We recently announced that ESL would be working with MSI for the MSI MGA 2015 event at PAX Prime, where the world’s best StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm players will compete for $200,000.   

The MSI MGA (Masters Gaming Arena) is a globally renowned esports tournament formerly known as MSI Beat It. With its sixth iteration now set to be run at PAX Prime in August and a whole host of online qualifiers to come in the leadup to the event, there’s a lot to look forward to for both Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II players in the next couple of months - and it’s not too late to take part!

The qualifiers

The MSI MGA qualifiers will find the top Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II players from the United States, Europe and Asia. The four-day grand finals will be held at PAX Prime in Seattle, America, from August the 28th to the 31st, and will see those who qualify battle it out for more than US$200,000 in cash prizes and travel support.

The all-important tournament qualifiers will be run on the ESL Play website, with details of the qualifiers also to be shown on the MSI MGA portal - and it’s these that could lead to you competing for your share of $200,000 at PAX Prime!

The full schedule for the MSI MGA qualifiers is as follows:

HEROES OF THE STORM

• ASIA: June 14th and 15th (Sunday and Monday) - 15:00 GMT+8 (09:00 CEST)
• CHINA: June 20th (Saturday) - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)
• CHINA: June 21st (Sunday) - 19:00 GMT+8 (03:00 CEST)
• EUROPE: June 27th and 28th (Saturday and Sunday) - 22:00 GMT+8 (16:00 CEST)
• SOUTHEAST ASIA: July 5th (Sunday) - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)
• AMERICAS: July 11th and 12th (Saturday and Sunday) - 07:00 GMT+8 (18:00 EST)
• SOUTHEAST ASIA: July 12th, Sunday - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)

STARCRAFT II

• KOREA: July 1st and 2nd, (Wednesday and Thursday) - 15:00 GMT+8 (09:00 CEST)
• EUROPE: July 8th and 9th (Wednesday and Thursday) - 22:00 GMT+8 (16:00 CEST)
• SOUTHEAST ASIA: July 15th and 16th (Wednesday and Thursday) - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)
• TAIWAN: July 22nd and 23rd (Wednesday and Thursday) - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)
• ASIA: July 27th and 28th (Monday and Tuesday) - 16:00 GMT+8 (10:00 CEST)
• AMERICAS: July 29th and 30th (Wednesday and Thursday) - 07:00 GMT+8 (18:00 EST)

All qualifiers and open qualifiers will be broadcast live at Twitch.tv/MSIGamingASIA (in Taiwanese) and Twitch.tv/MSIGamingAMEU, so be sure to tune in!

Prizes

Want to know exactly what you stand to get your hands on? The prizes for the MSI MGA Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II competition break down as follows:

HEROES OF THE STORM

• First place: US$3,0000
• Second place: US$12,000
• Third place: US$8,000

STARCRAFT II

• First place: US$10,000
• Second place: US$4,000
• Third place: US$2,000
• Fourth place: US$2,000
• Fifth to eighth place: US$1,000
• Ninth to twelfth place: US$400
• Thirteenth to sixteenth place: US$350

Working together for epic esports action

Eric Kuo, MSI vice president of global sales and marketing, said of the new partnership:

“MSI works hard to help promote and elevate eSports to a new level. The annual MSI MGA (Beat IT) gaming tournament and numerous award-winning gaming products are the solid proof of MSI’s dedication to the development of competitive gaming. This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with ESL to take MSI MGA to the next level. It will be the first time ever for MSI MGA to have its Grand Finals concluded in the United States and we will go all out to make this event cool and fun.”

Jasper Mah, ESL Asia Pacific’s business development director, also gave his perspective on working with MSI for this exclusive event, saying:

“Without a shadow of a doubt, MSI is one of the world’s best gaming hardware manufacturers. As a professional tournament organizer, ESL is deeply privileged to partner with MSI to orchestrate the months-long gaming event.”

For more information about the MSI MGA tournament, be sure to check out the official website and follow MSI on Facebook and Twitter.

Good luck!