The Winter Season for Major League of Gaming will feature StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Even though StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm isn’t out yet, it will already be featured in the Major League of Gaming Winter Season. You just know the pros already have their strategies all planned out, and by the Winter Season they will have it down and ready to compete with their peers, long before the game is released. Blizzard Entertainment and the MLG Winter Season will consist of two invite-only competitions.

The Online Winter Season Showdowns will feature 56 of the top SCII players from around the world playing Heart of the Swarm even before the game is released on March 12th. From Monday February 4th through Friday March 8th, MLG will be broadcasting one match every weekend night and sometimes on Sunday.

The Exhibition Tournament at the Winter Championship in Dallas, Texas will takes place right after the Season Showdown March 15th-17th. Only 32 players will be invited to this event. The 28 who survived the Season Showdown will join the top four players from MLG 2012 Fall Championship (Life, Leenook, Flash, and Bomber). After a single elimination tournament the winner will take home $25,000 with a total prize pool of $75,000.

The detailed information can be found below, taken from the press release:

Winter Season Showdowns Broadcast Schedule:
All Broadcasts begin at 5pm ET online and Twitch. Schedule below and online.

• Monday, 2/4:                     Parting vs Fantasy
• Tuesday, 2/5:                     Roro vs Hero
• Wednesday, 2/6:              Innovation vs Ty
• Thursday, 2/7:                   Soulkey vs Last
• Friday, 2/8:                          Rain vs Flying
• Sunday, 2/10:                     Sase vs Snute
• Monday, 2/11:                   Nerchio vs BabyKnight
• Tuesday, 2/12:                   Stephano vs Titan
• Wednesday, 2/13:            Mana vs Bly
• Thursday, 2/14:                 Socke vs Thorzain
• Friday, 2/15:                       Ret vs Feast

Broadcast dates for the following matchups will be announced soon:

• Grubby vs Dimaga
• Sen vs Moonglade
• MC vs Alive
• Taeja vs Violet
• Hero vs Polt
• Creator vs Nestea
• Mvp vs Curious
• Sniper vs Seed
• MarineKing vs Gumiho
• DongRaeGu vs Jjakji
• Scarlett vs Goswser
• Idra vs Ddoro
• Fenix vs State
• Vibe vs Illusion
• Suppy vs Maker
• Killer vs Qxc
• Huk vs Sasquatch

Winter Season Showdowns – Players

KESPA (5) – 10 KESPA players competing for 5 spots

• Parting vs. Fantasy
• Rain vs. Flying
• Innovation vs. TY
• Roro vs. Hero
• Soulkey vs. Last

ESF (5) – 10 ESF players competing for 5 spots

• DongRaeGu vs. Jjakji
• MarineKing vs Gumiho
• Mvp vs Curious
• Creator vs Nestea
• Sniper vs Seed

Independent/Western (3) – 6 Western+ Independent Korean players competing for 3 spots

• MC vs Alive
• Hero vs Polt
• Taeja vs Violet

North America (7) – 14 NA players competing for 7 spots

• Killer vs Qxc
• Huk vs Sasquatch
• Scarlett vs Goswser
• Idra vs Ddoro
• Suppy vs Maker
• Fenix vs State
• Vibe vs Illusion

Europe (7) – 14 EU players competing for 7 spots

• Stephano vs Titan
• Nerchio vs BabyKnight
• Mana vs Bly
• Grubby vs Dimaga
• Socke vs Thorzain
• Ret vs Feast
• Sase vs Snute

Southeast Asia (1) – 2 SEA players competing for 1 spot
Sen vs Moonglade

Winter Season Showdowns Maps:

• Akilon Wastes
• Bifrost
• Cloud Kingdom
• Daybreak
• Entombed Valley
• Korhal City
• Newkirk City
• Ohana
• Planet S
• Star Station

Whirlwind

Note: In each Showdown, both Players will veto three Maps.  The Map Pool will be trimmed down to seven for the Exhibition Tournament at the Winter Championship.

Exhibition Tournament at the MLG Winter Championship:

Dates:                   March 15 – 17

Format:                Invite-only, exhibition tournament (no open bracket) with all matches taking place on the main stage and one feature station.

32-Player Single Elimination Bracket (Bo5s & 7s) featuring:

• 28 Players from Winter Season Showdowns
• Life, Leenock, Flash, Bomber – Top 4 Players from 2012 Fall Championship

Prizes:

• $75,000 total
• 1st = $25,000
•  2nd = $15,000
•  3rd = $9,000
•  4th = $6,000
•  5th = $3,000 (4 Players)
•  9th = $1,000 (8 Players)

Broadcast:           31 Matches, 3 Days – all matches will be broadcast via two streams