Two weeks ago MLG announced the addition of StarCraft II. Now, MLG has released the names of the sixty-four players who will be competing at the first event!

Out of the sixty-four players, six are currently ranked in the Top 10 in North America. CompLexity’s very own Silver will be in attendance and is currently ranked 10th!

Registered Players

Players in bold are ranked in the top 10 in North America.

For only $10 you can watch Halo 3, StarCraft II, World of Warcraft and Tekken6 in HD! You can Purchase the HD pass HERE.

Meet the casters for StarCraft 2:

Sean “Day9” Plott is an 11-year veteran player and StarCraft commentator, known to the majority of the StarCraft 2 community for his “Day9 Daily” internet live stream shows. His expertise at the game and exciting personality make Day9 a community favorite.

JP McDaniel has made a name for himself in the ever-growing StarCraft 2 community with his commentary on the MLG KOTBH SC2 beta Showmatch series, as well as with his community outreach efforts and extensive PR experience in StarCraft and World of Warcraft.

Alex “HDStarCraft” Do and Mike “Husky” Lamond hardly need any introduction. Boasting the #3 and #4 rated channels on YouTube, with replays reaching beyond 150,000 views each, this dynamic duo’s high-definition StarCraft 2 replay commentaries have taken the gaming community and the public by storm. Their energetic play-by-play and “everyman” analysis gives their broadcasts the perfect blend of game knowledge and layman’s commentary.

Make sure you stay locked to complexitygaming.com as we will be on scene in Raleigh bringing you LIVE coverage of the first North American StarCraft II Lan.

Early yesterday we discovered that Rod “Slasher” Breslau, a prominent figure in the Quake community had been banned from entering the QuakeCon event. Rod was scheduled to broadcast the event, however he was barred due to breaking an NDA contract that he entered with iD Software as he assisted with the focus tests required to improve the game.

Upon hearing this information, we sat down with Rod to get his take on the situation and the true details behind it.

First of all, can you tell us a little bit about your Quake history and your involvement in the QuakeCon event?

I’ve been playing the Quake series for a little over a decade now. I skipped Quake 1/Quakeworld and started with Quake 2, playing that for seven years, nearly all competitive play, in CTF, TDM and Duel. Switched over to Quake 3 VQ3 and CPM for a year and a half or so, and Quake Live since the launch of closed beta. Besides playing, I’ve promoted, marketed, covered, broadcasted, podcasted and community managed different aspects of the game for a long time. I have gone as a journalist to QuakeCon since 2005, and have broadcasted the previous three years (2007 with GGL, 2008 with PlanetQuake3.net, and 2009 as Live On Three). Out of all the eSports/competitive gaming events of the year, I have always considered QuakeCon to be my home game and home event, and have always had good relations with id Software.

Can you tell everyone exactly what happened to result in a ban from the entire event?

It’s actually quite long regarding certain circumstances, but here’s the short version. I broke the Non-Disclosure Agreement that came with the Focus Test to Quake Live, which is the area where new maps and features are tested out within the game. I had signed the NDA into the Focus Test when it first launched over a year and a half ago, but have not logged into the focus area for nearly 8-9 months, and have not received an email from the Focus group since December 1st, 2009. In those past 8 months, other users have broken their NDA’s and leaked multiple bits of information on the main community hub ESReality. In the middle of downtime on the first day of broadcasting ESWC, I spoke for two minutes reading off the leaks that were made public on ESReality, including the fact that id Software would be releasing new TDM, CTF and Duel maps to Quake Live, and named Aerowalk in particular. Although I had not logged into the Focus Test in quite a while, and the information was public, I had still signed the NDA previously, and was therefore banned from Quake Live for a month. Then a few days ago I received an email stating I would not be allowed to enter QuakeCon 2010.

After learning that you would be barred from entering the event what were your emotions? What are your thoughts on the decision?

Disheartening, frustrating and unjustified. I had figured my month-long ban from Quake Live would suffice as punishment for my actions. I was set and ready to do on-site coverage on behalf of TeK-9.org and Crossfire.nu, the two largest non-ESReality Quake communities on the net, along with cross-postings to ESR itself. No one is taking my place on these sites to do coverage, so all it did was remove coverage from the three most popular Quake community sites in existence. I’m not able to see all the players, broadcasters, journalists, community members and other friends who I sparingly see, or only see at QuakeCon once a year. I’m not around for the full launch of Quake Live, which is a very important time for the game’s overall lifespan.

Many people have expressed their concerns with quality of the tournament thus far. How do you think it’s going? What needs to be improved?

Well there were no games broadcasted yesterday, and today has had it’s problems as well. This seems to be a running trend at QuakeCon to as far back as I can remember, regardless of who is broadcasting the games. I don’t know if this will ever be fixed. The list of things to improve is pretty long.

