2011 MLG Pro Circuit

[e][h]2011 MLG Pro Circuit

League Information

Organizer:

Major League Gaming

Game Version:

Wings of Liberty
Patch 1.3.1 – Patch 1.4.2

Type:

Event Circuit

Location:

 World

Start Date:

2011-04-01

End Date:

2011-11-20

Liquipedia Tier:

Misc

The '2011 MLG Pro Circuit was a series of live events running throughout the year 2011 and was MLG's second season which featured StarCraft II. By participating in these events, players won prize money and accumulated points dependent on their results for seeding purposes at future MLG Pro Circuit events in the season. All 2011 MLG Pro Circuit events were open events (including the National Championship). For the 2011 season, StarCraft II was played alongside Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops. Because StarCraft II was released before the start of the season, there were six live events for StarCraft II. StarCraft II competition was given its own full stage at each event as well as a dedicated stream.

Events

The 2011 MLG Pro Circuit featured six live events:

Circuit / Regular Season

• MLG Dallas 2011 1–3 April 2011
• MLG Columbus 2011 3–5 June 2011
• MLG Anaheim 2011 28–31 July 2011
• MLG Raleigh 2011 26–28 August 2011
• MLG Orlando 2011 12–16 October 2011

Finals / National Championship

• MLG Providence 2011 18–20 November 2011

Circuit Prize Pool Each event will have a $14,000 prize pool allocated to winners as such: Place Prize 1st $5000 2nd $3000 3rd $2000 4th $1400 5th $1000 6th $700 7th $500 8th $400

Finals Prize Pool The Finals event will have a $120,000 prize pool allocated to winners as such: Place Prize Champion $50,000 Runner-Up $25,000 3rd $15,000 4th $10,500 5th $7500 6th $5250 7th $3750 8th $3000

Recap of 2011 Pro Circuit

The 2011 Season for MLG included a lot of firsts. It was the first time that a PC game was on MLG's main stage. It was the first year to see the Pool play and the MLG style Championship Bracket system. It was the first year to see an exchange program which had players from the GSL get flown over to compete in MLG and vice versa. First time they ran two simultaneous streams for one title. They also continually broke viewer-ship records. Even though the season started out rocky later events have shown they can put on very good events and they are liked by players and spectators alike.

Dallas

The first MLG event of the year, it was plagued by lag both for the players and for the streams. And on the first day some of the open bracket players had to stay around to as late as 2 AM to finish their matches.

The event was also the theatre of a new act of the IdrA/HuK rivalry. The latter indeed made IdrA quit prematurely a game where he had a significant supply advantage by hallucinating several Void Rays, which led to a heated conversation between the two players in the chat.

However this tournament was dominated by NaNiwa. The Swedish Protoss player started his tournament in the open bracket and didn't drop a single game through pool play and all the way up until the finals against KiWiKaKi, ending with a total game score of 26 - 2 at this event.

Columbus

The Columbus stop was MLG's renaissance. Embarrassed by the stream quality problems that plagued Dallas, MLG introduced a brand new infrastructure for handling their streams, outsourcing the service to (company name).

This event was also the debut of the GSL-MLG Exchange Program. MC, MMA, LosirA, and Moon all traveled from Seoul and competed in pool play. Certainly due in part to the new player exchange, interest in StarCraft II at Columbus was unprecedented. The assembly of fans in Columbus created one of the largest, loudest, most enthusiastic atmospheres for StarCraft II to date. While crowds for successive events have continued to grow, Columbus set the standard for fan attendance.

This tournament was also MMA's coming out party. While the young Terran had already proved himself to be a dangerous player (particularly in the team leagues), his moniker as "son of BoxeR" was still largely unsubstantiated. However, largely on the strength of his new terrifying drop-heavy TvZ style, MMA stormed through the tournament. He went 8-0, only dropping two maps total as he won the tournament in commanding fashion.

Anaheim

Following the pattern laid out by the MLG Columbus, MLG Anaheim took a notable step forward compared to the previous events. With a production now freed of its internet connection issues for good, and an impressive line-up of Korean invites featuring the two-times GSL champion Mvp, the Brood War legend BoxeR, the GSTL most effective player DongRaeGu, and the reigning MLG champion MMA, the MLG Anaheim generated a gigantic fan interest that led StarCraft II to be broadcast from the main stage for the first time of MLG's history.

As expected by many commentators, the Korean invites overwhelmed their host, relegating the best-ranked foreigner to the seventh place of the tournament. The grand finals featured the reigning champion, MMA, against Mvp in a remake of the ace match of the second GSTL finals. Mvp, who had been flawless in his previous matches, with a 5-0 record in group stage and a victory against the ZvT expert DongRaeGu, eventually managed to defeat his opponent, hence winning the MLG Anaheim on his first attendance in a foreign event. BoxeR ultimately took a convincing third place, and would be remembered for his one hour long game against Rain wich ended in a confrontation between two 200/200 all aerial armies as well as for his fratricidal match against his teammate and pupil MMA.

