MLG Providence Preview

Wow, we have finally reached the final pit stop for the 2011 Major League Gaming circuit. From coL.Naniwa’s nearly flawless championship run in Dallas, SlayerSMMA’s pioneering establishment of Korean domination on the circuit in Anaheim, and most recently EGHuK’s foreign reclaiming of the  crown at Orlando, the MLG circuit has not only over-delivered with their four concurrent live streams, but also with the smooth accommodation for the over 20 million stream viewers per event.

Will a Korean take the tournament that matters the most?

Gamers, sports fans, and everyone in between, this is history. We are living at an age where technology has propelled video gaming to actually legitimize as not only a competitive sport, but more importantly for the industry, it has become a spectator sport. Streaming companies such as Justin.TV, now referred to as Twitch.TV, as well as Streamworks who provides the infrastructure for all of the Major League Gaming live events, have really been a crucial facilitating factor.

The historic national championships will be held in Providence, Rhode Island – impacting the community so powerfully that the mayor has declared November 18th official MLG day in Providence. Prize pools have reached all-time highs with Starcraft II featuring a whopping $120,000 prize pool that will be given away in cash at the event. Halo remains as the largest prize pool game with $280,000 to account for, Call of Duty has $140,000, and the new circuit game League of Legends will be paying $40,000 as well. Yes, I’ll do the math for you. We are talking over half of a million dollars given away… for eSports.

First Place Trophy

GamerFront will be in Providence live at the event to provide some in-depth coverage of the event. Just as any of the 20,000 live spectators that are expected to attend, we are extremely excited to follow all of the many storylines at MLG Providence. In Starcraft II, the biggest question really is who will take the crown. Since the MLG and GSL Korean professional player exchange, Koreans have won every single time, except the last one where EGHuK made an incredible run. Additionally, we have our previous MLG champions such as IdrA and Naniwa who are looking to prove themselves once again. As always, the open bracket is always filled with intense surprises, such as a relatively unknown player goswser taking out the likes of TSLPolt, a full Korean professional gamer.

League of Legends is a must-watch game, as now the competitive landscape has expanded from the original four teams. Will the previous champion be able to repeat? You can bet that we’ll be in the front row following very carefully. As always, the first person shooter staples won’t disappoint. Being the national championships, not only are more teams signed up, but teams have been preparing specifically for this event. Expect to see tremendous games from both the Halo and Call of Duty scenes.