NEW YORK (Reuters)- Major League Gaming, the largest professional competitive video game league, will be expanding to new markets outside North America thanks to a new partnership with IMG, the global sports and entertainment company
IMG, which is run by billionaire private equity investor Ted Forstmann, will boost the profile of Major League Gaming, a league where players compete in video games like Microsoft's "Halo: Reach" and Activision Blizzard's "StarCraft 2" in tournaments across the U.S. and on the Internet.
IMG will focus on marketing the league in the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil as well as in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, IMG Media President Michel Masquelier told Reuters.
To play professionally in the league, players have to first compete on the Internet in the "minor leagues." The league holds 750,000 matches a month online where players can gauge their ability before going pro, said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder of Major League Gaming.
Well this seems to be Sundance's big announcement for this week, Sundance must be irritated that it got leaked before he had a chance to announce this.
long live eSports!
UPDATE: MLG officially announces IMG Partnership.
Under the terms of the agreement, IMG, utilizing the expertise of its IMG Media Group, will help build international brand awareness of MLG through distribution, programming and marketing agreements with select broadcast and broadband partners. IMG will work to increase traffic, convert users and drive media consumption across all MLG platforms especially in the gameplay area. The partners will work together to host regional championship events around the globe, identify new talent and expand the brand partnership platform to establish competitive gaming as a preeminent sport worldwide.
“Video gaming is the #1 activity amongst the 18-24 male demographic and global video game sales exceeded $50 billion in 2009,” said Michel Masquelier, President of IMG Media. “Gaming is truly a global phenomenon and we are very proud to partner with the market leader in the competitive gaming industry to elevate the sport to a new level.”
“Since our inception, our mission at MLG has been to bring competitive gaming to the legions of fans and gamers around the globe,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO, Major League Gaming. “We have now become the dominant competitive-videogame property and with IMG as our partner, we can further position MLG and gaming as a commanding sport worldwide.”
MLG exclusively targets the 40 million consumers in North America who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. It is recognized as the sanctioning body for both competitive professional and amateur gaming competition via in-person events and online activity.
MLG reaches roughly 4.5 million consumers each month online and attracts more than 4,000 new members daily at majorleaguegaming.com.
this is exciting news, i can't wait to see how they expand to these countries. Next year looks promising as hell for MLG. Could be the real global starcraft league... if they have an event in korea that would be awesome haha
Seems to me this isn't new events, just increased marketing outside of North America. Hate to be the party pooper -.- Maybe they'll do partnerships with existing events though, I'm thinking of the i41 thingy but it's just my own idea.
wow IMG is really really really big. I thought when Sundance said he has top companies who want to represent players, they meant they will be grabbing some of the progamers to say " Hi I like Doritos"
But IMG handles image rights of people like Tiger Woods and basically all the big names in sport and entertainment industry. This is absolutely crazy.
On February 16 2011 16:36 Antoine wrote: Seems to me this isn't new events, just increased marketing outside of North America. Hate to be the party pooper -.- Maybe they'll do partnerships with existing events though, I'm thinking of the i41 thingy but it's just my own idea.
Masquelier said that the partnership will involve hosting regional championship events in different countries and boosting awareness of the league's brand through merchandise, licenses, prize money and online subscriptions. He said players in the league would gather points to try to improve their worldwide ranking. These rankings will "drive the business," he added.
sounds like more events. regional championships
starcraft would be no problem in europe and s. america. the problem will be halo and cod (console) those games aren't as popular in europe. hopefully they do counterstrike and quake
It's truly ridiculous that there are so many amazing leaks, reveals and general announcements right now. I finished playing my last ladder game of the night awhile ago and thought I'd get to bed at a great time after just a quick browse of TL. Yeah right!
And, yeah, this kinda sucks for Sundance. The worst part is that it didn't happen as a huge event of a reveal but, rather, a small Reuters blurb that just kinda plopped down in front of us.
Still, good job, Sundance! I was pretty sure that this was exactly what was going to happen after hearing you on SotG (I mean, wasn't IMG even mentioned or did I pick that up somewhere else?).
