League of Legends MLG Summer Arena kicks off today

The League of Legends MLG Summer Arena kicks off today at 5:00 PM EST – extending all weekend long, four of the best LoL teams in the world will be competing at the first Arena event for the Riot Games title, live on MLG's website.

Which teams will be competing? Making their North American and MLG debut, Korean team Azubu Blaze will join North American (and fanfavorite) team SoloMid, winners of the MLG Spring Championship, the MLG EU qualifier winner Team Black and Curse Gaming, the MLG North American qualifier winner. These teams are competing for a chance at a $10,000 dollar 1st place prize, in addition to having airfare and room/board paid for by MLG for the event.

Matches will be cast by the all star Lineup of Leigh Smith (Deman), Dan Dinh, and Trevor Henry (Quickshot). Every single match of the tournament will be broadcast resulting in more than 20 hours of gameplay!

The tournament will be broacast live across three streams for free in SD, though viewers can upgrade to HD to watch all streams in up to 1080p without ads.

Below, we've (conveniently) provided you with the broadcast schedule!

Broadcast Schedule (All times ET):

·         Friday, August 3
5:00 PM – 7:30 PM Round Robin Match 1
7:30 PM – 10:00 PM Round Robin Match 2

·         Saturday, August 4
2:00 PM – 4:30 PM Round Robin Match 3
4:30 PM – 7:00 PM Round Robin Match 4

·         Sunday, August 5
             10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Round Robin Match 5
              12:30 PM – 3:00 PM Round Robin Match 6
                 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM Final

Here's some more from on each of the teams, from MLG's press release:

Invited Teams:

Team Azubu Blaze: The team’s participation marks the first time a Korean LoL team has competed in a tournament in North America. Azubu Blaze won the OnGameNetThe Champions Spring 2012 and have been tearing through the world's top rosters.

Team SoloMid: Winners of the MLG Spring Championship, MLG Providence 2011, IPL 4, the Gigabyte eSports LAN, the Reign of Gaming International Invitational, and the LeaguecraftggClassic, SoloMidwill be looking to maintain their MLG winning streak at the Arena.

Qualifying Teams:

EU Qualifier: Team Black: The European winners are a newly-formed team who hit the scene with a bang, blasting through the MLG Online Qualifiers, taking out Curse EU in the Final.

NA Qualifier: Curse Gaming: Curse squeaked into the Top 8 at the MLG Spring Championship and in the Online Qualifier, they defeated CLG Black and Orbit Gaming. VOD from the NA OQ Final will be available soon on MLG.tv.

Dustin Steiner is GameZone's eSports Correspondent! Follow him on Twitter @VGHC_Deitis to talk eSports, and check out the S. FL. Competitive Gaming organization Video Gaming Hard Corps, where he is a tournament organizer!