FYI:
World’s Best Gamers to Converge in Anaheim for MajorLeague Gaming Pro Circuit Spring Championship June 8-10
Players to Compete for Nearly $195,000Playing StarCraft II[emoji]174[/emoji]: Wings of Liberty[emoji]174[/emoji], League of Legends, and Fighting Games- Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur V and THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII on PlayStation[emoji]174[/emoji]3 (PS3[emoji]8482[/emoji]) System
Blizzard Entertainment to Offer BetaSneak Peek of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm[emoji]8482[/emoji]
KeSPA Players to Participate in StarCraftII: Wings of Liberty Expo Tournament for the First Time in the US
NEW YORK – May 31, 2012 - The world’s best video gameplayers will converge next weekend for one of the largest events in eSportshistory.
Major League Gaming (MLG),the world’s largest competitive video game league, is returning to Anaheim, CA,June 8-10 for the MLG Spring Championship. Thousandsof fans will descend upon the Anaheim Convention Center and hundreds ofthousands more will watch the action online including intense competitive play,new games, exclusive footage of unreleased games and KeSPA playersparticipating in a
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty expo tournamentfor the first time in the US.
TheGames, Players and Prizing
Gamers from around the globe will compete in the Pro Circuittournament playing Blizzard Entertainment’sblockbuster real-time strategy game
StarCraft[sup][/sup]II: Wings ofLiberty[sup][/sup]on PC,
Leagueof Legends on PC, which willmake its 2012 debut in Anaheim, and fighting games -
MortalKombat, Soul Calibur V and
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII on PlayStation[emoji]174[/emoji]3 (PS3[emoji]8482[/emoji]) system.
Additionally, BlizzardEntertainment will offer a beta sneak peek of the highly anticipated
StarCraftII: Heart of the Swarm on 200 demo stations at the venue.
MLG andthe
Korean eSportsAssociation (KeSPA) will kick off an exclusive multi-year globalpartnership that will bridge the Western and Korean StarCraft worlds. OnSaturday, June 9 at 9pm PT, KeSPA Pro players will compete in a
StarCraftII: Wings of Liberty exhibition tournament marking the first time ineSports history that KeSPA players will participate in a
StarCraft IItournament in the United States.
Pro Circuit Competition:
· StarCraft II: Wingsof Liberty on PC - $76,000 in prizes; $25,000 for 1[sup]st[/sup]Place - Hundredsof top StarCraft II players from around the world will compete for the 1[sup]st[/sup]place prize of $25,000. Coming off recent wins, Korean players DRG and MarineKing will go up against Violet who captured first place at the MLG Spring Arena2 last month.
· League of Legends on PC -$40,000 in prizes – 12 invited teams will take oneight open teams in the double elimination bracket for a chance to play on themain stage, as the game makes its debut on the 2012 Pro Circuit.
· Fighting Games on PS3 – More than $48,000 in prizes - Mortal Kombat ($26,700 inprizes), Soul Calibur V ($16,700 in prizes) and THE KING OF FIGHTERSXIII ($5,000 in prizes) will be showcased on the main stage throughout theweekend. Top player CDjr (Mortal Kombat) will defend his titleafter taking first at the MLG Winter Championship and Fighting Game Arena.
StarCraft II World Championship Series USA Nationals:
In addition to the MLG Pro Circuit competition and
Heartof the Swarm demo stations, the Anaheim event will also feature the USANational finals for Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II World ChampionshipSeries. Participants in the USA Nationals will vie for $30,000 in prize moneyas well as invitations to the upcoming North America Finals of the StarCraft IIWorld Championship Series. The top finishers in that event will represent theircountries in StarCraft II at the Battle.net World Championship event, to beheld later this year in Asia.
OnSite Spectating - $35 for the weekend
Thousandsof in-person spectators will view the competition on huge video screens,experience LIVE commentating and visit an array of booths featuring meet andgreets with Pro Players and MLG personalities, the latest products frompartners, pre-release access to games like
Heart of the Swarm andmore. Booth highlights include:
- BenQ, official gaming monitor sponsor of MLG: See how BenQ's professional gaming monitors, designed by legendary gamers, will take your game to the next level. Why play when you can conQuer! Tournament monitors available at $249 (RL2450HT) and $179 (GL2450HM).
- BIC[emoji]174[/emoji] Flex4[emoji]174[/emoji] Razors, official razor of MLG: Compete in the BIC[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Flex4[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Razors Challenge Center and take on other spectators for prizes in a variety of popular games for PS3, Xbox, and PC.
- Dr Pepper, official soft drink of MLG: Stop by for Play-a-Pro sessions, photo opps in the Dr Pepper Photo Booth, Text-to-Win promotions or to try an ice cold Dr Pepper.
· Full Sail University: Take a moment to relax, re-chargeyour phones and learn how to create your own gaming character at the Full SailUniversity booth! Located in Winter Park, Florida (just outside of Orlando),Full Sail University specializes in an accelerated style of education gearedtoward video games, design, animation and more. Visit fullsail.edu for moreinformation.
· GUNNAR Optiks, officially licensed eyewearof MLG - Advanced Gaming Eyewear: Nab those extra frags by visiting the MLG Pro Shop where you can demo, askquestions, and purchase MLG Phantoms and MLG Legends. Stop by the GUNNAR businside the venue to check out even more new items. Keep an eye on the MLGMobile Application for special videos, photo contests, prize giveaways, swag,and more.
· iBUYPOWER, official gaming PC of MLG: Stop by and play oniBUYPOWER systems. Learn about the hardware engineering and design that goesinto making a competitive-grade gaming system.
