World’s Best Video Game Players to Compete for $200,000 at Major League Gaming Pro Circuit Winter Championship in Columbus this Weekend

Features StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Halo: Reach, Fighting Games - Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur V, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception™

Hundreds of Thousands of Fans Expected to View the LIVE HD Broadcast at www.majorleaguegaming.com

NEW YORK – March 19, 2012 – Major League Gaming (MLG), the world’s largest competitive video game league, returns to Columbus, Ohio, from March 23-25 to kick off the ninth annual Pro Circuit season with the MLG Winter Championship. Coming off the most successful Pro Circuit season to date, thousands of eSports fans will descend upon the SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center as more than 1,000 of the world’s best players compete in a three-day video game tournament for a chance at their share of more than $200,000 in prizes. Spectator passes are available online and fans around the globe can watch in real-time in high definition all weekend via LIVE streaming on www.majorleaguegaming.com.

The Games, Players and Prizing

Gamers from as far as Korea, Sweden, and Peru will compete against locals, US based Pros and amateurs alike playing Blizzard Entertainment’s blockbuster real-time strategy game StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ on PC, Halo: Reach on Xbox 360, and fighting games - Mortal Kombat from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Soul Calibur V and THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII on the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system. An exhibition event featuring Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception ™ on PS3 will also take place.

• StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ on PC - $76,000 in prizes; $25,000 for 1st Place - Hundreds of top StarCraft II players from around the world will compete for the 1st place prize of $25,000 -- five times more than what was awarded to a 1st place Pro Circuit win in 2011. Competitors include the top 16 finishers from the Winter Arena held in NYC in February, including MarineKingPrime (Korea), NesTea (Korea), HuK (Canada), Oz (Korea) and Grubby (Netherlands).

• Halo: Reach on Xbox 360 - $56,000 in prizes, $20,000 for 1st place team of four; FFA - $3,000- Hundreds of Halo: Reach players will compete in teams of four during a three-day, double-elimination tournament. 2011 National Championship winners Instinct including Ohio-native Tom “Ogre 2” Ryan, will go up against top teams Str8 Rippin, Believe the Hype, Status Quo and Warriors. Additionally, pros and amateurs can participate in a Halo: Reach FFA tournament for more than $3,000 in prizes with the first place player receiving $1,500.

• Fighting Games on PS3 – More than $66,000 in prizes - Fighting games are returning to the Pro Circuit.  Popular titles Mortal Kombat ($33,400 in prizes), Soul Calibur V ($16,700 in prizes) and THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII ($16,700 in prizes) will be showcased on the main stage throughout the weekend. Top players are scheduled to compete including Justin Wong, Carl "Perfect Legend" White, Phillip "KDZ" Atkinson, Bill "Tom Brady" Menoutis, Reo, CDjr, and more.

• Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception on PS3 – Exhibition event – $2,500 in prizes, $1,500 for first place player

On Site Spectating - $35 for the weekend

Thousands of in-person spectators will view the competition on huge video screens, experience LIVE commentating and visit an array of booths featuring meet and greets with Pro Players and MLG personalities, the latest products from partners, pre-release access to games and more.  Booth highlights include:

