MLG CEO Hopes for Better Starcraft II Performance from non-Korean Players

As eSports becomes a growing market, the leader of one the top competition organizers is interested in making sure that gamers from all nations and continents have a team to cheer for during the biggest events.

Sundance DiGiovanni, who is the chief executive officer of Major League Gaming, told Gamespot that, “Now what we need to do is look at our own scene. I want to try to examine ways to work with the other organizations out there, to globally create a structure where you have access to meaningful competition in your region.”

The executive admitted that for some games, like Starcraft II, the domination of the Korean teams and individuals can be detrimental to the sport and says that MLG is working with the Korean eSports Association to narrow the performance gap.

He added, “The North American, European players struggle to get past a certain point. Ilyes ‘Stephano’ Satouri, Chris ‘Huk’ Loranger, and a few others are exceptions to that, but it can’t just be a rotisserie of Korean players being showcased every time out. That’s a knock against not the format necessarily, but the structure of the year.”

DiGiovanni also hinted at changes to the way MLG organizes its competitions which can give more chances to teams and players outside of Korea.

Major League Gaming is one of the biggest eSports organizations, and the strategy title Starcraft and its sequel are two of its biggest events.

The StarCraft II Summer Arena was won by Korean player Taeja.

At the moment, the development team at Blizzard has been working on an expansion for Starcraft II, called Heart of the Swarm, which will focus on the story of Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, after the events at the end of the core game.

The game was expected during the summer of this year, but Blizzard has not yet announced a clear launch date.