Major League Gaming

Pro Circuit

The MLG Pro Circuit roster included Starcraft II and League of Legends for the PC. Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur V, and King of Fighters XIII for the PlayStation 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube were the only console games. Fighting games were commented by Juicebox Abel, Tom Brady (not to be confused with the NFL quarterback), and Bibulus. No League of Legends casters have been announced.

Major League Gaming hosted a series of online qualifier ladders for the online-only pro circuit titles leading to the national championship. In the past, MLG hosted Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments during the 2004 through 2006 MLG Circuit and other games such as Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Tekken 5, Gears of War, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Shadowrun, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War 2.

Each team/player was required to purchase a team pass to compete. These passes normally went on sale several weeks in advance of the next Pro Circuit event. Passes were limited, so participants were encouraged to purchase a pass as soon as they went on sale.

''Call of Duty'' Pro League

MLG Columbus Arena (playoffs)

The MLG Pro League was a Call of Duty league that ran in 2014 and 2015 for Ghosts and Advanced Warfare respectively. There were three seasons per year, and 16 teams competing per season. The regular season was played online in a round-robin tournament format over the course of two months. At the end of each season, the bottom four teams were sent to a relegation tournament and the top eight teams were invited to an offline playoff tournament.

There was also a Dota 2 Pro League sponsored by joinDota.

*Held as MLG Anaheim 2014.

History

Major League Gaming was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. In 2006, MLG became the first televised video game console gaming league in the United States, with their Halo 2 Pro Series being broadcast by USA Network on Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit. It moved into the 3 Park Avenue sometime after its founding.

In February 2009, it was announced that MLG received $10 Million in financing from Ritchie Capital Management. On February 6, 2009, MLG Commissioner John Nelson addressed the MLG community about changing the format for the 2009 pro circuit. Semi-pro teams were given the opportunity to gain pro status. The rolling rank points system and the championship bracket were also modified. On August 18, 2009, Major League Gaming acquired Agora Games; CEO Matthew Bromberg explained that "we already operate the largest online competitive gaming property in the world. Agora is the leading developer of multi-player communities in the world. Coming together with Agora allows us to double-down on our biggest strength."

In March 2010, it was announced that fighting games would return to the pro circuit, with Tekken 6 exclusively on the PlayStation 3, and the return of the Smash Bros. competition with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These two games appeared in the season opener in Orlando, along with the league's flagship, Halo 3, which entered its third season with the league.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 made its debut on the Online Pro Circuit on MLG's GameBattles website for PlayStation 3. Originally, the game was on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Due to excessive hacking on the Xbox 360 console via JTAG hacks, it was stripped of its "Pro Circuit" branding. Prize payouts remained the same on both consoles. PlayStation 3 players became eligible to accumulate Pro Points. Those who had enough Pro Points at the end of the 3rd season of the Online Pro Circuit became eligible to compete live at the MLG Nationals held in Dallas. Those competing on the Xbox 360 did not earn pro points and had championships held online. On July 30, 2010, it was announced that StarCraft II was to be added to the Pro Circuit. It made its official debut at MLG Raleigh.

The 2011 Circuit featured four titles: Halo: Reach, Starcraft 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the mid-season addition of League of Legends. Also returning, something that the MLG Pro Circuit hadn't seen since the 2005, was Pool Play. The top 16 teams were seeded in 4 pools of 5 teams, where the 5th team would play an undefeated amateur team. The team with the best record throughout pool play advanced to the winner's bracket semi-finals, securing themselves a Top 6 finish.

The 2012 MLG competitions saw many title changes in the Pro Circuit. Starcraft II was brought on as the league's main title. Fighting games for the PS3 and League of Legends were announced as additional titles. Halo: Reach is no longer on the Pro Circuit, nor is Call of Duty: Black Ops. Call of Duty was dropped from the circuit due to the lack of funding MLG received from PlayStation to put the title on the circuit. The 2012 tournament format has also drastically changed, with the introduction of seasonal events. The new format featured 4 quarterly seasons; within each season were 2 Arenas and a Championship. The Championship features all Pro Circuit titles, and has a free SD broadcast option. The Arenas were Pay-per-view (PPV) events, only featured Starcraft II, and were broadcast in high definition (HD) from MLG's Studio in New York.

Also in 2012 came many new partnerships for MLG. MLG partnered with CBS Interactive (CBSi) to increase its broadcast capabilities and to integrate with CBSi's website, GameSpot.com. This new partnership hoped to increase exposure of MLG to a larger more casual audience.

During 2012, MLG has also partnered with KeSPA (Korean Esports Association) in a multi-year agreement. This agreement allowed MLG exclusive access to KeSPA's Starcraft: Brood War players. The partnership saw KeSPA Brood War pros come to the US to compete in MLG events throughout the year. The participants were not allowed to compete at any other foreign tournaments without MLG's approval. The deal took effect in June, when KeSPA Brood War pros participated in an exhibition event at MLG Anaheim.

Beginning on November 2, 2012, with the commencement of the MLG Fall Championship in Dallas, Texas, Halo was reintroduced to the pro circuit. Halo 4, which was publicly released on November 6, was one of the five games scheduled for competitive play at MLG Dallas.

In January 2013, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was introduced into the Pro Circuit.

In 2013 MLG signed Carbon and Str8 Rippin to a collective $1.75 million contract.

On August 14, 2013, Call of Duty: Ghosts was announced to be MLG's featured first-person shooter game for the MLG Columbus and 2014 season events. Through June 8–10, 2014 MLG hosted a tournament at the X Games for Call of Duty: Ghosts with the eventual winners being OpTic Gaming including fan favorites Matt "Nadeshot" Haag and Seth "Scump" Abner.