This situation led many fans to speculate on the ability of the foreign players to put on an equal footing with their Korean opponents, and on the possibility that the Koreans takeover the first places of every oncoming MLG.

Orlando

Last step before the national championships in Providence, the MLG Orlando was the occasion for the StarCraft II community to prove its dedication to the professional scene. MarineKing was indeed able to attend the MLG for the first time thanks to a fundraiser held by SCReddit and organised by Milkis. His participation alongside the former GSL champion Polt, the reigning MLG champion Bomber, and several other strong Korean players such as PuMa, Rain and MC didn't bode well for the foreigners, and the fans prepared themselves for a new repetition of the Korean domination. However, the tournament didn't run as predicted, as HuK and IdrA took respectively the first and fourth place. Both of them had to make their way in spite of a strong opposition; IdrA knocked-out BoxeR and the reigning MLG champion Bomber, while HuK defeated MarineKing and MC.

The outcome of the event were that HuK became the only two-times MLG champion so far, and that the Korean players weren't inaccessible. However, the failure of the seeded foreigners in pool play proved that the gap between HuK and IdrA and the others was enormous. On a more trivial matter, HuK's victory put an end to the curse that prevented players who had already attended MLG to win one.

Circuit / Regular Tournament Format

The tournament format for the five regular season 2011 MLG Pro Circuit events is given below. (Note: The National Championship at MLG Providence 2011 has a modified format.)

• Open Bracket

• 256 Players will play in the Open Bracket til Top 4.
• Top 4 from open bracket will join Top 20 Seeded players in the Championship Bracket pool play.
• The Open Bracket is a double-elimination (including the Losers Open Bracket), best of three bracket.
• Players that lose in the Open Bracket will be placed in the Losers Open Bracket.

• Championship Bracket

• Top 16 Ranked players will be seeded into upcoming events pool play.
• 2011 MLG Dallas will seed top 16 players from 2010 overall rankings.
• As of 2011 MLG Columbus, there will be an additional player in each pool.
• Because of the way Pool Play works, there will be no more Placement Rounds within the Championship Bracket.
• The Top 16 seeded players and 4 GSL invitees will be divided into four pools of five players each.
• The sixth player for each pool will be derived from the four winners in the Open bracket.
• The top 20 seeded players will face off against each other to determine pool standings with the Top 4 open bracket player having to face all 5 players in the pool depending on the standing beginning with the 5th Place player and ending with the 1st Place player.
• The results of Pool Play will dictate where each player is placed in the Championship Bracket.

• Pool Play Results
• 1st Place – Winners Bracket Semi-Finals

• 2nd Place - Losers Bracket Round 7

• 3rd Place – Losers Bracket Round 6

• 4th Place – Losers Bracket Round 5

• 5th Place – Losers Bracket Round 4

• 6th Place – Losers Bracket Round 3

• Extended Series Rules

• If two players meet again for the second time, they will play an extended series, taking the previous best-of-three results into account.

• Best of 3 + Best of 3 = Best of 7

• Best of 3 + Best of 5 = Best of 9

• Best of 5 + Best of 5 = Best of 11

Maps

Example: Main base ramp. Placing two bunkers is not possible

MLG uses various maps created by a Blizzard, GSL and iCCup and republishes them under an MLG tag with slight modifications:

• Neutral lowered Supply Depots are placed below the ramp of every spawning position.
• Close ground distance spawns are disabled.

Rules

Equipment

Players must bring their own mouse, keyboard, headsets, and mouse pad. Players must use the PC and Monitor provided by MLG. Headsets must utilize a standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack with a separate 3.5mm microphone jack. Players may not use USB headsets. Mice and keyboards must utilize standard USB interfaces. Players may not use PS2 interface equipment. All Players must submit their mouse, keyboard, and headset driver requirements by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, March 28. No drivers, that have not been previously submitted, will be installed at the Competition. All Player equipment is subject to approval. All interface changes must be supervised by a StarCraft II Referee or the StarCraft II Tournament Director. Players must provide their own Battle.net account with an active StarCraft II license for the North American (NA) Region. Players may not use 3rd party Add-ons. Players may not alter game files or modify drivers. Breaking Equipment Rules #8 or #9 will result in a Forfeit of the Game. Players may not change the Computer/Monitor sound and video settings in Windows. Players may not change the in-game video settings to Ultra. Players may not use the Windowed or Windowed (Full Screen) Display Modes. Players who break Equipment Rules #11-13 will be given a Warning. Each subsequent Warning that a Player receives will result in a Forfeit of the Game.

