. KeSPA is made up of 8 executive committee member-enterprises, including SK Telecom. SK Telecom has served as the Chief Executive since 2005. Under the leadership of Mr Lee Hyoung Hee, the head of SK Telecom Corporate Relations as well as the Chief Executive of KeSPA, executive committee members and the secretariat play a vital role in the promotion of eSports at home and abroad.
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