In April 2014, MLG announced that it was partnering with Lai Fung Holdings Limited (Lai Fung) and eSun Holdings Limited in building the MLG Arena on Hengqin Island in China, near Macau. The arena, which was scheduled to be completed in 2017, was part of the "Creative Culture City" development planned on Hengqin.

In October 2014, MLG opened the 14,000 sqft MLG.tv Arena in Columbus, Ohio . It is located near the Easton Town Center. The first event held at the arena was the Season 3 Call of Duty playoffs.

Acquisition by Activision Blizzard

On December 31, 2015, it was reported that "substantially all" of MLG's assets had been acquired by Activision Blizzard for $46 million, and that CEO Sundance DiGiovanni would be replaced by MLG's former CFO Greg Chisholm. Activision Blizzard operates its own in-house esports division, Activision Blizzard Media Networks, led by veteran sports television executive Steve Bornstein, MLG co-founder Mike Sepso, and its acquisition of assets from the defunct IGN Pro League. Activision Blizzard owns the Call of Duty and Starcraft franchises—which have been popular as esports. Reports indicated that MLG was to be shuttered, and that the majority of the purchase price would go towards paying off the company's debt.

Activision Blizzard confirmed the purchase on January 4, 2016. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick explained that the main target of the acquisition was MLG's streaming operation MLG.tv. Kotick explained to The New York Times that their eventual goal was to "build the ESPN of video games"—a television cable channel that would be devoted to esports coverage and analysis with "premium" in-house productions that could attract more major advertisers, either produced by Activision's staff or by outside producers. Despite the acquisition, MLG continued to host events relating to games that were not published by Activision Blizzard's subsidiaries.

In May 2016, MLG announced "Enhanced Viewing Experience", a new streaming player design that integrated live data and statistic displays.

MLG, which experienced a significant decline in viewership and profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately shut down. This closure was officially confirmed on January 15, 2024, with the announcement of the discontinuation of GamesBattle, the last active branch of MLG.{{cite web |url= https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/fans-support-mlg-being-brought-back-under-microsoft-acquisition-2336417// |title=Fans support MLG being brought back under Microsoft acquisition

List of National Championships

Main article: List of Major League Gaming National Championships

MLG.tv

MLG.tv was Major League Gaming's streaming media service. Several professional Call of Duty players including Matt "Nadeshot" Haag signed exclusive contracts with the streaming service. At the end of the first quarter of 2015, MLG announced that mlg.tv saw an increase in viewership of 253%.

References

References

1. "Major League Gaming (MLG)".
2. "Major League Gaming Canada".
3. "MLG 2015 Results".
4. "Pro Circuit Archive".
5. "ESPN:The Life:Video Games:MLG". [[ESPN.com]].
6. (June 4, 2009). "ESPN 360 acquired". ESPN.
7. Terdiman, Daniel. (April 17, 2006). "Major League Gaming goes big league". [[CNET.com]].
8. "Spring Season Games".
9. "MLG Fighting Casters".
10. "Events - Major League Gaming".
11. (October 7, 2014). "MLG Pro League Season 1 for Advanced Warfare begins in December - Charlie INTEL".
12. Mudhar, Raju. (June 20, 2007). "Major League Gaming shoots into Canada". [[The Toronto Star]].
13. Devin Leonard, Devin Leonard. (August 21, 2008). "Calling master chief A News Corp.-backed professional video-game league is getting a run for its money from two former ad guys.". [[CNNMoney.com]].
14. (March 16, 2009). "Executive Team | Major League Gaming". Mlgpro.com.
15. (August 10, 2009). "Major League Gaming -Boost Mobile Major League Gaming Pro Circuit". Usanetwork.com.
16. Magee, Kyle. (May 8, 2009). "MLG Secures $10 Million in Series A Financing from Ritchie Capital to Build World's First Professional Video Game League".
17. (February 6, 2009). "MLG Commissioner John Nelson addresses community concerns". Major League Gaming.
18. (August 18, 2009). "Agora Games acquired". The Business Review (Albany).
19. "MLG 4v4 Details". Major League Gaming.
20. "MLG Starcraft II Announced". Mlgpro.com.
21. Lish. (August 12, 2011). "League of Legends Joins the MLG Pro Circuit". Major League Gaming.
22. "First Details about the MLG 2012 Pro Circuit".
23. Wilhelm, Alex. (May 14, 2012). "Inside MLG's CBSi Deal".
24. Breslau, Rod. (2012-07-17). "MLG CEO on Korean crossover deal".
25. Camber Weiss. (October 31, 2012). "Guide to the MLG Fall Championship". Major League Gaming.
26. "MLG Pick Up Black Ops 2 for Pro Circuit Winter Championship in Dallas". Multiplayer.
27. Surette, Tim. (March 6, 2013). "MLG spends $1.75M signing seven pro gamers".
28. Goldberg, Kyle. (April 24, 2014). "Major League Gaming to Build First-Ever MLG Stadium in China".
29. "Major League Gaming Announces MLG.tv Columbus Arena".
30. Feran, Tim. (September 24, 2014). "Columbus chosen for first Major League Gaming arena outside of company's studios".
31. "Activision Blizzard beefs up e-sports muscle".
32. (January 4, 2016). "Report: Major League Gaming shuttered after $46 million Activision buyout".
33. (January 4, 2016). "Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E-Sports". The New York Times.
34. "Activision Blizzard overhauls MLG.tv esports platform".
35. Gwynn, Dafydd. (November 14, 2023). "Online tournament organiser GameBattles to shut down in 2024".
36. Hernandez, Patricia. (October 19, 2015). "Competitive Call of Duty Star Says Leaving Twitch Is His "Biggest Regret"".
37. "News & Analysis of Retail in the Gaming Industry - MCV UK".