MLG, KeSPA and IEG announce the StarCraft II MvP Invitational

Earlier today, Major League Gaming, the Korean eSports Association and the International eSports Group unveiled the next step in the partnership between these three with the Majors vs Proleague, or MvP, StarCraft II Invitational. Kicking off later this month, this invitational will feature 48 of the best StarCraft II players in the world, including 24 that are ranked in KeSPA's OSL Proleague. Why is this such a big deal? These OSL players have among them the top names from StarCraft: Brood War that have made the transition to StarCraft II, including Flash, Bisu and Stork – three players that revolutinized the metagame back in the day, and are making strong strides in StarCraft II so far.

These 24 will be joined by 24 other top SCII pros from North America, Europe and Korea, with weekly coverage of the event on Major League Gaming's website. Players will compete for a chance at $10,000 dollars in prizes as well as a seed in the Fall Championships in Dallas on November 2nd-4th, which will include an all expenses paid trip to Dallas to compete. The top 4 KeSPA players will qualify, in addition to the top 4 from North America, Korea and Europe not a part of KeSPA. These eight will join those qualified via the Online Qualifiers, in addition to the top finishers from the Summer Championship in Raleigh.

“We are excited to unveil the MvP Invitational as the next step in our multi-year global partnership with KeSPA, a collaboration that aims to further bridge the Western and Korean StarCraft worlds,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO of Major League Gaming. “This flagship competitive program guarantees that top StarCraft II players from KeSPA’s Proleague will compete LIVE at the MLG Fall Championship in Dallas. We plan to expand MvP and roll out new programs in 2013.”

So, who's in this thing from KeSPA? Glad you asked:

A pretty stacked roster, for sure. KeSPA seems excited for this as well. “Together with MLG, we are continuing our quest to bring the world’s top players into the international spotlight and the MvP Invitational will further the global expansion of eSports,” said Lee Young Hee, President of KeSPA.

More details, including a broadcast schedle, the other players invited, and rules will be announced in the coming weeks leading up to September 24th, when MLG kicks off the event with Nick “Axslav” Ranish and Alex “Axeltoss” Rodriguez commentating. The only downside to this event is that it overrides the previous Arena events that were established to go down during this period, which includes the Fighter arena and League of Legends arena. For weekly coverage though, I think it's worth it!

Dustin Steiner is GameZone's eSports Correspondent! Follow him on Twitter @VGHC_Deitis and check out Video Gaming Hard Corps, where he is a local tournament organizer for the S. FL. Fighting Game Community.