OH BOY i just hope to god they do an open tournament here in brazil our allegedly "best" players are in a freaking inner circle, it's all about the same guys, over and over... choosing the players via bnet also isnt fair
it's gonna be great to have such a big event in here open to all players
ty MLG, cant wait to host you motherfuckers in here
Great news for pro-gaming. More tournaments means a stronger gaming scene. Hopefully, since Halo is (deservedly) unpopular in Europe, we'll see a real FPS game in the MLG europe scene too.
On February 16 2011 16:36 Antoine wrote: Seems to me this isn't new events, just increased marketing outside of North America. Hate to be the party pooper -.- Maybe they'll do partnerships with existing events though, I'm thinking of the i41 thingy but it's just my own idea.
Masquelier said that the partnership will involve hosting regional championship events in different countries and boosting awareness of the league's brand through merchandise, licenses, prize money and online subscriptions. He said players in the league would gather points to try to improve their worldwide ranking. These rankings will "drive the business," he added.
sounds like more events. regional championships
starcraft would be no problem in europe and s. america. the problem will be halo and cod (console) those games aren't as popular in europe. hopefully they do counterstrike and quake
I stand corrected! I should have clicked through instead of assuming the summary in here was the entire article.
I also think the Bic partnership is a new announcement? I don't remember them as sponsor before. I use Bic pens and they're pretty sweet
On February 16 2011 16:36 Antoine wrote: Seems to me this isn't new events, just increased marketing outside of North America. Hate to be the party pooper -.- Maybe they'll do partnerships with existing events though, I'm thinking of the i41 thingy but it's just my own idea.
Masquelier said that the partnership will involve hosting regional championship events in different countries and boosting awareness of the league's brand through merchandise, licenses, prize money and online subscriptions. He said players in the league would gather points to try to improve their worldwide ranking. These rankings will "drive the business," he added.
sounds like more events. regional championships
starcraft would be no problem in europe and s. america. the problem will be halo and cod (console) those games aren't as popular in europe. hopefully they do counterstrike and quake
I stand corrected! I should have clicked through instead of assuming the summary in here was the entire article.
I also think the Bic partnership is a new announcement? I don't remember them as sponsor before. I use Bic pens and they're pretty sweet
Bic is a long time sponsor of MLG, hope you guys like the leak.
I see no point in wasting money on South America, at least in StarCraft. The skill level is so low as to be nonexistent, and the best players from there always come up to the US for tournaments. I expect top players to go south of the equator and simply make the tournament their own by winning everything.
Holy shit. I worked for a competitor of IMG last summer, and I know what a well-oiled machine it is. This is beyond huge. This basically guarantees the success of MLG as the bringer of E-Sports to the forefront. Just simply wow. Never would have seen this coming from such a huge player in the sports industry. If anyone knows their shit, it's IMG.
On February 16 2011 17:19 bibbaly wrote: Soon enough Starcraft 2 will be on regular broadcast television.
I am so hoping/wishin/waiting for that! Eurosports shows all kind of sports, from shuffle boards to timber sports. I am sure there is a bigger market for eSports.
Let's hope it has arrived for good. I'll start programming my digital TV already, because IF it is broadcasted, it'll probably be at 5 in the morning
Maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but all this stuff is pointing away from South Korea as the epicenter of SC2 which is a good thing for most everyone. Maybe GOM prize pool will start going up as well.
On February 16 2011 18:02 agtemd wrote: No Canada?
I am reluctant to agree, Why is there not any interest in the Toronto/Vancouver scene? Christ sake we got a shoutout during GSL2 finals from Artosis. We have a sexy community here.
If all the recent announcement lives up to the hype then this year will be a titanic year for esports. Great to see that this news is coming from a mainstream news source.
And Incontrol Big announcement became very little in no time... MLG knows how to do PR. Someone wants to set up some minor league on our turf... Who cares we are going global ^^
On February 16 2011 18:58 Fadetowhite wrote: no announcement for this announcement? they need to take lessons from Incontrol
Sundance is gonna officially announce it today on Bloomberg TV 7:50 ET, But reuters couldn't wait... so this is what happened. Also Sundance did hype it up on the last SOTG and his twitter.
