eSports

Spectators will even be able to rewind, fast forward, slow down and pause the action; the Directed Camera, meanwhile, automatically follows the most intense action on the map. More >

Major League Gaming (MLG) has raised $11.3 million in funding, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. VentureBeat reports that MLG, which organises eSports events across the US, is seeking a total of $13 million. It has previously raised more than $50 milion, and snapped up other eSports companies GameBattles and Agora Games. More >

More than four million people play League Of Legends every day, developer Riot Games has announced. That figure represents growth of 280 per cent since July. It also boasts 11.5 monthly active users, and a registered userbase of over 30 million players worldwide More >

It's not every day that a player who only makes the top 48 at a fighting game tournament finds a sponsor, but The Traveling Circus has made an exception for Noah Solis. And little wonder: the player who won over the crowd at the Evolution Championships earlier this month is just eight years old. "I went with TTC as my sponsor because they treat me good, they are nice people, they give me hope in my future, and they believe in my ability," Solis said. "I like their name. They are nice to me, my dad is comfortable with their character and my brothers approve." Solis is in esteemed company at TTC - it also sponsors Taiwanese Street Fighter player Gamerbee, and Japan's Tokido - and as well as arranging travel to tournaments TTC is to release a line of Noah clothing, some of which will be designed by the boy himself.

Last night saw the grand finals of the After Hours Gaming League, with Microsoft taking on Zynga at Starcraft II to bring down the curtain on a tournament devised by popular Starcraft II shoutcaster Sean "Day[9]" Plott. According to the league's Twitter, Microsoft won, and donated its $5,000 reward to Amnesty International. Other companies that took part in the tournament included Google, Facebook, Amazon, Dropbox, Twitter and Yelp.

Last weekend's Evolution Championship Series - better known as Evo, the world fighting game championships - set a new record for online viewers of a competitive gaming event. More than 2 million tuned in over the course of the weekend on video streaming site Ustream, with many more watching on PlayStation Home. Evo 2k11 was also the biggest fighting game competition of all time, with over 2,400 competitors in attendance and thousands more spectating at the Rio casino in Las Vegas. Follow the source link below for our take on the action, with videos of some of the weekend's best moments.

This weekend's Evo fighting game world championship, which takes place at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will be streamed live in PlayStation Home. The action begins on Friday with Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, continues on Saturday with Marvel Vs Capcom 3, and Sunday sees grand finals for those two games as well as Blazblue Continuum Shift, Tekken 6 and Mortal Kombat. Several streaming sites will be covering the event, but Home viewers will be rewarded with virtual items, including a replica Evo trophy for their personal spaces, as Japan's Daigo Umehara tries to take the Super Street Fighter IV title for a third year in succession. The smart money's certainly on Umehara, but our heart is with Korean player Poongko and his terrifying Seth.

StarCraft II shoutcaster Sean "Day[9]" Plott has formed the After Hours Gaming League, which will see some of the most high-profile tech companies in the world face off in an eight-team tournament. The idea came from an in-house StarCraft II tournament at Facebook to which Plott was invited, after which Facebook suggested it be expanded to include other companies. Amazon, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yelp and Zynga are all on board, with the $5,000 grand prize donated to the winner's chosen charity. The tournament began on July 5, and the grand final, at Facebook's Palo Alto campus on August 19, will be streamed live on Justin.tv, Day9.tv, and Facebook Live.