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Guest
The Xiled Design Clan (XDC) Events team is always brainstorming creative ways to promote competitive fun in Xiled Gaming (XG). Recently, Syn Wackng It told me about a great idea that he has for those of you who play Call of Duty Black Ops II. He has big plans for XG, and those plans involve Major League Gaming, or MLG (http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/).
What is Major League Gaming (MLG)?
Before I describe Syn Wackng It’s idea, it’s helpful to know a little bit about MLG. If you visit MLG’s website, you’ll find competitive gaming displayed and discussed in detail; as Syn Wackng It describes it, “It’s like sports in gaming. MLG has tons of money—they do tournaments all the time, look for the best players, and the tournaments will feature the world’s best players playing against each other.” MLG covers competitions across all types of games (e.g., StarCraft, League of Legends, Call of Duty games, etc.). If you watch some of the Black Ops II videos on MLG’s home page, you’ll see live games being streamed with commentary describing player strategies and tactics, much like any pro sports game on TV.
So what makes MLG different from, say, Clan Compete? According to Syn Wackng It, “MLG tournaments take Clan Compete to a whole new level.” MLG tournaments include players from around the world, and have a very specific set of restrictions for the tournaments; these restrictions are designed to make the games less frustrating (e.g., no seeing through walls, no target finders, etc.). When you play Black Ops II in MLG tournaments, you’ll find that the gameplay is crisp, fair, and fun.
Every year, MLG hosts several seasons, which culminate in tournaments; recently, MLG has started their fourth season. At the end of all the seasons, MLG will host a yearly championship tournament where all the top players compete for a $25 million dollar prize (in a team of four, each person wins $6.25 million). This year, the championship tournament will take place during the summer in California. Some of the teams who participate in this championship tournament are randomly selected, but for the most part there is a ranking system: Iron, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and master (the top rank). Teams from all ranks are invited to participate in the summer championship. Your rank is determined by your performance throughout the season games, and there are about 150 teams per rank. When asked about how competitive these ranks are, Syn Wackng It described how his team reached gold rank after only playing 6 games: “After 6 games, we realized all we had to do was surpass 118 teams, get to platinum, and then we’d be in the top 50 teams.”
MLG and Xiled Gaming
Now that you know a little bit about MLG, how does XG fit in? Syn Wackng It wants to recruit every member of XG who is interested to join a four-person team and participate in the MLG Black Ops II seasons, tournaments, and ultimately the final championship: “I am pulling a bunch of teams together to represent XG. Once everyone comes together, I’m going to write down a full chart of names, numbers, wins, losses, kills, deaths, ratings of how good you think your teamwork skills are, etc., and I’m going to match players according to skill and team fit.” If you already have a four-person team ready to go, then you can play with your preset team. He wants to recruit players from all backgrounds, so regardless of your skill or experience with competitive gaming, you’re invited and encouraged to participate.
Syn Wackng It’s goal is to create teams, assign a captain to each team, and then ensure that teams are practicing regularly: “I’m going to coordinate with team captains about 1-2 times per week and get updates on player stats, answer any questions that come up, and provide feedback and recommendations. I’m going to meet with captains, provide them with training materials (e.g., maps with call-out spots), and encourage them to hold practices and make sure people are playing at least 1-2 hours per day.” The idea behind daily practices is to “upkeep the rank,” that is, make sure that you are holding your spot within the rank and that you’re keep your skills sharp and staying competitive. When the summer championship arrives, Syn Wackng It has agreed to help fund travel costs for players who make it to the championship.
What’s the goal?
Ideally, Syn Wackng It would like to have a total of 30-50 teams (120-200 players), but he would be satisfied with 5 committed teams (20 players). It’s about committing to the game, making sure you work well with your team, and channeling a fun, competitive spirit in Black Ops II.
What are the benefits of participating?
One of the biggest benefits of participating in MLG is having the opportunity to represent Xiled Gaming and, as Syn Wackng It puts it, “put our name out there.” Another obvious benefit is the chance to win $25 million. Personally, Syn Wackng It plans on donating money to XG if he wins the prize (e.g., to help keep the website running). Finally, this is a great opportunity to meet new people and to really solidify your skills in competitive gaming. By the end of this experience, you are guaranteed to have improved your communication, teamwork, and overall player skills.
How do I join?
If you’re interested in signing up your own team of four, or you’re interested in participating and would like to be placed in a team, here is what you have to do:
1. Contact Syn Wackng It and let him know you’re interested. You can also contact any of the following people, who are going to help Syn Wackng It put the teams together and coordinate between MLG and XG:
Syn Youboremeh
Syn Seraph
Compulsive Fade
2. Consider whether you might be interested in serving as a team captain. Syn Wackng It is looking for devoted, dedicated people to serve as team captains and coordinate between him and the team players. If you’re interested, let Syn Wackng It know.
