What we see of eSport competitors doesn’t always reflect the reality behind the scenes.

Imagine this: a crowded show floor, lights, and cameras pinioned to your every movement. Tens of thousands of people riveted by each of your keystrokes. Your every kill arouses a cheer, your every death a chorus of disappointment. If you win this match, you and your team will go on to receive the kind of money normally reserved for those blessed with incredible business acumen or an inhuman grasp of general knowledge. Today, however, the prize goes to the men with the highest actions-per-minute.

• VIDEO: Major League Gaming MadCatz Controller Review -- Just In Time For MLG Anaheim

For many, this is eSports: glamorous, lucrative and paved with afterparties.

Like the video game industry itself, eSports is growing. In Korea, professional gamers are idolized in a way the Western world usually reserves for football prodigies. Barcrafts - the practice of watching Starcraft II in tandem with the communal consumption of alcohol - are springing up everywhere in the world. TV channels dedicated to competitive video games are no longer an idle dream. Last year, Gamescom played host to the 'The International', a DotA 2 tournament that rewarded the triumphant team with a million USD.

But is the reality as alluring as we think it to be?

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The Officially Licensed Major League Gaming Pro Circuit Controller for Xbox 360 was designed with customization in mind. Just in time for MLG Anaheim, this episode of Tech Junkies goes in-depth with this innovative controller and find that it's perfect for competitive gamers on the go.

Within a few quick seconds, you can switch the controller to one of three styles, thanks to the controller's ProModule system. With it, you can freely move the D-Pad and analog sticks to make your own layout, or stick with a classic Xbox 360 or PS3 layout. You can also buy additional ProModule kits in different colors, tensions, lengths, and textures.

The Pro Circuit Controller also has easily swappable, magnetic top and side plates for even more individualism. Remember that since this controller is for tournaments, teams can use these customization options to emblazon their controllers with a logo. 

For more information about the Officially Licensed Major League Gaming Pro Circuit Controller from MadCatz check after the break.

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Competitive gaming on the go is coming thanks to Major League Gaming, Sony Mobile Communications, and Gameloft's Xperia Mobile Gaming Arena (XMGA). The Arena will let gamers compete for thousands of dollars worth of prizes from just about anywhere. The first game to be featured is Gameloft's own first-person shooter Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation.

“For Gameloft, partnering with strong brands such as the MLG and Sony Mobile Communications to promote a new age of competitive mobile gaming is a very exciting time, “ said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing in the Americas at Gameloft. “Given the millions of gamers that have participated in competitions online and via console over the years, there’s a great future for the online multiplayer experience with the Xperia Mobile Gaming Arena.”

Whenever you play Modern Combat 3, your stats will automatically be updated to the leaderboards once you register for the service at Major League Gaming's mobile portal. Currently, gamers are competing to get the most kills by May 20, 2012. $1,000 will be awarded to first place, $500 to second, and $150 for third. As an incentive to get people to compete using Sony's Xperia Play, anyone who wins using one will get an extra $100.

Some people live and breath competitive gaming. Will you be competing in the XMGA, or would you rather watch a live stream of your favorite games on your phone instead? Let us know in the comments section.

Riot Games have announced the League of Legends Season 2 Championship tournaments, where $3 million will be on the line for those participating in the Regional Finals and World Championships. The $3 million prizepool is the largest prizepool in eSports history, and in Riot's own words, the tournament is, "a massive level up for eSports." In total, Riot has spent an unprecedented $5 million throughout League of Legends' second season to support its competitive community, which I think is pretty amazing.

Before we move on, check out this awesome video showcasing League of Legends' second season, as well as what you can expect from the World Championships. Plus, it's got a cinematic Teemo, something every League of Legends fan needs to see.

“We’ve already awarded more than $1,000,000 in prize money to the incredible competitors of League of Legends this season,” said Brandon Beck, co-founder and CEO of Riot Games. “It’s been humbling to watch the level of competition and the enthusiasm of the live audiences – it’s something you really have to see in person.”

• GUIDE: League Of Legends Dominion Guide: Strategies To Dominate In The Crystal Scar

Additionally, Riot's just added Spectator Mode to LoL, which allows players to drop in and spectate their friends' games. The mode also lets spectators timeshift and control the camera, but one of the best features that Spectator Mode adds is the ability to watch top LoL players compete live via the Featured Games section in the League of Legends client.

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Major League Gaming have released the details for their upcoming fighting game arena event on April 28. Both Soul Calibur 5 and Mortal Kombat will be featured in tournaments at the arena where $3,400 in prizes will be on the line. The top eight finishers from each tournament at the MLG Winter Championship will be competing between 2 PM to 10 PM EST.

If you want to check out the streamed event, you have a lot of options. MLG is broadcasting two live streams, the first featuring constant gameplay cast by Juicebox Abel, Tom Brady, while the second stream, Dr. Pepper Ultimate Access Stream, hosted by Gootecks, will feature behind-the-scenes coverage, interviews and more.You can watch both streams for free in SD over at MLG's website, or you can throw down five bucks and get an HD viewing pass.

