This Week in eSports

The Headlines

Major League Gaming Spring Arena 1 Begins Today: Major League Gaming’s broadcasted spring season starts today! Eight players will be competing for a share of the $10,900 prize pool from tonight until Sunday. Similar to the previous Arena, this event will be restricted to a pay-per-view format, with Video on Demand (VODs) releasing two weeks after the conclusion of the event. Spectators may purchase a PPV pass here or a season pass here. Full details of the event are available here.

Collegiate StarLeague Offers Scholarship: The first eSports scholarship was announced by the Collegiate StarLeague on Wednesday. Beginning this year, two students will be awarded a $1,000 renewing scholarship every year. The CSL believes that “universities award scholarships to students who are high level athletes as well as to students who work to benefit their community through leadership and service. Gaming should be no different – there should be scholarships given to exemplary students who work to promote gaming in and around their community and also prioritize their education.” Students interested in applying for this scholarship should visit the CSL’s website.

Major League Gaming Partners with CBS Interactive: On Wednesday, Major League Gaming announced a partnership with entertainment giant, CBS Interactive. Noting the rapid growth in the eSports and streaming industry, CBS made the move to partner with both MLG and popular livestreaming site, Twitch.tv. CBS will now be the exclusive online broadcaster for Major League Gaming events. While we won’t necessarily be seeing Starcraft II hit live television (yet), CBS Interactive owns GameSpot, a major gaming news hub. This will create a new method of revenue for Major League Gaming, as they will be able to earn a share of the ad revenue generated by CBS Interactive.

 Upcoming Games

Major League Gaming Spring Arena Schedule:

All Times in CST. Times subject to change depending on match length/technical difficulties.

(All Matches Restricted to Pay-Per-View)

Friday	Central Stream	Gameplay Stream
5:00 PM	MarineKing v Parting	Heart v Violet
6:00 PM	DongRaeGu v MC	HuK v Ganzi
7:00 PM	Heart v Parting	MarineKing v Ganzi
8:00 PM	DongRaeGu v HuK	Heart v MC
9:00 PM	MarineKing v Violet	HuK v Parting
10:00 PM	Ganzi v MC	DongRaeGu v Violet

 

Saturday	Central Stream	Gameplay Stream
1:00 PM	MarineKing v HuK	Violet v MC
2:00 PM	DongRaeGu v Parting	Heart v Ganzi
3:00 PM	Huk v Violet	DonRaeGu v Heart
4:00 PM	MarineKing v MC	Parting v Ganzi
5:00 PM	Heart v HuK	Parting v Violet
6:00 PM	DongRaeGu v Ganzi	HuK v MC
7:00 PM	Parting v MC	MarineKing v Heart
8:00 PM	MarineKing v DongRaeGu	Ganzi v Violet
9:00 PM	2v2: Team A v Team B	2v2 Team C v Team D
10:00 PM	2v2: A/B Winner v C/D Winner	N/A

 

Sunday	Central Stream	Gameplay Stream
1:00 PM	Bracket Round 1 A	Bracket Round 1 B
2:00 PM	Bracket Semifinal A	N/A
3:00 PM	Bracket Semifinal B	N/A
4:00 PM	Finals	N/A

 

North American Star League

Matches Daily Wednesday-Saturday 8:00 PM CST & Sunday 6:00 PM CST

(All Matches on nasl.tv)

Day	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4
Friday	Sen v TLO	Ganzi v Rain	Mana v Axslav	Strelok v Vibe
Saturday	Alicia v Alive	Thorzain v Ret	Lowely v Catz	Cruncher v Select
Sunday	Puzzle v Polt	Morrow v Jinro	White-Ra v MC	Targa v Sheth
Wednesday	Cloud v TT1	Stephano v Brat	Hwangsin v Puma	Haypro v Zenio

 

Video of the Week

This video is one of the greatest ways to introduce people to the eSports industry. “One Year Down” shows the growth of Starcraft II from the beta to July 2011. With footage from the Global Starcraft League and Major League Gaming, you won’t want to miss some of the highlights of Starcraft II‘s first year.