MLG StarCraft 2 invitational begins tonight

Though League of Legends and Call of Duty are steadily moving into the mainstream, there’s still no game played as competitively as StarCraft. There’s just something about it that’s fun to watch at a professional level, especially for those of us who still struggle to take down computer opponents on the easiest setting (they totally cheat). For those who are good – really good – it’s an entirely different game, and MLG is taking the best and pitting them against each other in a global StarCraft 2 Invitational tournament.

Starting tonight at 7pm ET you can watch the preliminary rounds on MLG.tv as 24 of the top StarCraft 2 players in the world go head-to-head in three regional brackets (North America, Korea, and Europe) competing for prize money and a shot in the finals. The stakes are high. A victory in each region earns the winner $2,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to the finals in Providence, RI, where the finalists will battle the Blizzcon 2011 Champion for an additional $3,000. It might not sound like a huge amount of money, especially when compared to the millions of dollars professional athletes take home, but it’s still a significant chunk of change to give to the people who regularly kick our butts whenever we try to play StarCraft II online.

The full schedule and roster is below, and you can check out all of the events on MLG.tv. Anyone planning on watching?

The Players

Europe:

- Naniwa

- Sjow

- Ret

- Haypro

- Thorzain

- White-Ra

- Jinro

- SaSe

North America:

- Idra

- KiwiKaki

- Slush

- Sheth

- Tyler

- Major

- Destiny

- iNcontroL

Korea:

- MMA

- MVP

- Losira

- Boxer

- Puma

- Hero

- Bomber

- CoCa

Full Schedule (All broadcasts begin at 7pm ET)

9/13/11

North America – Winners Round 1

9/15/11

Europe – Winners Round 1

9/20/11

Korea – Winners Round 1

9/22/11

North America – Winners Round 2 / Losers Round 1

9/27/11

Europe – Winners Round 2 / Losers Round 1

9/29/11

Korea – Winners Round 2 / Losers Round 1

10/4/11

North America – Losers Round 2

Europe – Losers Round 2

10/6/11

Korea – Losers Round 2

10/10/11

North America – Winners Finals / Losers Round 3

Europe -Winners Finals / Losers Round 3

10/18/11

Korea – Winners Finals / Losers Round 3

10/20/11

North America – Losers Finals / Finals

Europe – Losers Finals / Finals

10/25/11

Korea – Losers Finals / Finals

11/18/11

FINALS at MLG Providence Pro Circuit Championship

Sep 13, 2011