After this arena event, MLG will hold another fighting game tournament at their Spring Championship event on June 8-10 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur 5, and King of Fighters XIII will all be featured.

After the break you can check out a full schedule breakdown of the Spring Arena event.

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Major League Gaming has announced it will be one of Blizzard's partners in promoting this year’s StarCraft 2 World Championship Series.

The StarCraft II World Championship Series USA Nationals will be held at the MLG Spring Championship – June 8-10 at the Anaheim Convention Center. 64 participants will be invited through a combination of qualifiers and the StarCraft 2 ladder to compete in a best of three games, double elimination tournament for $15k in prizing. The top 16 finishers in the USA Nationals will receive an invitation to compete in the StarCraft 2 World Championship Series North America Finals.

Valve has released some incredibly interesting heat maps from the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta, showing where hundreds of thousands of players chose to fire off their weapons. The heat map above shows a portion of the firing locations for 6.5 million bullets on the de_train map.

"A straightforward way to visualize the data we collect is through heat maps. Heat maps can reveal player preferences, choke-points in maps, sight-lines for snipers, and much more," said Valve.

According to the developer, they track nearly every player action, from individual bullets fired to weapon purchases, and all that information helps them to make better design decisions. You can head over to the CS: GO blog to check out more CS: GO de_train heat maps, including ones for Sniper Rifles, Assault Rifles, Terrorist, and Counter-Terrorist positions.

Ask the average gamer how Street Fighter correlates to poker and chances are, you're probably going to get a puzzled stare. Before I attended Seth Killian's lecture on game design in fighting games last year, I was certain that people like Hevad 'Rainkhan' Khan, who placed sixth in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, and online legend Randy 'Nanako' Lew were flukes. Now, I'm not so sure.

Earlier this month, I called up professional Street Fighter player Arturo Sanchez to ask him about the similarities between poker players and professional Street Fighter players. He told me that I would have to learn the game first. That's how I got here. It's 7'o clock in the morning and Arturo Sanchez, his voice nasally from a recent flu, is breaking down his after-hours match from Evo 2009 over Skype.

"We were doing it just for fun, but people decided to make bets." Arturo Sanchez is one of the rare few who can comment so flippantly on an encounter with Daigo Umehara, the current Guinness World holder for 'most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter'. As 'The Beast' of the competitive Street Fighter landscape appears on the screen, Sanchez grins. "I think $20, 000 USD or so exchanged hands that night."

"Street Fighter is about position and space control." Sanchez explains as he draws a line across two thirds of the screen, the characters frozen in place; Umehara is playing Ryu, Sanchez has Dhalsim."See this? This is Dhalsim's optimal range. This is my sweet spot. Daigo can't cross this line without being punished and he knows this."

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Tekken Tag Tournament 2 won't have any paid character DLC according to Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada. At Namco's Global Gamers Day, Harada said, "Tekken's never really done that before and charged for it, however we did have an [unlock] system in Tekken one to five."

Recent controversy around Street Fighter X Tekken's on-disc DLC had gamers worried that the new Tekken title might include pay-to-play characters, but Harada said that to ensure the chess-like nature of Tekken's combat, they can't continually add new characters.

• NEWS: Street Fighter X Tekken DLC On-Disc: Capcom Offers Statement

That said, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will still have cosmetic DLC, and those who pre-order the game will get early access to some characters. But, every character will be available for free after a limited time.

This seems like good news for the fighting game community. What do you guys think?

Source: Eurogamer

Hi-Rez Studios has officially launched Tribes: Ascend. The extremely fast-paced shooter enjoyed a beta with 575,000 participants playtesting the game over the course of five months. If you're not familiar with the free-to-play title, Tribes: Ascend is a team-based shooter with nine playable classes, five game-modes, and 16 maps.

“For the past 15 months, we’ve had a very passionate dev team working hard toward this goal”, said Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios COO.  “Along the way some publishers told us modern gamers couldn’t handle an FPS that was fast-paced and skill-based.  We believe otherwise.  Players seem to agree since we’ve had well over 500,000 join our Beta.  We’re excited to now grow the community further with the official release.”

You can download Tribes: Ascend for free over at the Tribes: Ascend website. If you were already playing the game before today, Hi-Rez have added a new capture the flag map, Radiance, and a new mode, Capture & Hold. If you plan on downloading the game, the first tip I can give you is to make sure not to llama grab when you're learning how to play (look it up)!

Professional gaming fans gathered on Sunday to hear from some of their favorite competitive gaming hosts and discuss the future of eSports, and it's clear this rich world with its unique set of personalities has a challenge in making itself accessible to new audiences.

Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski is a competitive StarCraft player in his own right, has been a captain of professional StarCraft teams, operates a popular stream on the TwitchTV video game internet channel, and is a well-known match commentator in professional StarCraft circles. Stemkoski feels that a chief challenge of popularizing American competitive StarCraft play is how weak America's competitive gaming circuit is compared to the rest of the world.

Getting new players into the circuit comes down in part to making players aware it even exists. TwitchTV has made strides towards accomplishing that goal. Kevin Lin, TwitchTV's Chief Operating Officer, made a guest appearance on the panel to talk about the growth of Justin.tv, the parent site from which the gaming channel spawned, and how it led to the ability to support competitive gaming broadcasts.

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Major League Gaming has announced a few details for those of you excited to watch their Spring Season events. Thanks to the success of MLG's Winter Arena event, MLG is holding two Arena Events this Spring which will culminate at the Spring Championship in Anaheim, California on June 8-10, 2012. Not only will players compete in Blizzard's eSports juggernaut StarCraft 2, but MLG has also promised additional games will be showcased. Unfortunately they haven't announced what those games are yet.

• DETAILS: MLG 2012 Pro Circuit Season Details: Introducing Regional Qualifiers, Arena Tournaments, And Winter Championships

Here's a quick breakdown of how the Spring Season will work:

• Open Online Qualifiers – March 30-April 15 – Online Only, Not Broadcast
• Spring Arena 1 – April 20-22 – NYC – LIVE Broadcast
• Invite-Only Online Qualifiers – April 27-30 – Online Broadcast
• Spring Arena 2 – May 18-20 – NYC – LIVE Broadcast
• Spring Championship – June 8-10 – Anaheim, CA – LIVE Broadcast and in-person spectators

For more information about MLG's Spring Season check after the break.

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"[Expletive]. There's a chick on our team."

These words were uttered during a DotA 2 match last week, Valve's sequel to the world's favorite Warcraft III custom map. I play a lot, but that was first time I saw my opposition abandoning one of their own to the wolves. Within moments of that first remark, more followed. One dude asked if her sandwich-making skills were up to speed. Another proclaimed the presence of a woman was a portent of defeat.

Amusingly enough, he did prove himself a competent prophet. His team was beaten soundly. But then again, they also spent far too much time asking us to commiserate, to join in on the jeering and the heckling. And though none of the malice was directed at me, it was an uncomfortable experience. Even if they were a tentacle-squid on Mars, you don’t sell out a comrade. It's just bad taste.

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Major League Gaming's Winter Championship is kicking off this weekend, March 23-25, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament marks the first major MLG event of the 9th annual Pro Circuit season and will feature over 1,000 of the world's best professional gamers competing for more than $200,000 in prizes in games like StarCraft 2, Halo: Reach, Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur 5, The King of Fighters XIII, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

The StarCraft 2 competition is definitely the one that the majority of eSports fans are looking forward to. Gamers from around the world, including places like Korea, Sweden, and Peru, will be facing off for $76,000 in prizes. MLG already held a Winter Arena event earlier this year and the top 16 finishers will all be present at MLG Columbus, including famous players like MarineKingPrime, NesTea, HuK, Oz, and Grubby.

• NEWS: MLG Winter Arena A Success; Two Arena Events Now Planned For The Spring Season

Halo: Reach gamers will be competing for $56,000 in prizes, with $20,000 going to the first place team. The biggest Halo teams in the industry will be there, including the 2011 National Championship winners Instinct, along with Str8 Rippin, Believe the Hype, Status Quo, and Warrior. MLG is also offering a $3,000 free-for-all tournament where hundreds of Halo: Reach players will be able to compete in teams of four over a three-day, double elimination tournament where the winners will walk away with $1,500 in prizes.

As for the fighting games, more than $66,000 in prizes is on the line. Here's a quick breakdown for each game: The Mortal Kombat tournament will offer a $33,400 prize pool, Soul Calibur 5 gamers are competing for $16,700 in prizes, and The King of Fighter XIII gamers are fighting for $16,700 in prizes as well. Top players like Justin Wong, Carl White, Phillip Atkinson, Bill Menoutis, Reo, CDjr, and more will all be in attendance. 

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Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams, is starring in the new film, Noobz. After watching the recent Noobz trailer, you already know that pro gaming is going to get its first Hollywood movie this year. The actress who was named after the Nintendo video game heads up an all-female pro gaming clan called the Pixies, and takes on actors Moses Aria, Matt Shively, Blake Freeman, and Jason Mewes in Gears of War 3.

Williams, who’s an avid gamer, talks about eSports, her love of Xbox Live and her own gaming background in this interview.

Did you base the Pixies off any of the female pro gaming groups like PMS?

We had a bunch of professional gamers come to set and there are quite a few teams that are in the movie. They were really fun to be around. There was one group of female pro gamers that came to set very briefly one day, but the rest of the teams were male and were really interesting and we had a lot of fun. For the first two days of filming all we did was play videogames all day.

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