Wait... With MLG in Europe, won't Europe be like the biggest scene ever? Korea's basically only got GSL and GSTL, the US has only got MLG, and Europe will have all the previous leagues, plus MLG O.o
On February 16 2011 20:22 Euronyme wrote: Wait... With MLG in Europe, won't Europe be like the biggest scene ever? Korea's basically only got GSL and GSTL, the US has only got MLG, and Europe will have all the previous leagues, plus MLG O.o
On February 16 2011 21:08 lolnoty wrote: To clarify again, the article isn't saying there will be events in these countries.
Exactly. To quote the MLG site:
IMG Media Group, will help build international brand awareness of MLG through distribution, programming and marketing agreements with select broadcast and broadband partners
Doesn't really sound to me like there will be any European MLG events any time soon, but more that the US events will be advertised in Europe.
Masquelier said that the partnership will involve hosting regional championship events in different countries and boosting awareness of the league's brand through merchandise, licenses, prize money and online subscriptions. He said players in the league would gather points to try to improve their worldwide ranking. These rankings will "drive the business," he added.
official announcement will be in about 25 minutes, so lets wait
IMG Media Group, will help build international brand awareness of MLG through distribution, programming and marketing agreements with select broadcast and broadband partners
Doesn't really sound to me like there will be any European MLG events any time soon, but more that the US events will be advertised in Europe.
From MLG themselves
The partners will work together to host regional championship events around the globe, identify new talent and expand the brand partnership platform to establish competitive gaming as a preeminent sport worldwide.
On February 16 2011 21:29 Gr33d wrote: I would like to see how it turns out when MLG has to compete with ESL in europe.
ESL already competes with MLG in NA... I think the market is big enough for both of them. ESL is way more focused on online competitions than MLG is (at least in SC2, no clue if MLG has big online leagues for other games), so they wouldn't compete entirely for the same market.
On February 16 2011 19:27 blae000 wrote: Did I just read scandinavia?! Oh yeah!
Mind.. consider it blown!!
lol i totally missed that part
i would go apeshit insane if it wasn't for the fact that i don't think they refer to Denmark/Norway but who knows?
Yea, true that! I think Sweden is the place it will end up when they say scandinavia. Nonetheless, MLG expanding to Europe overall it's great. Having an event as close as Sweden is even better.. :D So much news on the Esport front lately.. EXPLOSIOOON!!
On February 16 2011 21:08 lolnoty wrote: To clarify again, the article isn't saying there will be events in these countries.
Exactly. To quote the MLG site:
IMG Media Group, will help build international brand awareness of MLG through distribution, programming and marketing agreements with select broadcast and broadband partners
Doesn't really sound to me like there will be any European MLG events any time soon, but more that the US events will be advertised in Europe.
The partners will work together to host regional championship events around the globe, identify new talent and expand the brand partnership platform to establish competitive gaming as a preeminent sport worldwide.
This is fantastic news. Seeing esports as a business investment is a necessary thing in order to keep the esports ball rolling, the more sponsors and endorsements that esports gets, the greater potential for more pro gaming, possibly to the point where we have our first few pro gamers that are self sufficient on tournament earnings. Then we can all dream of the perfect job! When I grow up I want to play Starcraft!
On February 16 2011 21:29 Gr33d wrote: I would like to see how it turns out when MLG has to compete with ESL in europe.
A bit of healthy competition is never a bad thing. But seriously do you feel ESL has hit market saturation that competition would hurt their business model. I think the opposite. Any and all initiative to bring (off-line) quality competitive gaming tournaments to the masses will benefit both organizations and with a bit of communication and common sense they can easily make sure they don't "hurt" each other while planning their respective events.
Note that most professional competitive sports started out with different leagues that once market saturation was obtained has to join forces (or be push out) in order to grow further, but we are nowhere near that scenario yet.
+ try and think positive, e-Sports is going global! WHOOHOOW!
That's awesome!! Although South America has not a big e-sports scene, I think it has potential to it. At least in Brazil there is a huge SC2 scene, I know a lot of players that would be very interested in participating of MLG championships!