If you have any questions about MLG or Syn Wackng It’s plan to have XG represented in MLG, feel free to contact Syn Wackng It on www.xiledgaming.com or Xbox.
What is Major League Gaming (MLG)?
Before I describe Syn Wackng It’s idea, it’s helpful to know a little bit about MLG. If you visit MLG’s website, you’ll find competitive gaming displayed and discussed in detail; as Syn Wackng It describes it, “It’s like sports in gaming. MLG has tons of money—they do tournaments all the time, look for the best players, and the tournaments will feature the world’s best players playing against each other.” MLG covers competitions across all types of games (e.g., StarCraft, League of Legends, Call of Duty games, etc.). If you watch some of the Black Ops II videos on MLG’s home page, you’ll see live games being streamed with commentary describing player strategies and tactics, much like any pro sports game on TV.
So what makes MLG different from, say, Clan Compete? According to Syn Wackng It, “MLG tournaments take Clan Compete to a whole new level.” MLG tournaments include players from around the world, and have a very specific set of restrictions for the tournaments; these restrictions are designed to make the games less frustrating (e.g., no seeing through walls, no target finders, etc.). When you play Black Ops II in MLG tournaments, you’ll find that the gameplay is crisp, fair, and fun.
Every year, MLG hosts several seasons, which culminate in tournaments; recently, MLG has started their fourth season. At the end of all the seasons, MLG will host a yearly championship tournament where all the top players compete for a $25 million dollar prize (in a team of four, each person wins $6.25 million). This year, the championship tournament will take place during the summer in California. Some of the teams who participate in this championship tournament are randomly selected, but for the most part there is a ranking system: Iron, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and master (the top rank). Teams from all ranks are invited to participate in the summer championship. Your rank is determined by your performance throughout the season games, and there are about 150 teams per rank. When asked about how competitive these ranks are, Syn Wackng It described how his team reached gold rank after only playing 6 games: “After 6 games, we realized all we had to do was surpass 118 teams, get to platinum, and then we’d be in the top 50 teams.”
MLG and Xiled Gaming
Now that you know a little bit about MLG, how does XG fit in? Syn Wackng It wants to recruit every member of XG who is interested to join a four-person team and participate in the MLG Black Ops II seasons, tournaments, and ultimately the final championship: “I am pulling a bunch of teams together to represent XG. Once everyone comes together, I’m going to write down a full chart of names, numbers, wins, losses, kills, deaths, ratings of how good you think your teamwork skills are, etc., and I’m going to match players according to skill and team fit.” If you already have a four-person team ready to go, then you can play with your preset team. He wants to recruit players from all backgrounds, so regardless of your skill or experience with competitive gaming, you’re invited and encouraged to participate.
Syn Wackng It’s goal is to create teams, assign a captain to each team, and then ensure that teams are practicing regularly: “I’m going to coordinate with team captains about 1-2 times per week and get updates on player stats, answer any questions that come up, and provide feedback and recommendations. I’m going to meet with captains, provide them with training materials (e.g., maps with call-out spots), and encourage them to hold practices and make sure people are playing at least 1-2 hours per day.” The idea behind daily practices is to “upkeep the rank,” that is, make sure that you are holding your spot within the rank and that you’re keep your skills sharp and staying competitive. When the summer championship arrives, Syn Wackng It has agreed to help fund travel costs for players who make it to the championship.
What’s the goal?
Ideally, Syn Wackng It would like to have a total of 30-50 teams (120-200 players), but he would be satisfied with 5 committed teams (20 players). It’s about committing to the game, making sure you work well with your team, and channeling a fun, competitive spirit in Black Ops II.
What are the benefits of participating?
One of the biggest benefits of participating in MLG is having the opportunity to represent Xiled Gaming and, as Syn Wackng It puts it, “put our name out there.” Another obvious benefit is the chance to win $25 million. Personally, Syn Wackng It plans on donating money to XG if he wins the prize (e.g., to help keep the website running). Finally, this is a great opportunity to meet new people and to really solidify your skills in competitive gaming. By the end of this experience, you are guaranteed to have improved your communication, teamwork, and overall player skills.
How do I join?
If you’re interested in signing up your own team of four, or you’re interested in participating and would like to be placed in a team, here is what you have to do:
1. Contact Syn Wackng It and let him know you’re interested. You can also contact any of the following people, who are going to help Syn Wackng It put the teams together and coordinate between MLG and XG:
Syn Youboremeh
Syn Seraph
Compulsive Fade
2. Consider whether you might be interested in serving as a team captain. Syn Wackng It is looking for devoted, dedicated people to serve as team captains and coordinate between him and the team players. If you’re interested, let Syn Wackng It know.
If you have any questions about MLG or Syn Wackng It’s plan to have XG represented in MLG, feel free to contact Syn Wackng It on www.xiledgaming.com or Xbox.
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