ESFI World

After weeks of hype built up by Geoff 'iNcontroL' Robinson, the day that so many StarCraft 2 and e-sport fans in general have been waiting for is finally here. The North American StarLeague has officially been announced via a trailer shown live shortly after the IdrA vs. Jinro "Clash of the Titans" showmatch was concluded. Jinro won the match 4-2.

The North American StarLeague (NASL) will feature daily league matches broadcast live from the NASL studio in Los Angeles, California. Players though, will still be playing from their home computers. There are plans for an offline finals, however.

The whopping $400,000 prize purse will be divided into three seasons, with $100,000 for each of the first two seasons and $200,000 allocated for the third.

The debut of the league will take place on April 5th, where the first thirteen-week season will begin. Matches will take place five nights per week starting at 5pm PST / 8pm EST / 02:00 CET. A total of fifty players will participate, placed into five different divisions.

An interview with Robinson has been published on G4TV.com. He explains all of the details behind the league, including how they are being funded, goals, qualification process and more.

In the interview, he notes that participating players will be required to pay a $250 refundable fee or "deposit". The idea is to make players accountable to show up to their matches on time. If they don't, they'll be penalized $25 or $50, money which will be taken from their deposit.

Why did they decide to fund you guys?

Well they didn't fund us, they did it themselves, and then they brought me on board to be the figurehead basically. And they brought in a few other people because they have good eSports minds. They couldn't do it without us and I couldn't do it without them.

For the funding that you've received how many seasons is that money going to go towards?

We're already sold on three seasons. The money has been budgeted and secured. There's no like, “well gosh, if season one does really well then season two will be fine.” It's completely secure for three seasons. It's all insured and backed by Blizzard, that kind of stuff. And the idea again is that we laid down the infrastructure, it grows, gets easier as we go, and then if it's a profitable venture we can continue on for four, five, six seasons and beyond.

About the NASL:

Fellow eSports fans,

We know that you’ve been waiting for something like this to happen for a long time. We want to take a moment to explain our long-term goals for both the North American Star League and eSports as a whole.

NASL has been our dream since we first saw foreigners travel to Korea. We stayed up late to watch those epic matches, we followed the forum coverage and the live report threads. But it wasn’t enough.

It had to happen here.

We knew we had to go big or go home. We needed an epic prize pool. We needed the best players. Most importantly, we needed the passion and excitement that comes from competition at the highest level; from watching two masters battle it out knowing that only one will win.

With that in mind, let us explain some of the details of how we get to that point.

First, we focus on the players. That means telling a story so that every match means something. We want you to connect on a personal level with the players, so that their victory lifts you up, and you feel the crush of their defeat.

Second, we need world-class production quality for every show. Only the best show does justice to the best players.

Third, we will listen to our audience. The community never ceases to amaze us with its ingenuity and determination. We think if we keep you close, we can’t go wrong. And last of all, we must remember why we do this: for the love of the game.

Of course, in all of this we couldn’t forget our European fans. All too often do American organizations call something “Global” or a “World Series” by virtue of inviting a few Canadians. Don’t worry; we want to get you involved as much as we can.

Our ultimate goal is to use Starcraft as a catalyst. We want to use the best game, and the most hardcore audience to open the gates for eSports in the West. We want it so that you can turn on the TV and watch live matchups between the very best. Eventually, we want more people to watch eSports than watch Baseball, Hockey or even the Superbowl.

We aren’t going to be able to do this alone. We are going to need your help. Tell your friends about the league, get a premium ticket or even just tune in and enjoy. But remember, this league is more than just a league; it’s the beginning of a new age for eSports in the West. So if you decide that this idea is worth supporting, please support us.

Russell Pfister and Duncan Stewart

Visit the official NASL website at NASL.tv.