Thousands of the World’s Best Video Game Players to Compete for $600,000 at Major League Gaming 2011 Pro Circuit National Championship in Providence
Mayor Taveras to Declare November 18th MLG Day in Providence
Most Watched Pro Circuit Season in MLG History to Conclude November 18-20 at the
Rhode Island Convention Center
Hundreds of Thousands of Fans Expected to View the LIVE Online Broadcast at www.majorleaguegaming.com
NEW YORK – November 14, 2011 –
Major League Gaming (MLG), the world’s largest competitive video game league, concludes a record-breaking 2011 Pro Circuit season with the National Championships in Providence, Rhode Island from November 18-20. Thousands of fans will make their way to the Rhode Island Convention Center as more than 1200 of the world’s best players square off in a three-day, double-elimination video game tournament for a chance at more than $600,000 in prizes and stipends. The Championship tournament closes out MLG’s 8th and most successful Pro Circuit season to date with the largest prize purse – more than $1million awarded over the year - the most epic crowds, and millions tuning in from around the globe to watch the competition LIVE on
www.majorleaguegaming.com making it the most watched season in MLG history.
In Providence, gamers from as far as Korea, Sweden and Australia will compete against locals, US based Pros and amateurs playing StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ on PC, Call of Duty®: Black Ops on the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system, and Halo: Reach on Xbox 360. League of Legends on PC will return for its second appearance in the 2011 season. To celebrate the National Championships, Mayor Angel Taveras will declare November 18th Major League Gaming Day in Providence and New England Patriots Running Back Stevan Ridley and MLG Pro Players will join nine year old Austin for a Call of Duty: Black Ops Expo Match to grant his Make a Wish Foundation wish.
“The 2011 Pro Circuit has been the most action-packed, exciting season in both MLG and e-sports history and our National Championships will continue to deliver some of the most entertaining match-ups of all time,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO, Major League Gaming. “This is an event fans won’t want to miss and we anticipate reaching unprecedented online viewership numbers.”
Fans can go
online to become MLG League Members to receive discounts on spectator and competitor passes. Those that can’t make the event in person can watch LIVE on
www.majorleaguegaming.com via 720p high quality video streaming. The Pro Circuit will be broadcast all weekend with four streams dedicated to StarCraft II (Red and Blue and two BETA streams available only to members), one stream for Halo: Reach and one stream for Call of Duty: Black Ops and League of Legends. MLG works with
Streamworks, the global end-to-end streaming company, to deliver live and on-demand coverage.
The 2011 season traversed the US with Pro Circuit competitions in Dallas, TX (April 1-3), Columbus, OH (June 3-5), Anaheim, CA (July 29-31), Raleigh, NC (August 26-28) and Orlando, FL (October 14-16). The last four Pro Circuit competitions resulted in more than 11.1 million hours of video consumed and each weekend of competition increased in concurrent viewers. The Orlando Pro Circuit (October 14-16) smashed previous records with 181,000 concurrent viewers watching the live stream and more than 3.2 million hours of video consumed over the weekend surpassing the previous record of 138,000 concurrent viewers for the Raleigh Pro Circuit.
The Players and Games
StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ on PC - played on Alienware computers, The Official Gaming Desktop of MLG
Hundreds of players from around the world will compete for the first place prize of $50,000 in Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Competitors will include Orlando Pro Circuit champion HuK, top US performer IdrA and 25 of the world’s best Korean players, including SlayersMMA, oGsMC, STBomber, coLMVPDongRaeGu, SlayersBoxer, EGPuma, FnaticRain, LiquidHero, and LeenockfOu.
Call of Duty®: Black Ops on PlayStation 3 system
Hundreds will battle for a 1st Place prize of $50,000 in gameplay modes Capture the Flag, Domination and Search and Destroy. Orlando winners eon OpTic Gaming will fight for the Championship spot against top ranked teams including eon EnVy, Quantic FeaR and Quantic LeveraGe.
Halo: Reach on Xbox 360
Hundreds of Halo: Reach players will compete during the three-day, double-elimination tournament for the 1st Place prize of $100,000. Orlando winners UoR Dynasty will go up against top teams eon Instinct, THO Infamous, Believe The Hype, Status Quo and Warriors.
League of Legends on PC - played on Alienware computers, The Official Gaming Desktop of MLG
League of Legends will return for its second appearance in the 2011 season as competitors vie for a 1st Place prize of $15,000. The top four teams from an online qualifier held earlier this month will play Best-of-3 5v5s in a double elimination bracket. Matches will be streamed LIVE on Saturday and Sunday via the League of Legends tab on the MLG homepage.