General Rules

The latest official Patch version will be used throughout the Event. Players may not appear on a Main Stage or Feature Station with sponsor insignia that is not approved by MLG or conflicts with MLG sponsors. Players and Coaches may be asked to wear MLG apparel for Main Stage and Feature Station Matches. In the case of a Computer/Monitor/Internet/Battle.net malfunction, the Game will be restarted from the beginning. No Warm-Up Games may be played outside of scheduled Warm-Up periods. During Friday and Saturday’s scheduled Warm-Up periods, all Players must get up at the end of a Game and allow any Players, who have been waiting, to take their seat. During Saturday and Sunday’s scheduled Warm-Up periods, Players who haven’t been eliminated from the Event have priority over other Players regarding the use of open Stations. Players who break General Rules #4-6 may be given a Foul (See Pro Circuit Conduct Rules). If a Player fails to report to their Station within 5 minutes of their Match’s announcement, they will Forfeit the 1st Game. 10 minutes after the announcement, a Player will Forfeit their Best of 3 Game Match or the 2nd Game of their Best of 7 Game Match. 15 minutes after the announcement, a Player will Forfeit their Best of 7 Game Match. If both Players Forfeit their Match, the higher seeded Player will win the Match. Players may be disqualified if they leave their Station without their Referee’s permission, or are otherwise unable to play. Referees may set a time limit for a Player who has requested that they be allowed to leave their Station, however, Referees may also deny a Player’s request to leave their Station. Players may be disqualified if they haven’t returned by the end of their Referee’s set time limit. In order to dispute Game results, Players must notify their Referee that they would like to Protest the Game. In order to dispute Match results, Players must notify their Referee that they would like to Protest the Match. Players must notify their Referee of their intent to Protest a Game before a new Game has begun. Players must notify their Referee of their intent to Protest a Match before the Match’s Score Sheet has been submitted to the StarCraft II Tournament Director.

Gameplay

No Pausing a Game without Referee’s permission. If an issue arises that requires a Pause, Players should contact their Referee immediately. Referees may approve or deny a Player’s request to Pause the Game. Pausing a Game without Referee’s permission will result in a Warning. Each subsequent Warning that a Player receives will result in a Forfeit of the Game (See Gameplay Rule #18). Players may not look at an opposing Player’s Monitor or projected screen. Players may not chat in-game unless they are engaging in pre-game sportsmanship or surrendering the Game. Players must disable Toast Notifications in the Battle.net options. Players must set their status to Busy. Breaking any of Gameplay Rules #2-5 will result in a Forfeit of the Game. Any sign of cheating may result in a Forfeit of the Game, disqualification from the Event, a Temporary Ban from MLG’s Network of Websites (including majorleaguegaming.com and gamebattles.com), the loss of a Pro Player benefit(s), a fine, and a Competition Ban for a future Pro Circuit Competition(s). The Map for Game 1 of each Match will be selected by MLG and announced prior to the Event. Prior to the start of a Best of 3 Game Match and the Blind Pick of Races, each Player may select one Map, from the list of Maps, that can’t be chosen for Games 2 or 3. The lower seeded Player will be given the opportunity to select a Map first. The higher seeded Player will then be given the opportunity to select a Map. Players won’t be able to select Maps that can’t be chosen in the Finals. The loser of a Game must select the Map for the next Game. No Map may be played more than once in the same Best of 3 Game Match, Best of 7 Game Match, or in the Finals. Players may request that their Referee conduct a Blind Pick of Races for all Games. Both Players may switch their Race after each Game. If a Game is started without the approval of a Referee it will be restarted. Players who quit out of a Game before it has ended, without Referee’s permission, will Forfeit the Game. Players whoare disqualified prior to the start of a Game will not be allowed to play in the Game. Players who are disqualified during a Game must quit out of the Game. Players who are disqualified won’t receive any Rank Points for their ranking in the Event. The higher seeded Player must host all Games in a Match unless the Match is broadcasted. If a Match is broadcasted, an observer will host all Games in the Match. Only MLG Staff members may connect to the server as an observer. Inviting someone to observe a Match without Referee’s permission will result in a Warning. Each subsequent Warning that a Player receives will result in a Forfeit of the Game(See Gameplay Rule #1). If a Player loses their connection to the Host during a Game, the Game must be replayed. If an observer loses their connection to the Game, but both Players remain in the Game, the Game must continue. The higher seeded Player must play as the Red team and the lower seeded Player must play as the Blue team. If all Minerals on the Map have been consumed and no Units or Structures have been killed/destroyed for 5 minutes, the Game will be replayed.

GSL-MLG Exchange Program

Main article: GSL-MLG Exchange Program

In May 2011 it was announced that starting from MLG Columbus 2011 a player exchange program between GSL and MLG would be in place, allowing the top placing players in MLG to play in the GSL as well as seeding selected GSL players into the MLG Pool play.
The GSL spots are awarded as follows:

• GSL Code S status will be awarded to the highest placing player, within the Top 3, regardless of country of origin, who does not already have Code S status. Code S status will not be awarded if all of the players placing 1st-3rd already have Code S Status.
• GSL Code A status will be awarded to the next three highest placing non-Korean players. If Code S status is awarded to a Korean player, or not awarded at all, Code A status also will be awarded to the 4th highest placing non-Korean player.

External links

• MLG Homepage
• MLG Pro Circuit Homepage
• 2011 MLG Pro Circuit Information Centre