Micro Tournaments Offer a Small Slice of Major League Gaming to the Masses

When one thinks of prize gaming tournaments, visions inevitably fill the head which feature gaming's elite players arrayed on stage, giant screens towering behind them displaying their exploits and foibles in real-time to an assembled mass of other crazed gamers and adoring fans. And these visions wouldn't be far off of what the professional gaming circuit is like.

This glorified example of tournament gaming is not the only game in town though. There are in fact tournaments taking place every day, both online and locally, that give gamers of even modest abilities a chance to win prizes and feel like a star, if only for a day. And yes, this is great news for us gamers who were not blessed with godly reflexes, killer instincts, and incomparable strategic planning, all rolled into one package of gaming awesomeness.

Gaming Goodness in Manageable Doses

Not only do most of us not have the skill to realistically throw ourselves into the ring against the best gamers in the world, most of us have neither the desire nor capacity to do so. We have families, friends, jobs, and schooling all anchoring us to varying degrees to our little corners of the world. Taking up the mantle of globe-trotting professional gamer, while certainly enticing in its own right, is just not feasible for most of us.

This is where micro tournaments shine the brightest for casual and/or anchored down gamers. They don't require the huge time investment or travel schedule of major tournaments, and in fact many can be played right from the comfort of one's own living room, bedroom, or whichever random room happens to house your gaming PC/laptop at any given moment.

Just what is a micro tournament you ask? Essentially, it's any tournament that tends to have a small field, is played over a short duration, and yet still offers competitive spoils to the victor. Micro tournaments come in a variety of flavors; some are single day events begun and completed in one sitting. Others are weekly or even monthly competitions that often use points systems to determine the eventual winners. These tournaments also offer gamers the flexibility of being able to play when they are able to, and still have a realistic chance of competing for and winning the competition.

Getting in on the Action

If you're anything like us: i.e a lover of all things gaming, and with a fiercely competitive streak; chances are your interest in micro tournaments is bordering on rabid at this point. So what now? Where do you go to get in on the action? For Starcraft 2 players, there's only one place you really need point your browser to, and that's teamliquid.net. Not only do they have robust coverage of major tournaments, but their forums have an exhaustive list of upcoming micro tournaments as well, of both the online and offline variety.

Local tournaments may be of particular interest to more socially minded gamers. Not only are these local tournaments a great way to face off against a small pool of select competition for turf bragging rights, they're also a great way to acquaint yourself with local players and make new friends and possibly gaming allies for the future. They're also fun events to be a part of, with just a little of that glitz and glamour that makes up the major tournaments. Gaming in this type of environment, and putting your gaming skills on display for others to see is also a great test of your abilities. It certainly beats sitting around in your house, gaming in your underwear all night (well, most of the time).

Electronic Sports League

The Electronic Sports League (nationalesl.com) is another prime location for finding online tournaments, many of them weekly and monthly, with some nice prizes. In addition to Starcraft 2, they also have a thriving League of Legends community, and many micro tournaments for that game as well.

ESL's main claim to fame is their Go4SC2 tournament. This tourney functions as both a separate daily (in the case of the Sunday event), and overall monthly tournament. Two matches are played each week, one on Wednesday, and one on Sunday. Each of these events awards point for the top finishers, and at the end of the month, the top 8 points earners for the month battle for the chance to win a 500 Euro top prize.

Signing up for these great events is a relatively painless process; certainly less painful and arduous than the matches themselves may be. You'll first need to sign up on ESL's website (nationalesl.com) with an e-mail address. Once your account is activated, you'll need to link it to your battle.net account. Lastly, you'll need to provide a contact method aside from your e-mail address, so they can more easily get in contact with you should you have some prize money headed your way, among other things. This could be in the form of your Skype, MSN, or IRC accounts.

Now you're ready to sign up for the event in question. The events can be signed up for well in advance, but that does not guarantee a position in the field, as there are limits on the number of players who can participate. In the case of the Wednesday event, that limit is 256 players. The Sunday event, which has a prize of 200 Euros to the winner, allows twice as many participants, 512. Hitting up the check-in page as soon as it opens (usually 20 minutes before the tournament is about to begin) is a wise tactical decision.

The tournament itself is a single elimination tournament, where you'll be randomly matched up against opponents. You'll need to launch your game and sign into your battle.net account. Your next match will appear in your matches section on the bottom of the page. You'll be required to get in contact with your opponent, and one of you should set up the match, with the correct settings (the map that should be used will also appear in the match listing). After the match is over, one of you submits the results in the match setup section and uploads a replay of the battle, while the other one confirms the results. You're now ready for your next opponent (or in the case of a crushing defeat, a quick stay in the fetal position).

As mentioned, ESL also runs League of Legends tourneys, and they have a similar monthly tournament for LOL as well. Go4LOL only runs on Sundays, so players must bring their A-game each week, with fewer opportunities for points, and a shot at qualifying for the 500 Euro monthly prize up for grabs. These weekly Sunday events also have a 100 Euro prize for the winner.

Other Leagues

Other events tend to function in a similar fashion as the ESL Go4 cups. One example is the Zotac Cup (sc2na.zotac-cup.com/en/), which is also a bracket-style, single elimination tournament conducted one day per week, with a $100 U.S prize for the winner. The Zotac Cup also has a monthly qualification system through points gained during the weekly events, with the top 16 points earners qualifying for the monthly finals, with 800 Euros up for grabs, 500 to the winner.

Another thriving StarCraft gaming community can be found at z33k.com. Dozens of tournaments, small and large are running at all times on z33k, with settings varying between tourneys. Single elimination is still the usual style of play, but match types, number of participants, and prizes up for grabs all vary between tournaments. They also offer 2v2 tournaments for a great change of pace. When waiting a week for a Go4 tournament just isn't cutting it, you'll find something to keep you occupied and thoroughly entertained and challenged by on z33k.com.

A Gaming Virgin No More

While Starcraft 2 is a staple of the major league gaming circuit, and without a doubt the most played game in competitive gaming circles, it is not the only game in town. One company at the forefront of competitive gaming is Virgin, and they give the more console-oriented, sports gaming fans a chance to also get in on the cash gaming fun.

Virgin takes the micro gaming concept right to its most basic and perhaps purest form, the 1 vs 1, head to head matchup. Players can set their stakes and then duke it out in head to head battles in any number of the latest sports games, including NHL 12, NBA 2K12, Madden NFL 12, EA SPORTS MMA, FIFA 12 and Fight Night Champion. The Virgin system takes care of all the nitty-gritty details on their end so gamers can get down to doing what they love the most: gaming. Their system automatically tracks the results of matches, and makes the appropriate payments to the winner immediately following the match. All that's required is a Xbox 360 or PS3 with an online gaming account, and a Virgin Gaming Account to tie it to.

Head to head is not all that's on offer through Virgin Gaming though, they also offer larger bracket style tournaments that can be set up by gamers, as well as their own prize tournaments with some fairly hefty rewards and incentives that make them well worth battling on the pitch, the frozen pond, the court, the octagon, or the gridiron to obtain. They're also working on implementing several new match types in the future. Any and all console and sports gaming fans should get themselves a Virgin account ASAP.

Cash Prizes and Gaming = Two Flavours that go Great Together

What could be better than doing what you love most, and filling your wallet with greenbacks while doing so? We can't think of many. The truth is that it's a great time to be a gamer, and the growth of micro tournaments and competitive gaming is at the forefront of that euphoria. There's never been a better time to get in on the action, so get training, get scouting for matches, and get your little slice of the gaming pie.