Anyone who is a serious gamer knows a thing or two about eSports, and anyone who knows a thing or two about eSports knows that StarCraft has been a staple of the competitive scene for over a decade. We’re talking about a game that almost single-handedly saved an entire nation from economic collapse. The release of the sequel was such a big deal in South Korea that CNN wondered if it would “shake up” the country. Before MOBAs like Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) and League of Legends dominated the competitive eSports scene, StarCraft was the largest draw, with the 2013 Major League Gaming Dallas event featuring a $75,000 prize pool for the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm competition.
And yet, according to a tweet by the co-founder of MLG, Sundance DiGiovanni, StarCraft II will not be featured at the upcoming MLG event in Columbus, Ohio.
Just so folks know – we are currently not planning to run SC2 at Cbus. Should that change we'll let you know via official channels.
— Sundance DiGiovanni (@MLGSundance) August 8, 2013
Despite being dropped from MLG Columbus, all hope is not lost for StarCraft II fans. Blizzard’s World Championship Series will continue as scheduled, and the North American Star League is consistently running the game as well. However, as of yet there has been no explanation as to why the game was dropped from the MLG lineup, or whether or not it will be coming back in the future. As a staple of competitive gaming and with an incredibly large fan base, it’s hard to imagine a world where StarCraft II isn’t an eSport. Of course, MLG Columbus is still a few months away, so things could possibly change between now and then. Regardless, as of now, MLG intends to move forward without plans to run StarCraft II.
Of course the decision to drop StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm also begs the question of what other changes may or may not be coming for the future of MLG. Will MLG Columbus even include League of Legends or Call of Duty? Only time will tell.