What do you see for the future of Quake Live? How has iD Software handled the event issues thus far?

I’m not sure. Some people will buy it, and that should give incentive for iD Software to continue updating the game, but I don’t know if -enough- people will buy it. It’s a very strange pricing plan to launch off of, and the community response has been mixed. 

Will we see you at QuakeCon 2011?

I hope so. All I want to do is push the game and community forward, not backwards.

Anything you’d like to say?

I appreciate the concern and interest from the community in this situation. I’m doing off-site coverage on ESReality.com throughout the weekend, and urge anyone to check it out

Console game sales fell 1 percent in July, but with the release of StarCraft II PC sales rose 103 percent. This helped to increase overall game sales by 4 percent for the month.

Last July sales of Console game hardware, software and accessories was $850.6 million, dropping 1 percent this year to $846.5 million. Hardware sales were up 12 percent, to $313.8 million in sales because of the release of the slimmer version of the Xbox 360

XBox 360 is the leading console for the second month in a row, selling 443,500 units. The Nintendo DS comes in second with 398,400 units sold. PlayStation 3 only managed to sell 214,500 units, but Sony says sales are up 45 percent year-to-date in the United States.

Microsoft is stating its hardware has outsold PlayStation 3 for seven straight months and the Wii for two. In the month of July a total of $290 million was spent on Xbox 360 products.

In the last four days of July StarCraft II sold 721,000 copies.

Source: venturebeat

E-Stars Seoul gets underway shortly with their first event, the Continental Cup. Team West will take on Team East in two different events.

The first event will feature three maps. Each coach will pick a team to compete on the predetermined map. The maps are de_tuscan, de_inferno and de_dust2.

The next event will be Deathmatch. The rules are simple. You lose your out, if you win you keep playing. The winner will be crowned when the other team has no remaining squads.

The final event of e-Stars Seoul will be King of the Game. This is a regular Counter-Strike tournament. Team East and West will split back up and compete in a round robin format. The top four will advance to a best-of-three playoff stage.

To watch the event LIVE, head on over to the live stream.

Team East

TyLoo
WeMade Fox
TitaNs

Team West

fnatic
MYM
Frag eXecutors

Threesome Stage

 

Team West

0

0

0

2

Team East

0

0

0

1

Map 1: de_tuscan FX vs WeMade Fox 16-8

Map 2: de_inferno MYM vs TitaNs 16-4

Map 3: de_dust2 fnatic vs TyLoo 16-11

Deathmatch Stage

 

Team West

0

0

0

3

Team East

0

0

0

0

Map 1: de_train fnatic vs WeMade Fox 16-5

Map 2: de_nuke fnatic vs TitaNs 16-2

Map 3: de_tuscan fnatic vs TyLoo 16-14

The WCG has announced the cast for Season 2 of the WCG Ultimate Gamer competition, with the Grand Finals in Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Included in the list are some notable names from the CGS-era, including Kat Gunn, Vanessa Arteaga, and Yaz “Clown” Ammari. Below is the complete list of cast members from the official press release:

The Cast

* Yazan Ammari,  Granada Hills, CA – Sometimes called “The Clown,” Yaz can be the best friend of his fellow competitors, or their worst enemy as he laughs his way to the top.

* Vanessa Arteaga, Modesto, CA – Vanessa burst onto the professional gaming scene and made an immediate impact with her superior skills, model looks and attitude. Vanessa is generally a nice girl, but if you make her angry, watch out, because there could be an explosion!

* Ryan Burnett, Portland, OR – From the Northwest, Ryan was kicked out of the house at 13; he credits video games for ‘saving his life’ and propelling him to be the biggest gamer in Oregon…but can he be the best of the best-

* Sebastian Burton, Stamford, CT – “Chosen1” Is a trash-talker who aims to dominate the gaming world. Even though he has a tough exterior, he will give you the shirt off his back if you need it.

* Katherine Gunn, Lancaster, CA – “Kat” is a natural born talent in gaming as she was raised in a gaming family. With the pedigree, don’t underestimate her skills and passion to work her way to the top just because she is a girl gamer.

* Michael LaBelle, Houston, TX – The resident jock of the cast, Michael is known for his specialty in sports games and his self-proclaimed way with the ladies.

* Faye Mata, Kenosha, WI – This pre-med student says that drama just seems to follow her wherever she goes. Faye doesn’t let the haters – especially other females – bother her as she works to smash the competition.

* AJ Mazur, Shelton, CT – Don’t be fooled by this self-described ‘typical dorky gamer.’ AJ is a fierce competitor and is currently up for a “Rock Band” World record.