After watching the video I believe that was the worst interview ever. They made it sound like it is a league focused on Madden.... WTF. How about talking about the bread and butter titles that make MLG what it is. I don't think I heard Halo or SC2 mentioned at all except by the Bloomberg guy at the end (was his gamertag showerfan? huh?). I love MLG and Sundance, but that interview was terrible. I hope this season blows up huge so that we don't have to rely on unknowledgable media entities to give MLG exposure.
the infos gettting leaked. so awesome! can anyone summary what they said on bloomberg.tv or link a video? huge announcment i really hope esports benefits from that.
So many things happening now: Some people who are really in the progaming scene say that theres something huge for the west coming up, Idra returns to America and MLG expands to Europe + South America... can wait for that "big announcement"
I'm so sad, what about CANADA!!!! We're quite huge in Toronto. Lots of high profile players and not to mention loads of fans. We were the ones to start watching GSL in large groups in movie theaters and its still running strong with a 600$ free event in Toronto next week.
People are all focusing on the expansion here, I think the really big thing is that Sundance said “It’s a great chance for competitive gaming to appear in traditional sports channels." I mean thats a pretty clear sign that MLG is very close to being on TV. http://venturebeat.com/2011/02/16/pro-gamers-get-recognition-as-sports-athletes-on-major-sports-web-sites/ Also Sundance's Interview on Bloomberg, might want to add this to the first post.
Awesome news! Lets just hope its not to much too soon. We seen other leauges in the past fold because they underestimate the cost of running events around the world
Considering all of the best halo players are from the US and all of the best sc players are from KR looks like theres a lot more money to be made for them with the mass influx of low level players that is going to occur.
Hm I dunno, if IMG is so big why haven't I heard about it before? Have they produced any sc2 content I can preview? Is it like an EU version of ESPN or something? They chose a tough acronym to google.
On February 17 2011 01:08 Corvi wrote: pls someone explain to me, why this is so big to you.
i never heard more about MLG than some halo tourneys in the us i couldnt care less about ...
Really? do you live in a cave?
MLG (how they say in the video) is the most biggest gaming tourney of US (Starcraft II, halo, Smash and some others) in if this expands to other countries, will make esports more acceptable, and more big! and you don't see the importance? really? Just think of the big consequences of this
On February 17 2011 01:25 kNightLite wrote: Hm I dunno, if IMG is so big why haven't I heard about it before? Have they produced any sc2 content I can preview? Is it like an EU version of ESPN or something? They chose a tough acronym to google.
IMG are the first hit on google for IMG.
Think of IMG like vivendi, it's a company behind companies - they are major players.
On February 17 2011 01:25 kNightLite wrote: Hm I dunno, if IMG is so big why haven't I heard about it before? Have they produced any sc2 content I can preview? Is it like an EU version of ESPN or something? They chose a tough acronym to google.
Seriously you haven't? They are pretty big, they do an awful lot of independent global sports broadcasting.
On February 17 2011 01:25 kNightLite wrote: Hm I dunno, if IMG is so big why haven't I heard about it before? Have they produced any sc2 content I can preview? Is it like an EU version of ESPN or something? They chose a tough acronym to google.
Seriously you haven't? They are pretty big, they do an awful lot of independent global sports broadcasting.
Two things that I took away from the wiki article.
Mother Fucking EPL - world's most watched sport? Indian Premier League! - Started up in 2008 - Successfully introduced a non-established ruleset (twenty20) (As close as you can get to a "totally new sport" these days).
i.e. experience/money/power/ability to do everything "e-sports" needs to be succesful
I have been a Big MLG follower for a few years now. And I saw MLG coming to a downward spiral, Halo Reach isn't very good and its MLG's "flagship" game. I said if MLG didn't switch over to SC2 they would end up dieing out, because the Halo Scene is dieing hard.
This news is actually quite surprising to me, MLG used to be a "Buy a Team pass and you can play"(except WoW which was invite only) Tourney, now it seems like they are talking about Gamebattles being "The Minors" which seems kinda douchey for a company like MLG, A company which has made a Ton of iffy decisions over the past 3 years. Including Tournament layout, Points system, etc.
