MLG leaves out big name from its first major Overwatch tournament

Major League Gaming’s first major Overwatch tournament will feature some of the best teams in North America, but with one major organization missing.

The event?—?set to take place Dec. 16–18 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Convention Center?—?will feature Cloud9, CompLexity, EnVyUs, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Team Liquid, NRG Esports, and Rise Nation. Noticeably missing from the lineup, however, is Las Vegas–based esports organization Rogue, one of the top performing active Overwatch teams. A miscommunication regarding Rogue’s location appears to be cause for the team not receiving an invitation.

“We did not know that Rogue had moved [its players] to Vegas until after the eight invites to NA teams were distributed,” Major League Gaming’s Adam Apicella said on Reddit. “ I was informed at BlizzCon by their owner that they had moved but by that point all eight teams had accepted.”

Rogue CEO Frank Villarreal took to Twitter to express his disappointment in the announcement. “Denying the Vegas-based organization with multiple championships is a pretty big oversight,” he tweeted. “We’re living in Vegas. Just because we’re competing in Korea doesn’t mean we aren’t from Vegas.”

Teams invited?—?many of which have not competed against each other thus far?—?will face off for their share of the $100,000 prize pool. MLG Vegas’ major prize pool places the event within the top five Overwatch tournaments in regards to prize pool.

General admission for MLG Vegas begins at $50; VIP admission will cost $150. Those who purchase tickets to the event will have access to all three days, including the Overwatch Invitation, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, and all fan events and activities.

Major League Gaming will use its Enhanced Viewing Experience (EVE) technology to parse information from the matches in real time for its livestream audience. It’s a feature desperately needed in a game as chaotic as Overwatch, which lacks an easily accessible spectator experience. EVE’s extra information?—?including statistics for players and teams?—?won’t fix everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.