The Experience
Thousands of spectators will view all of the action via three giant main stages with huge video screens and live commentating similar to traditional sporting events. Attendees can visit an array of booths featuring meet and greets with the Pros, the latest products from MLG partners, pre-release access to games and more. Booth highlights include:
· MLG Booth: Visit the MLG booth for an opportunity to meet MLG pro players and personalities, compete in the Black Ops FFA to win exclusive prizes, and participate in the MLG booth scavenger hunt to win cool prizes.
Working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, on Friday, November 18 at 4:15pm MLG will grant a wish for nine year old Austin who is battling a brain tumor to play in a Call of Duty: Black Ops Expo match with New England Patriots Running Back Stevan Ridley and MLG Pro Players.
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Gold Members: Gold Members who have or purchase an MLG Gold Membership at MLG Providence will receive a FREE Custom MLG Gold Membership t-shirt. (while supplies last)
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MLG Pro Shop: Purchase two all new SteelSeries MLG Edition QcK+ mousepads, and an array of limited edition MLG shirts, hoodies and more.
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Sony Ericsson, official mobile handset of MLG: Demo the NEW Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY 4G available for purchase ($49.99) and experience new titles like 9mm by Gameloft at the Sony Ericsson booth. Compete in mobile gaming competitions for a chance to win great prizes like your very own Xperia™ PLAY 4G.
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Dr Pepper, official soft drink of MLG: Stop by for Play-a-Pro sessions, signings, Text-to-Win promotions or to try the NEW Dr Pepper TEN.
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BIC® Flex4® Razors, official razor of MLG: Play Halo: Reach in the BIC® Flex4® Live FFA (free-for-all or individual) competition for a chance at $4,000. Plus, participate in a text-2-win promotion for a chance to win cool gaming gear like an ASTRO A40 Audio System.
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PlayStation®, official partner of MLG: Get hands-on with PlayStation®Vita first at the PlayStation Compound. Experience the new PlayStation®3D Monitor with SimulView and compete for prizes in PS3™ exclusives like Uncharted 3, Gran Turismo®5, and Starhawk. Meet and play against Call of Duty: Black Ops Pros Rambo, Big Tymer, TeePee and Stainville all weekend long.
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STRIDE, official gum of MLG: Participate in unique challenges throughout the weekend and receive Pro Player autographs from Tyler and OGRE2.
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Alienware, the official gaming desktop of MLG: Experience the most powerful desktops available at Alienware gaming stations throughout the venue.
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ASTRO, the official headset of MLG: Check out and buy the latest gear - the A40 2011 and A30 pro gaming headsets.
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Mad Catz: Try out the soon to be released Major League Gaming Pro-Circuit Controller for Xbox, now available for pre-order on
Amazon.com. Purchase your pre-order now or at the Mad Catz booth in MLG Providence.
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CALIBUR 11: Check out and purchase the MLG Vault for Xbox360 –an external case for Xbox 360 slim hardware.
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Parrot AR.Drone, official Augmented Reality Gaming Toy of MLG: Have fun racing these flying quadricopters against MLG pro players for the best time in an obstacle course for a chance to win a FREE AR.Drone. Try your flight skills in the AR.Drone cage, qualify for the competition, and get ProPlayer autographs plus free swag all weekend.
Sony Ericsson will host a Pro Player appearance featuring LiquidTLO and Str8 Rippin’s Tsquared at the AT&T store in Providence Place Mall (1 Providence Place, Providence, RI 02903) on Thursday, November 17 from 6:30-8:30pm. The first 250 attendees will get a free t-shirt. Other prizes include MLG VIP bags inclusive of free VIP entry to MLG Providence and free spectator passes. AT&T and Sony Ericsson will also be offering coupons for $25 off the Xperia™ PLAY, Official Mobile Handset of MLG.
NOS has partnered with Colbea Enterprises offering free MLG Providence vouchers with a NOS purchase at more than 80 Colbea locations in the Providence area.
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. MLG also provides extensive online editorial and video content
to more than 8 million unique fans each month, including LIVE and on-demand original programming related to games, technology and more at
MLG.tv and
MLG Live.
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.
Call of Duty and Activision are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
Activision Publishing, Inc. is not a sponsor of this Contest. Activision’s name and logo, and/or the “Call of Duty: Black Ops” name, logo, and/or materials are used for purposes of promotion and/or prize description only and such use is not intended to suggest or imply Activision’s approval, sponsorship or endorsement of this Contest.
