Year after year, it seems that the Columbus event on the MLG Pro Circuit is always about setting records across the board. Maybe it’s because Columbus and it’s centralized location is easy to get to for many of the circuit regulars. Maybe it’s because the date for the event is perfectly timed right as summer break begins for many. Maybe it’s because of the irresistible draw of all those haunters in the expo hall next door who put on an amazing show with all of the Halloween costumes and props. Maybe it’s because everyone is trying to fight for a little respect as the result of their teams not placing quite where they wanted on the season opener. For whatever the reason, this event continued the record breaking streak in 2011, shattering everything from attendance and stream views to sales records.
For my third year attending the Columbus stop on the MLG Pro Circuit, I knew what to expect going in. I knew it was going to be jam-packed with people, lots of long days, things running a bit behind, and everyone out to have a ton of fun in and out of the venue. I tried to relay this expectation to the rest of the Astro Team for this event, many of which, have never attended an MLG event before. But even I was caught a little off guard at how quickly the lines stacked up as the event filled to the brim in what appeared to be the biggest floor space the MLG circuit had planned for to date. There were literally people everywhere, and in an instant the venue was bursting with passion, energy, and anticipation for the matches to begin. As the live stream pushed out content, an unprecedented number of viewers tuned in to watch the action from their computers all over the world. The live stream throughout the weekend boasted 22.5 million streams. Pair that with the 16 thousand fans checking things out, and the Columbus event this year blew out all of the old attendance records out of the water.
With the new pool play, there are consistently upsets, and the winning match can end up being almost anyone these days. We watched a lot of hard fought battles throughout the weekend, and saw the fallout when each team won or lost and secured their placement for the event.
Congrats, as always, go out to the winners of the event:
Halo Reach: Instinct
CoD Black Ops: Optic Gaming
Starcraft II: SlayerSMMA
We would simply like to say thank you to all of you out there who make the effort and put the passion behind these events by supporting the league, the sponsors, and the top pro teams. Without all of you, none of us would be where we are.
See you all in Anaheim!
– ASTRO Xarion
