Unlike other events, no invitation is required to compete. The first qualification rounds will start this month over the company’s Xbox Live system, using the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Microsoft has partnered with Major League Gaming to make it possible and the qualifying rounds will be broadcast on MLG.tv, viewable online and in the MLG Xbox One app. There will then be regional finals in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia that will determine the top 32 teams.
These will go on to compete in the final event that is scheduled for March 27th-29th. Hosted in Los Angeles, the winning team will get a grand prize of $1,000,000 – a massive setup from last year’s trophy of $400,000. The event will be broadcast live over Xbox Live.
Michael Condrey, co-founder of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games, wrote on Xbox Wire “From Day 1, the team at Sledgehammer Games set out to bring a new way to play Call of Duty multiplayer to fans. We couldn’t be more thrilled of how the competitive community has embraced and mastered the new player movements and game modes of Advanced Warfare. This is posed to be one of the most exciting Call of Duty competitive seasons.”
The event is likely to be hugely popular owing to how it is accessible to any player, regardless of rank or skill. Even a casual player with minimal MLG experience can have some fun in the qualification rounds and there are sure to be many doing just that. You can get more information on the tournament on the Call of Duty website.
