Call of Duty Championships announced

Activision and Infinity Ward have announced their ongoing partnership with Major League Gaming and other eSports partners to kick off the second-annual Call of Duty Championships. This one, of course, will feature Call of Duty: Ghosts. The weapon of choice will be the Xbox One, and the prize is a cool million dollars. Think you’ve got the chops? You will want these details:

Gamers prepare for the ultimate Call of Duty® competition where victory is determined in the blink of an eye. From Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Infinity Ward and Xbox, in partnership with Major League Gaming (MLG) and other international eSports partners, the second annual Call of Duty® Championship, presented by Xbox tournament will play host to 32 of the best Call of Duty teams from around the world as they compete for rights to the Call of Duty “World Champions” title and lion’s share of the tournament’s $1 million prize purse this March 28 – 30, in Los Angeles.

“Last year’s championship came down to the final minute of the final match with everyone holding their breath to see who would win. The skill, passion and energy brought by these teams and the crowd looking-on showed just what makes our community the best in the world,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Call of Duty is more than a video game. It’s a pastime shared by millions. It’s exciting to play and fun to watch, and we can’t wait to see what this year’s event has in store.”

This year’s tournament will also serve as the first official competitive Call of Duty event played on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, where prize money will be awarded. Programming covering the weekend’s non-stop excitement and hard fought matches will be live streamed on the Xbox Live online entertainment network and MLG.tv for the world to experience.

Call of Duty teams from six continents covering North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia will contend for their place at the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox tournament in a range of qualifying events hosted by eSports organizations. Qualifying for the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox will be handled through online tournaments played on the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and broadcasted on MLG.tv, with select live regional finals taking place late February through early March in Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The live regional finals will be played on Xbox One and will also be broadcasted live on MLG.tv and other broadcast partners.

The Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox tournament is open to all qualified players, whether professional gamers or not, provided they meet the requirements of the official rules and regulations. Further details on the 2014 Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, including full rules and regulations, Call of Duty®: Ghosts maps and modes for the tournament, prizing distribution, travel accommodations and more can be found at http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/news/qualify-for-the-call-of-duty-championship/.

As we get closer to the March timeframe we’ll see any additional details provided at the official site at https://callofduty.com/esports.

Whatever you think of Call of Duty as a franchise, you might want to take a moment and check out the Call of Duty Endowment and realize that they gave over 1.1 million dollars to charity in addition to helping thousands of returning veterans find meaningful and engaging work – something near and dear to my own heart.   I tip my hat to them, and wish all of you serious players good luck!

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