· Mad Catz - MLG Pro Circuit Controllers forXbox 360 and PS3 and MLG Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition: Purchase theMLG Pro Circuit Controller and accessories and the MLG Arcade FightStick.
· MLG Pro Shop: Purchase an array ofnew MLG merchandise including Nike apparel (quarter zips, hoodies and tshirts), limited edition Anaheim Spring Championship gear, Battle.net WorldChampionship and Heart of the Swarm tees, v-necks designed for girls and muchmore.
- NOS, official energy drink of MLG: NOS invites fans to attend the NOS MLG Spring Championship Kick Off Party on Thursday, June 7 from 8 - 10pm at Heat Ultra Lounge. Stop by the party to play MLG Pro Circuit games, sample free NOS and mingle with Pro players and MLG personalities.
- PlayStation[emoji]174[/emoji], official partner of MLG: PlayStation[emoji]174[/emoji], official partner of MLG: Play, Compete, and Win at the all new PlayStation Compound. Go head to head on PS3and PlayStation[emoji]174[/emoji]Vita (PS Vita) handheld entertainment system for big prizes! Compete in PS3 exclusives like UNCHARTED 3: Drake's Deception[emoji]8482[/emoji], Gran Turismo[emoji]174[/emoji]5, Twisted Metal[emoji]8482[/emoji] and Starhawk[emoji]8482[/emoji] as well as PS Vita titles including Resistance: Burning Skies[emoji]8482[/emoji],wipEout[emoji]174[/emoji]2048 and Mortal Kombat[emoji]8482[/emoji]. Get your hands on the latest PlayStation games and experience gaming on a massive 10ft HD screen all weekend long.
- SteelSeries: Try out the NEW SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition mouse inside the SteelSeries booth before it goes on sale in August. You can also check out the MLG branded SteelSeries QcK+ mousepads available in the MLG Pro Shop $14.99.
- Xperia[emoji]8482[/emoji] ion and Xperia[emoji]8482[/emoji] S: Visit the Sony Mobile Experience to compete on the Xperia[emoji]8482[/emoji] ion & Xperia[emoji]8482[/emoji] S, PlayStation Certified to guarantee a high quality smartphone gaming experience. Sign up to be a contender on the Xperia Mobile Gaming arena for a chance to win great prizes.
OnlineViewing in HD
Forthose not attending in person, the weekend competition will be broadcast LIVEonline via 11 streams at
www.majorleaguegaming.com/live beginning June 8 at 5pm PT.
Starcraft II: Wingsof Liberty will be featured on six streams, and four additional streamswill showcase
League of Legends and one stream will featurefighting games. Fans can watch standard definition for free or purchase passesto watch ad-free in
HD,and secure immediate access to VODs following the event. MLG's streamingpartner is Streamworks International, a global company that specializes indelivering live, real-time video to internet-enabled devices.
Some of the most talented casters in the world of eSportswill be commentating the tournament including:
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty: Six streams casted by DJ Wheat, Husky, Tasteless, Artosis, Apollo, Total Biscuit, Rob Simpson, Mr. Bitter, Robin, Gwin, Jorosar, Frodan, and Kibbelz.
- League of Legends: Four streams casted by Phreak, Rivington, Joe Miller, Jatt, Studio, and Dan Dinh.
- Fighting Games: One stream hosted by Juicebox Abel and casted by The Answer (THE KING OF FIGHTERS), Tom Brady (Mortal Kombat), and BrewtusBibulus (Soul Calibur V).
Details about the MLGSpring Championship - Anaheim:
Dates: Friday,June 8 – Sunday, June 10
Hours:
All times PT
· Friday,June 8 - Doors open at 1:30 PM with the official welcome at 5:00 PM andcompetition on the main stages from 5:30 PM – 1:30 AM
· Saturday,June 9 - 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM with 3 hours of KeSPA Player Expo Matches startingat 9:00 PM
· Sunday,June 10 - 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, finals on the main stages from approximately 4:00PM – 9:00 PM
Location: AnaheimConvention Center, Hall D
800West Katella Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92802
Pricing: SpectatorPasses for the weekend: $35 ($30 for Gold Members)
ABOUTMAJOR LEAGUE GAMING:
Founded in 2002,
Major League Gaming (MLG) (
www.majorleaguegaming.com) is thedominant media property exclusively targeting tens of millions of consumersworldwide who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive socialactivity. The company gives aspiring gamers around the world an opportunity tocompete, improve their skills, and socialize through a thriving competitivecommunity with more than 750,000 matches each month online and LIVE in-personPro Circuit tournaments in cities nationwide. MLG broadcasts all Pro Circuitplay via LIVE streaming online to hundreds of thousands of fans from more than170 countries.
ABOUT BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT,INC.:
Best known for blockbuster hitsincluding
World of Warcraft[emoji]174[/emoji] and the
Warcraft[emoji]174[/emoji], StarCraft[emoji]174[/emoji],and
Diablo[emoji]174[/emoji] franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (
www.blizzard.com), a division of ActivisionBlizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainmentsoftware renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimedgames. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fourteen #1-selling gamesand multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service,Battle.net[emoji]174[/emoji], is one of the largest in the world, with millions of activeplayers.
ABOUT RIOT GAMES:
Riot Games was established in 2006by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development canresult in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legendsto critical and player acclaim. Since launch, gamers from around the world haveflocked to League of Legends -- over 11 million play every month. Players formthe foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolveand improve the League of Legends experience.
ABOUT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of WarnerBros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer,licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive spaceacross all current and future platforms, including console, handheld andPC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.