MLG Online League Preview
Article Written by: Ryan "synide" Thompson


Major League Gaming announced its Online Leagues one short month ago, and since then the anticipation has been building and building. Now this baby is ready to burst, and not a second too soon. Now that “Everyone is Fair Game,” it’s time for the limits of the competitive Halo 2 community to be pushed. MLG is catering to the true hardcore gamer, by making its league a “pay to play” experience, with substantial, soon to be announced, prizes.

While this is one of the first major pay to play leagues, there has been little criticism of MLG’s choice to charge each player for entry. Requiring that the player have a credit card to play has been a negligible factor in keeping people from participating, since anyone with Xbox Live has access to a credit card anyway. Perhaps the fact that MLG is considered to be at the forefront of the competitive Halo scene (even the gametypes other leagues and tournaments are now using are referred to as “MLG Gametypes”) lent to the acceptance of the participation fee. Maybe players are just stoked to be playing their favorite gametypes online for a reason. With other online leagues moving to “MLG Gametypes,” things should get interesting for those looking to get their Halo 2 league fix.

MLG Online Leagues include two leagues: PRO and AM. Besides costing more, the PRO league promises greater challenges, and in return, much greater prizes for those daring to challenge the world’s greatest Halo 2 players. Even though tournament dominators like StK, Check 6, Str8 Rippin, and others will surely be aiming to extend their domination to the MLG Online Leagues, the PRO league also promises much more involvement. For example, side tournaments are being offered to give extra incentive to play with the big boys. All the big names are turning out to show that they have what it takes to go PRO. Those mentioned above will be playing, as are some very hot teams like Suicidal Army, Team So Much Better, VFX, Naughty Animals, -=[-BLiZ[z]oOdZ-]=-, Under the Influence, and many others. Those names may not sound familiar, but Halo teams tend to change their name every week, either conforming to the latest slang fad, or searching for that perfect name that instills fear into the hearts of the competition (keep searching guys). If you’re not familiar with these teams, you will be by the end of season one, but for now check out the MLG Online Leagues section for a rundown of each team's roster.

The AM league is the way to go for the Halo 2 player new to the scene, or those who haven’t been able to make it to one of the MLG events yet (top 64 ranked MLG players are not allowed in the AM league). While there are more teams participating, the entry fee was only half that of the PRO league and the league is more or less a “no frills” experience. With such a large team pool to work with, things could get interesting, and while most of the 150+ teams are virtually unknown, this is their time to prove themselves. There of course are some standout teams, like IoS and PMS just to name a couple, but there are sure to be some big names coming out of this league that will be known by the end of season one.

With entry to each league comes access to a 4v4 and a 2v2 event. You can participate in both, or either one by themselves. While the big prizes will be in the 4v4 events, the 2v2 has some great potential. Halo 2 fails miserably in a 1v1 environment, but leads to some very interesting 2v2 matches. This is the first time 2v2 will be tested extensively, but MLG will surely be providing the proper maps and the right gametype adjustments to make this first endeavor a successful one. There are several 2v2 teams to look out for in the PRO league, including the notorious HOODZ/ BLaDe from F3AR, KillerN/Tupac from Check 6, Zion/ Riddick, SadPanda/G-Spot, Mack/Defy, and matchmaking noobs Puckett/StKpnSHIBBY from Naughty Animals. While the 2v2 league will be single elimination, unseeded brackets unlike the 4v4, which will include pool play narrowing down the championship bracket, best of 3 sets will ensure who is the definite victor in these sure to please matchups.

In order to keep the seasons fresh, MLG opted to have a full season completed in 10 weeks. With such a large amount of participants, this means you will be playing two 4v4 matches a week, and one 2v2 a week, if you are participating in both events. With a “pay to play” model, the MLG Online Leagues hopefully won’t have the large amounts of forfeits/dropping teams that plague other online leagues. They’ve allowed room for a 5th member to rotate in case of scheduling conflicts. It seems as if they would allow an infinite size roster (that’s just more money for prizes), but requiring players to stick with a core roster should influence more solid teamwork, assuming the ever-so-popular clan drama doesn’t erupt and split a team. There is no alternate slot for 2v2, but with only one match a week, surely everyone can find a time to schedule to play. The biggest complaint about the Online League would probably have to be the fact that 3 matches a week is simply too much. But since the participants are paying to play, and the league is geared toward the hardcore Halo player, surely nobody will be looking to waste their money by missing a game. A double elimination 4v4 bracket (single in 2v2) doesn’t leave much room for forfeiting.

A lot of the exact details, like official rules, gametypes, prizes, and the actual matches haven’t been released yet, but are sure to come very soon, now that registration is closed. This is MLG’s first foray into online leagues, but their unprecedented experience in tournament management, and keen ear to the competitive community’s tastes should make it a successful one. It’s hard to tell at this point if the MLG Online League will lead to some great online times, or just lead to constant “lag” bickering, standby accusations, and grudge matches, but GotFrag will be here covering every second of it with extensive weekly predictions and breaking news from the front lines of this inaugural season.