A lengthy league format featuring 48 players, including some of the biggest names that esports has to offer - seems like a dream come true. But for MLG, the dream has been tarnished somewhat by last minute dropouts. Top American player Sasha "Scarlett" Hostyn was the most benign - she decided to skip the tournament due to a poor connection when playing on the Korean servers. The online format necessitated every player be able to play on non-native servers and she said it was impossible for her to play like that.
More worrying for MLG, however, is the fact that players registered to ESF teams have agreed to leave the tournament ahead of tomorrow's opening matches. At time of writing, no official reason has been stated, but Joshua "FXOBoss" Dentrinos told Gamespot that "it was most likely because the ESF teams only got 8 invites and KESPA got 24." As esports director of an ESF team, his words hold significant weight. "KESPA hasn't helped develop MLG as much as ESF teams have," he added.
"I don't have any specifics to share about why eSF won't be participating int he tournament," said a less certain Lee Chen of MLG. "We're obviously fans of their teams and players and look forward to seeing them at future tournaments." Still, several marquee players are now missing from the event for one reason or another. Some just didn't want to play, it seems, but ESF players like MC and Puma seem to be making a point.
This is the latest in several clashes between the various esports organisations in recent months. KeSPA and ESF seemed to have settled their differences but if Dentrinos is right, bitterness is still rife between the two factions. MLG's decision to invite so many big names from the Brood War scene may have come back to bite them, but at the very least it has stoked the flames between KeSPA and ESF once again.
Links
Gamespot - Source
GosuGamers - MLG Schedule