* Caesar Noreiga, Parlin, NJ – “Mr. Suave” is Jersey born, but spends his time perfecting his skills on a wide range of games instead of working on his tan – as a result, he’s raked up several top tournament finishes in the process.

* Jacob “Jake” Pfister, Kent, OH – This passionate gamer rallied online and offline supporters to win his way onto the show as the 12th contestant. Jake hates being worse than someone at anything, which drives him to prove he’s the best gamer.

* Rachel Quirico, Branchburg, NJ – Rachel knows she is cute but she is more than a pretty face as she is well known throughout the professional community for her gaming skills and blazing confidence – she’s relentless on girl and guy gamers alike.

* Justin Wong, New York City, NY – “JWong” is known as the best “Street Fighter” player in the United States. A force to be feared, he supports his parents by gaming, though they are unaware of his profession. Can Justin conquer WCG Ultimate Gamer using his self-proclaimed “Justin Wong Factor-“

What is the WCG Ultimate Gamer?

In WCG Ultimate Gamer, a dozen top gamers from around the country are invited to a posh loft space to live and battle together in a series of competitions that take them “beyond the game.” From real-life challenges inspired by top-selling games to head-to-head elimination matches before hundreds of screaming spectators, the last gamer standing will have survived gaming’s ultimate test and will be dubbed the best all-around gamer in the US, taking home $100k, the ultimate Samsung Electronics prize package, Alienware’s high-performing gaming desktop, the Aurora, and the chance to be the face of World Cyber Games, representing the WCG at events around the world.

The show will air on Thursday nights at 11PM beginning on August 19th on Syfy. For more information about the show, click here.

For months, there have been rumors as to where the WCG USA qualifier would be, but today the WCG organization has announced that the qualifier would be held at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.

Hundreds of gamers will take to their respective games for their chance at representing team USA only 2 weeks later in Los Angeles. Included in these gamers are various members of the compLexity family including coL.cs and coL.FIFA.

View Larger Map

The grand finals will be held from September 30th through October 3rd at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Stay tuned to compLexityGaming.com for live coverage of both events.

Made in Brazil have announced the addition of Carlos “viol” de Paula, who fills the empty spot left by Frederico “RedFox” Bernardes. Viol has played for kaOz and playArt. He is also a former teammate of Maluk3 and mch.

Redfox was replaced because he was unable to commit as much time as the other members of the squad. Mibr has a busy upcoming schedule with the WCG Qualifier, Mega GamerHours Acervus Cup, FIRE Brasil and KODE5 Brazil.

Redfox did not have as much time to spend as the rest of the team, as we are eyeing the many tournaments ahead. We want to increase the pace and it was already hard for him before.” – Filipe “bt0” Moreno, Mibr CS Captain.

Mibr.cs is now:

Filipe “bt0” Moreno
Alan Diego “adr” Riveros
Pedro “Maluk3” Campos
Jean Michel “mch” D’Oliveira
Carlos “viol” de Paula

Translation by Hltv.org

Loaded, via their website, has announced the addition of two new players to their roster in Scott “evolution” Cavallero and Sean “sgares” Gares. With the change comes the decision to replace Paul “Adrenaline” Baker and Anthony “djibouti” Manosca.

The community has already seen this roster perform in the EG Master’s Cup where the team placed second behind compLexity, taking home $1,000 in prize money. The team is now preparring for for the upcoming CEVO and ESEA-Invite Season’s as well as the WCG USA Finals.

Sean “sgares” Gares had this to say to GoLoaded.com:

I’ve never been happier about joining a team. This team has so much potential, but is already the best team I’ve been on. With a few intense practice sessions I can easily see us being the best in the US in addition to contending internationally! Steno is probably the best in game leader in the US scene at the moment, and is constantly helping and giving advice in practices. Hostile is a great motivator in addition to being the best at his role. Pauly is our young gunner who’s always looking to better himself, and is just in love with the game. What sets this team apart from others though is the family atmosphere where everyone can take criticism and constantly better themselves.

The Loaded roster is now as follows:

Paul “pauLy” Guerboyan
Shaun “hostile” Catron
Nazar “steno” Vynnytsky
Scott “evolution” Cavallero
Sean “sgares” Gares

Along with the announcement that ESEA will continue their support for TF2 for ESEA-Invite Season 7 comes the announcment of 7 of the participating teams, as well as the list of 3 teams that you can vote for. The list of teams are as follows:

ComplexityTF2
EG TF2
Apocalypse Gaming
Blight Gaming TF2
eMazing Gaming TF2
Purple Cobras
Team neXziL

The following is a list of teams that didn’t make the original list, but with your help, can find themselves in ESEA-Invite for Season 7.

Harmonic
Apoplexy Industries
Vicious Gaming TF2

To place your vote, click here. The voting process will run for 48 hours.