I'm interested to see how MLG handles this, if its going to be separate leagues in each country or a traveling circus.
The Sundance interview is great. Man I can't believe what a well spoken and straight forward guy that is. A great spokesperson for MLG. And the news is really really awesome, would absolutely love to have some events over here in Sweden as I'd come visit for sure.
On February 17 2011 02:44 Snoyarc wrote: I have been a Big MLG follower for a few years now. And I saw MLG coming to a downward spiral, Halo Reach isn't very good and its MLG's "flagship" game. I said if MLG didn't switch over to SC2 they would end up dieing out, because the Halo Scene is dieing hard.
This news is actually quite surprising to me, MLG used to be a "Buy a Team pass and you can play"(except WoW which was invite only) Tourney, now it seems like they are talking about Gamebattles being "The Minors" which seems kinda douchey for a company like MLG, A company which has made a Ton of iffy decisions over the past 3 years. Including Tournament layout, Points system, etc.
I'm interested to see how MLG handles this, if its going to be separate leagues in each country or a traveling circus.
Their new CEO didn't do that stuff. And the online qualifiers makes plenty of sense (TSL, anyone?), so I don't really know why you think that's "douchey".
Personally, I'm really excited about this partnership.
On February 17 2011 02:52 LittLeD wrote: The Sundance interview is great. Man I can't believe what a well spoken and straight forward guy that is. A great spokesperson for MLG. And the news is really really awesome, would absolutely love to have some events over here in Sweden as I'd come visit for sure.
Sundance is one of the Few people who works for MLG that knows what he is doing. Just about everyone else who works for the company are friends who have been apart of MLG since halo 1.
If you haven't seen it watch his interview with ESPN's outside the lines.
On February 17 2011 02:44 Snoyarc wrote: I have been a Big MLG follower for a few years now. And I saw MLG coming to a downward spiral, Halo Reach isn't very good and its MLG's "flagship" game. I said if MLG didn't switch over to SC2 they would end up dieing out, because the Halo Scene is dieing hard.
This news is actually quite surprising to me, MLG used to be a "Buy a Team pass and you can play"(except WoW which was invite only) Tourney, now it seems like they are talking about Gamebattles being "The Minors" which seems kinda douchey for a company like MLG, A company which has made a Ton of iffy decisions over the past 3 years. Including Tournament layout, Points system, etc.
I'm interested to see how MLG handles this, if its going to be separate leagues in each country or a traveling circus.
Their new CEO didn't do that stuff. And the online qualifiers makes plenty of sense (TSL, anyone?), so I don't really know why you think that's "douchey".
Personally, I'm really excited about this partnership.
MLG made alot of decisions including changing the points system to try and keep halo 2 pros, pros threw Halo 3 and Reach. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the new partnership. But Gamebattles had online qualifiers before, but it was never deemed the "minors" before, But the way the points system worked was online qualifier points< Lan Points and you could still purchase a team pass and compete. The way he described it in that article makes me think they are going to change this and say if you don't compete on gamebattles you can't play on the pro circuit. Which I think changing their whole layout of things again is kinda douchey.
I am not sure if Europe will take the GSL Rules and System that easy. With a lot of money ofc it can work but its still not that kind of system Europeans are used to have. I hope they can make it and ESL has for the first time some competition. But in the end, i dont think this US system will work in Europe.
It would be nice if the MLG would come in Canada. There's alot of good player here, If Many canadians can go in Dallas for an event, I'm sure people in the US can come in Canada!
Please MLG, Come and help Canada to develop it's esports!
This makes me wonder that with so much competition, and the possibility of being on TV, these tournament organizers ( MLG/ESL/ NASL) will obviously realise that Tastosis is one of the biggest attraction for sc2 viewers. I am thinking offers would have been flying all over the place to bring them over as the permanent caster for one of these league.
Would be interesting to see if they also end up leaving korea.
On February 17 2011 02:52 LittLeD wrote: The Sundance interview is great. Man I can't believe what a well spoken and straight forward guy that is. A great spokesperson for MLG. And the news is really really awesome, would absolutely love to have some events over here in Sweden as I'd come visit for sure.