• BenQ, official gaming monitor sponsor of MLG: See how the latest professional gaming monitors, designed by gamers for gamers, deliver the ultimate gaming experience. Take one home and take your game to the next level. Tournament monitors available at $249 (RL2450HT) and $179 (GL2450HM).
• BIC® Flex4® Razors, official razor of MLG: Compete in the BIC® Flex4® Razors Challenge Center and take on other spectators for prizes in a variety of popular games for PS3, Xbox, and PC.Plus, participate in a text-2-win promotion for a chance to win cool gaming gear like an ASTRO A40 Audio System.  
• Dr Pepper, official soft drink of MLG:  Stop by for Play-a-Pro sessions, photo opps in the Dr Pepper Photo Booth, Text-to-Win promotions or to try an ice cold Dr Pepper.
• Full Sail University: Take a moment to relax, re-charge your laptop and phones and learn about Full Sail University. Located in Winter Park, Florida (just outside of Orlando), Full Sail University specializes in an accelerated style of education geared toward video games, design, animation and more.
• GUNNAR Optiks, official licensed eyewear of MLG - Advanced Gaming Eyewear: Nab those extra frags by visiting the MLG merchandise booth where you can demo, ask questions, and purchase MLG Phantoms and MLG Legends. Keep an eye on the MLG Mobile Application for special videos, photo contests, prize giveaways, swag, and more. Plus, check throughout the venue for special GUNNAR testing stations. 
• iBUYPOWER, official gaming PC of MLG: Stop by and play on iBUYPOWER systems. Learn about the hardware engineering and design that goes into making a competitive-grade gaming system.
• Mad Catz - MLG Pro Circuit Controllers for Xbox 360 and PS3 and MLG Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition: Purchase the new MLG Pro Circuit Controller and customize!  Mad Catz will have a custom accessories station where fans can outfit their controllers with an array of colored faceplates, analog sticks, thumb pads, cables and more.
• MLG Pro Shop:  Fans can get their hands on an array of new merchandise including long sleeve shirts, hoodies, v-necks designed for girls and more.
• NOS, official energy drink of MLG: NOS invites fans to attend the NOS MLG Winter Championship Kick Off Party on Thursday, March 22 from 8pm - 12am at the Park Street Cantina in Columbus.  In celebration of the Winter Championship, stop by the party to play MLG Pro Circuit titles, sample free NOS and mingle with Pro players and MLG personalities.
• PlayStation®, official partner of MLG:  Play, Compete, and Win at the all new PlayStation Compound.  Go head to head on PS3™and PlayStation® Vita for big prizes! Compete in PS3™ exclusives like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Gran Turismo®5, Twisted Metal and Starhawk™.  Get your hands on the latest PlayStation games and experience gaming on a massive 10ft HD screen all weekend long.  
• SteelSeries: Buy MLG branded SteelSeries QcK+ mousepads in the MLG Pro Shop and participate in an exclusive survey in the SteelSeries booth that will directly impact the design of the forthcoming co-branded MLG mice and keyboards.
• Xperia™ PLAY, official mobile handset of MLG: Visit the Sony Mobile Experience to compete on the Xperia™ PLAY & Xperia™ PLAY 4G for a chance to win great prizes.  Try out titles like Modern Combat 3 by Gameloft and more.  

Online Viewing in HD

For those not attending in person, the weekend competition will be broadcast LIVE online via six HD streams at www.majorleaguegaming.com beginning March 23 at 5pm ET. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty will be featured on four streams, and two additional streams will showcase Halo: Reach and Fighting games/Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Fans can watch standard definition for free, purchase passes to watch in HD, or become MLG Gold Members to view HD streams ad-free, receive discounts on passes, merchandise and more.

Some of the most talented casters in the world of eSports will be commentating the tournament including:

• StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Four Streams): Nick Plott “Tasteless,” Dan Stemkoski “Artosis,” Marcus Graham “DJWheat,” Sean Plott “Day9,” Blizzard's Rob Simpson, and MLG’s JP McDaniel. 
• Halo: Reach (One Stream): Andy “Bravo” Dudynsky - former player turned coach, Scott “Gandhi” Lussier -returning commentator, and the legendary Dave “Walshy” Walsh, a 3x MLG National Champion who joins the line-up after announcing his retirement from playing professional Halo.
• Fighting games (One Stream):  Phil "995Phil" from TestYourMight.com, and longtime members of the fighting game community Ryan "Fubarduck" Harvey, Oscar "The Answer,” and Timothy "BrewtusBibulus."

MLG expects viewers from around the globe to tune in to the broadcast. 2011 Pro Circuit competitions drew viewers from an average of 170 countries. MLG's streaming partner is Streamworks, an international company which specializes in live, real-time video.

MLG is operating a new Pro Circuit structure for 2012 providing even more competition online and in person with the best players from around the globe.  The 2012 Pro Circuit is divided into four seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Each season features online qualifiers and Arena events that impact seeding and culminate with a final LIVE in-person Championship competition like this event in Columbus.

Future Championship events will take place as follows with locations to be announced in the coming months:  June 8-10 - MLG Spring Championship; August 24-26 - MLG Summer Championship; and November 2-4 – MLG Fall Championship. Additional information about the Winter Championship can be found at http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/competitions/30.

For more information:

Katie Goldberg  - Major League Gaming, VP Communications and PR

P: 917-338-2391

kgoldberg@mlgpro.com

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING:

Founded in 2002, Major League Gaming (MLG) (www.majorleaguegaming.com) is the dominant media property exclusively targeting tens of millions of consumers worldwide who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. The company gives aspiring gamers around the world an opportunity to compete, improve their skills, and socialize through a thriving competitive community with more than 750,000 matches each month online and LIVE in-person Pro Circuit tournaments in cities nationwide. MLG broadcasts all Pro Circuit play via LIVE streaming online to hundreds of thousands of fans from more than 170 countries. 

ABOUT BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.:

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes thirteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

ABOUT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Developed by NeatherRealm. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.  All rights reserved.

Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 

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