The most galvanizing, adrenaline-pumping, gaming-centric event has announced its glorious return to one of the fastest growing game development regions on the East Coast: Raleigh, NC. Our visit to Major League Gaming's StarCraft 2 tourneys last year resulted in an entire afternoon of Doritos indulgence, artery-clogging soda, and the purest (likely sugar-powered) excitement possible for a gamer -- never could we have expected the amount of crowd participation for a StarCraft tournament.
E-Sports are still on the rise, perhaps even more so this year, and we stand by our promise to bring more coverage to the site; MLG Raleigh will be open from August 26-28 this year for the "Pro Circuit" competitions at the Raleigh Convention Center. In synch with our anticipation, spectator passes are now available for $25 (believe us: if you enjoy any of the games in the circuit - as below - it is the best way to spend a weekend), and competitor passes are available - with game-specific pricing below.
MLG's annual Pro Circuit tour is now going on eight years, and this year will have even more prizes and bigger-name players; some of the pro competitors are flying in all the way from Korea (likely riding the ever-reliable Overlords and Nydus Canals), Australia, and Sweden. If you're a professional or upcoming pro gamer, you can expect a chance at more than $120,000 in prizes in the double-elimination tournament. The games in the circuit are as follows:
Halo: Reach - 4v4 Team Event, info here; $280 for the team.
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Team Event, info here; $240 for the team.
StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty - 1v1 Event, info here; $70 for the player.
Our friends over at MLG have informed us that they expect "thousands of spectators will view all of the action via three giant main stages with huge video screens and live commentating." We expect that HuskyStarcraft, famed SC2 commentator and inventor of Pylo the Pylon, will be returning to MLG Raleigh this year to provide the most exciting analysis of the events you could expect. Last year, if memory serves, a minimum of 3-4 SC2 commentators were present at MLG Raleigh, so swing by to meet your favorites.
There will be HD live video streams available for those who can't fly out to see the event live, so stay tuned as we receive more info on the availability of the streams.
MLG will be moving to Orlando, Florida following the Raleigh Circuit, available on October 14-16 -- after Orlando, the National Championship can be found in Providence, RI (the only good thing in RI, if you ask us) on November 18-20.
A map of the Raleigh location can be found here (500 South Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601; Halls A & B of the Raleigh Convention Center). The hours for the event are as follows:
Friday, August 26: Doors open at 1:30 PM with the official welcome at 5:00 PM and competition on the main stages from 5:30 PM - 12:30 AM.
Saturday, August 27: 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM.
Sunday, August 28: 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM; championship matches on the main stages from ~4:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
See you guys there! Look for anyone in a Gamers Nexus shirt and feel free to say hi.
~Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.