Sundance is one of the Few people who works for MLG that knows what he is doing. Just about everyone else who works for the company are friends who have been apart of MLG since halo 1.
If you haven't seen it watch his interview with ESPN's outside the lines.
This is f'ing huge, amazing to see some partnerships with big companies to expand outside of korea/asian countries. Hopefully see some bigger and bigger tournaments popping up with this new partnership of MLG/IMG.
On February 17 2011 06:26 zhurai wrote: >_> when is there going to be an MLG in california................. ;_; there's like no MLG's in the western part of the US ;__;
MLG was in Anaheim in 2009 and San Deigo in 2008 so that is not completely accurrate. Also I'm pretty sure Sundance has said that the third stop of MLG's 2011 Pro Circuit will be in the Western part of the US somewhere.
Apparently e-sports all aboard the HMS Manifest Destiny. I really doubted how big it could get (I don't see my parents' generation ever changing their mind) but maybe one day it'll be more respected.
On February 17 2011 06:26 zhurai wrote: >_> when is there going to be an MLG in california................. ;_; there's like no MLG's in the western part of the US ;__;
MLG was in Anaheim in 2009 and San Deigo in 2008 so that is not completely accurrate. Also I'm pretty sure Sundance has said that the third stop of MLG's 2011 Pro Circuit will be in the Western part of the US somewhere.
So, the interesting question: which will take of first and fastest? Halo, or Starcraft? Halo is flagship and easier to follow, but unless MLG picks up the CE remake or 343 starts making a Halo with esports in mind then the game won't be very competetive.
Wow, NA and EU are really getting serious with Starcraft II. In a few years, it could be Koreans moving to live in NA/EU to compete in the big leagues given how slowly SCII is being adopted in Korea.
On February 17 2011 10:39 TNine wrote: So, the interesting question: which will take of first and fastest? Halo, or Starcraft? Halo is flagship and easier to follow, but unless MLG picks up the CE remake or 343 starts making a Halo with esports in mind then the game won't be very competetive.
or maybe they should just use quake or counterstrike
On February 17 2011 10:39 TNine wrote: So, the interesting question: which will take of first and fastest? Halo, or Starcraft? Halo is flagship and easier to follow, but unless MLG picks up the CE remake or 343 starts making a Halo with esports in mind then the game won't be very competetive.
I doubt that many people in Europe are/will get interested in Halo :O
On February 16 2011 16:25 ZlaSHeR wrote: Damn, an announcement like this already bumping idra coming back to the US to #2 in a matter of an hour and a half haha
Exactly. This is gigantic, the second MLG expand to China I'll apply for a full time position.
Of course e-sports is booming, the number of people who play video games has probably already passed the number who play actual sports. Its not long until the larger will consume the smaller. The fan base has been the blocking factor in most areas, as most adults don't care for watching e-sports. But as the gaming generation approaches the point where they will pay for utilities, that will change rapidly. Well guess what, its happening. I would guess it won't be soon until the US has an actual e-sports television network. And even sooner until MLG envelops the world.
Why MLG? Because they run at a more rapid pace than WCG, which means more profit(sponsors, etc...). And it's diverse in it's game selection so it will just make it that much easier..
Fuck it, I wanted Argentina! Well, I guess since I'm already travellign to Brazil for the Olympic and the World Cup, I might just as well stay a few extra days for the MLG Rio / Bahia / whatever
Lol, I just imagined how much fun it would be to have some football (sovver for you americans) commentators casting the matches here in LA. Artosis shouting would look like child's play,
Don't really know too much about how MLG works, will this make GameBattles more popular? I registered for GB a few weeks ago, and just saw a lot of posts about it not being very active. Haven't really done much with it, but wouldn't mind using it more if it is going to be more popular.
On February 25 2011 01:53 HyDrO-NP- wrote: Don't really know too much about how MLG works, will this make GameBattles more popular? I registered for GB a few weeks ago, and just saw a lot of posts about it not being very active. Haven't really done much with it, but wouldn't mind using it more if it is going to be more popular.
Sundance the CEO of MLG is planning to rework GameBattles soon, Be patient.
EPT
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