Major League Gaming
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| Major League Gaming | |
|---|---|
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| Sport | Competitive Video Gaming |
| Founded | 2002 |
| No. of teams | Halo 2: 250+ |
| Singles entrants | Halo 2: 1000+
SSBM: 200+ |
| Country |  United States |
| Current champions | Halo 2: 4v4: Team Carbon (CbN), FFA: Ben "Karma" Jackson
SSBM: 2v2: Ken Hoang and Isai Alvarado, Singles: P.C. Chris |
| Official website | mlgpro.com |
Major League Gaming (MLG) is a professional American gaming league founded in 2002, dedicated to competition in console gaming. Its headquarters are in New York City.
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[edit] Business Strategy
It was founded by current CEO, Michael Sepso and his business partner and current CMO Sundance DiGiovanni in 2002. Unlike other electronic sports leagues, the league specifically targets console gaming. The league also signs individual players and teams, as opposed to the custom in e-Sports, where players are usually signed to independent clubs. This practice provides players with management and a salary, but sometimes leads to conflicts with other competitions.[1]
The company feels that by raising video game competition to the level of professional sport, it is creating a sports media business that provides players, developers, publishers, media partners, and advertisers a unique connection to the video game lifestyle enjoyed by 168 million Americans[citation needed].
MLG operates a pro tour that makes stops in several cities. Through MLG Management, it develops the careers of a roster of professional gamers that it feels are the best in the world. MLG produces a variety of online and broadcast-quality programming that showcases these gamers.
[edit] Games on the MLG Pro Circuit
Games currently supported for all tournament play are Halo 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. Online tournaments also include Gears of War.
Major League Gaming also held competitions for Tekken 5 but low turnout led to the discontinuation of that tournament in October 2005. In addition, tournaments were held for Gran Turismo 3 and Soul Calibur in the 2004 season, but these were also dropped, again due to low turnout. Rainbow Six: Vegas was added in February 2007.
[edit] Contracts with players
As of June 21, 2006 MLG offers over $800,000 in cash prizes[citation needed] and signed the former MLG leading four-man Halo 2 team, Final Boss (At time of signing, the official roster was Dave "Walshy" Walsh, Dan "Ogre 1" Ryan, Tom "Ogre 2" Ryan, and Ryan "Saiyan" Danford) to a $1 million contract, and Tsquared, one of the top individual pros in the MLG, to a $250,000 deal. On December 18, 2006 MLG signed the members of Carbon and the other three members of Str8 Rippin to a $250,000 deal. MLG has signed the members of its top three teams to a $250,000 dollar deal.[2]
[edit] 2007 Season
The 2007 season tournament dates as of 2/11/07 are:
- Charlotte(Charlotte, NC) - Apr 13-15
- Meadowlands(Secaucus, NJ) - June 8-10
- Dallas(Dallas, TX) - July 20-22
- Chicago(Chicago, IL) - August 17-19
- Orlando(Orlanda, FL) - Septempber 21-23
- Playoffs - TBD
- National Championships - TBD
[edit] Major League Gaming in the Media
[edit] The league in the press
MLG was featured in the Wall Street Journal, noting that MLG has recently acquired $10 million in funding to help craft the league.[citation needed]
[edit] The league in television
In the seventh season of MTV's True Life series, an episode centred on MLG-contracted Halo 2 player, "Tsquared". The league and player, LiL Poison were mentioned on CBS's 60 Minutes in a story about professional gamer, Fatal1ty. [3] USA Network, currently America's #1 cable TV network[4], aired the first season of MLG Pro Circuit on Saturdays from November to December 2006. Voom of Dish Network satelite television provider is scheduled to show the first season in High-Definition during March 2007.[5]
[edit] Sponsorship
MLG, which main sponsor is Gamestop, signed with sponsors Boost Mobile, Red Bull and Scion for the 2006 season.
[edit] References
- ^ Ampednews - "MLG vs. WSVG: Controversy in New York." (2006-12-08)
- ^ Major League Gaming - Pro Player Reactions $1.75 million in Pro Contracts with MLG! (18/12/2006
- ^ 60 Minutes story on Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel
- ^ USA Network #1
- ^ MLG Pro Circuit on Voom
