MLG Dallas 2011
In less than a week, all of the top players in world will be battling through the ranks of Starcraft 2, Halo Reach, and Call of Duty Black Ops. Putting it all on the line with every intention of taking home the win and the dreams of being a pro gamer.
Halo 3 & Halo Reach
Let’s begin Dallas with Halo Reach! The 2010 Dallas finals ended in Halo 3 with Team Final Boss winning that massive $100,000.00 prize pool. Status Quo fell short of first, landing them in second, and following them up was Instinct clenching third.
For the Halo Reach division, UoR SyA demolished the competition winning the Halo Reach finals after getting an early upset by Cloud 10. Some other noteworthy placements came from Hot Shots who lost to UoR SyA in the finals. UoR Victorious Secret, now known as UoR Invictus had stole third from the Halo Pro team Darkest Hour. But coming into this new season, the settings have changed and the players must adapt and conquer v3 to place among the top. Element and Nexus being two new maps to the Halo Reach Ladder, both being forged maps from the MLG community and hosting gametypes of Team Slayer and 5 Flag. It will be very interesting to see how the players will be implementing strategies on these new maps, so make sure to check out some live games on MLG’s stream.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty franchise has been an incredible series that has been relatively quiet in the MLG Pro Circuit. While striving on Gamebattles, it has gained enough support to force Treyarch into talks with Pro players and MLG itself, on what the next Call of Duty game will need to be adopted into the pro circuit.
Although the CoD series has been quiet within the MLG community, it hasn’t been silent. Every MLG Championship brings the MLG CoD players into light, by hosting their only LIVE event. All other ladders are run through Gamebattles as stated earlier. But the 2011 season will be the first season where Call of Duty will be officially be on the circuit with their newest installment, Black Ops. It will be interesting to see the top teams enhance old strategies with the new game, maps, weapons, and environment pressuring them. Teams that you should be on the look out for would include EnvyUs, Optic Gaming, FeaR, Influence, Leverage, and last but certainly not least, Obey!
Starcraft 2
Although Starcraft 2 is relatively new to the MLG circuit, joining it in 2010, when it was brought on, it brought a tidal wave of followers and new competitors into the arena, ready to be idolized through their elite RTS (Real Time Strategy) skills. Last years champion was LiquidJinro, we’ll see if he can continue his reign this season in the opener! Expect some tough competition from Team EG, Team Liquid, Team ROOT, and as always, Team Fnatic.
The players have had months to perfect new strategies and adjust their game according to those tactics accompanied by new patches. We’re sure to see some exciting new series, and I personally cannot wait!
All in all, this years MLG Dallas is one of kind with the entrance of Call of Duty as a full-fledged circuit game, competing for fans between MLG’s flagship, Halo and their new installment Halo Reach, along with the powerhouse newcomer Starcraft 2. If you are planning to go to Dallas, you should also be checking out their new main stage format, where every game gets its chance in glory! Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to stay tuned!
Great post Nick!
Great post Nick