Official State of the Game Podcast Thread - Page 1050

MLG is honored to announce a true game-changer for the world of competitive StarCraft 2. Beginning at MLG Columbus and continuing throughout the 2011 Season, Major League Gaming and the GOMTV Global StarCraft 2 League are establishing a League Exchange Program that will send the best MLG players to compete in the GSL, and allow top Korean talent to play live in the US.

Pro Circuit Players Competing in the GSL

• At MLG Columbus, the Top 3 non-Korean finishers will each be placed into GSL Code A.
  
• At every 2011 Pro Circuit Live Competition after MLG Columbus, GSL placement will occur as follows:
  
  • Code S status will be awarded to the highest placing player, regardless of country of origin, who does not already have Code S status.
    
  • Code A status will be awarded to the next three highest placing non-Korean players.
    
  • If Code S status is awarded to a Korean player, Code A status also will be awarded to the 4th highest placing non-Korean player.
    
  • All travel and accomodation expenses for these players will be provided by the GSL.

GSL Pro Players Competing on the MLG Pro Circuit

• MLG will invite four Korean pro players to each Pro Circuit Live Competition.
  
• These players will be placed directly into the Championship Pools, one into each Pool.
  Their placement in the Pools will be determined by their GSL rank.
  
• All travel and accomodation expenses for these players will be provided by MLG.
  
• For MLG Columbus, we will also be inviting a player from the CSN tournament, currently in progress. This player will be seeded into the Open Bracket, and their travel and accomodation expenses will be covered by CSN.

This historic partnership marks the first time the GSL has ever qualified a player directly into Code S based on results from another tournament, and MLG Columbus will be the first time Korean players have ever competed live in an open-registration StarCraft 2 tournament in the US. We are working closely with the GSL to coordinate schedules so that all players involved will be able to compete in both the GSL and the Pro Circuit.

The Players
The following four GSL pro players will attend MLG Columbus. We are honored to welcome these players to the already stacked pool of talent competing on the Pro Circuit.

• ST_Bomber
  
• IM.Losira
  
• SlayerS_MMA
  
• FOXMoon

The full Pool lineup will be announced on Tuesday, May 17. Please go here for an explanation of minor changes made to the competition format to incorporate the larger Pools.

The Pro Circuit Livestreams: A Completely New Experience
Our partnership with the GSL is not the only new beginning for MLG StarCraft 2. Over the past month, we’ve taken many steps to improve and enhance our streams and our live spectator experience, for MLG Columbus and every Pro Circuit Competition to come. The changes we’ve made are so extensive that they require an announcement of their own, so we’ll be bringing you those details soon. For now, know that if you come and watch live, you’ll be able to hear every word spoken by the casters in the venue, and if you’re watching from home, you’ll be able to see every minute of the action. And there’s going to be a lot of action to see.

We’d like to thank the GSL for their cooperation and generosity; with this exchange, we can bring players from all regions together to fight on the same playing fields and stand on the same stages. The future of StarCraft 2 starts now. Join us in Columbus and be a part of it.

Competitor passes for Columbus are on sale now.