Last weekend, Major League Gaming wrapped up their Summer Season with the MLG Summer Championship. This event included the concluding tournaments for the Starcraft II, League of Legends, Mortal Kombat, and Soul Caliber V MLG seasons, as well as the conclusion for the Blizzard sponsored North American World Championship Series Finals for Starcraft 2. With over $200k being competed over by the worlds best gamers, this season’s championship promised to be an exciting one.
The fighting games Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur V have quickly become widely accepted as a part of MLG’s lineup. This season’s championship showed this acceptance with both tournaments having over $17,000 dollars on the line. This prize money was fought over by the games best players, and in the end Xephukai defeated RamonTSF in the Soul Calibur finals, while OBS_EMP_REO bested CDjr in Mortal Kombat. Both of these victors were rewarded with $6,000, while the runner-ups earned $3,600. The ever growing prize pools and excitment around these games show just how much fans enjoy watching the pros compete.
Starcraft II, the staple of the past MLG events, did not disappoint. With two tournaments going on simultaneously, there was almost too much action for fans to watch. At the end of the MLG tournament, only Leenock and First remained. Many expected the Protoss player First to take the series, since he was seeded higher and is considered by most the better player. However, Leenock did not let this phase him and was able to defeat First in a convince four games to one. As the victor Leenock brought home a total of $25,000, while First earned $15,000. Finishing in third and fourth place and receiving $7,250 each was Taeja and TheSTC. Hero and Violet finished in fifth and sixth, both earning $3,500, and finally Revival and Heart finished in seventh and eighth earning $2,250 each.
The second Starcraft tournament held this weekend at MLG was the World Champinship Series North American Finals. This event matched up the best players from North America all hoping to win the tournament and be named the best player in North America. These players not only fought for a $60,000 prize pool, but also a chance to represent their continent in the World Championship Series finals, being held in China this November. The top eight finishers were the ones who qualified; Scarlett, Vibe, Idra, Major, Insur, State, Illusion, and Ostojiy. In addition, since Scarlett already qualified by winning the Canadian Nationals, a ninth player, HuK, was also selected to represent North America. This tournament showed some of the best players on the continent and it will no doubt be exciting to see how the preform on a global level come November.
Last, but certainly not least, was the League of Legend tournament. This tournament will not soon be forgotten, not only for the gameplay, but also some drama surrounding the finals between Curse and Dignatas. Whether or not it is true, there are rumors flying around that these teams planned to split the prize money, since neither team would be affected by winning or losing in regards to earning points for Riot’s Season 2 Championship. It has not yet been confirmed officially, yet the whole scandal makes these Season’s Summer Championship seem sadly unprofessional.
This summer’s Championship was definitely one of the more memorable, with such great gameplay, as well as rumors of scandals. Regardless, one thing is for certain, these events continue to show a growth in the popularity of eSports both in North America and around the globe.
