Call of Duty Championship selects eight teams

Activision’s goals for Call of Duty were clear as it revealed the details for Black Ops 2. The publisher wants CoD playing in the eSports elite.  The Call of Duty Championship, coming April 5-7 to Hollywood’s Palladium Theatre, moves it further along that path. Activision announced it chose eight teams to fight for the championship and a share of $1 million. Twenty-four more teams are coming, courtesy of events held by Major League Gaming, The Australian Cyber League, and the Electronic Sports League. The eight teams chosen are: Rage, TVA, Vintage, Phoenix, Curse, Quantic, ComPlexity and Awe Sports.

Two more qualifying events take place this weekend: the MLG Winter Championship in Dallas March 15-17 and the Electronic Sports League World Championship in Cologne, Germany on March 16-17. Black Ops 2 launched with League Play allowing gamers to compete single or on teams with similarly skilled opponents. It also included livestreaming features available from the console. Players can also start or join clans from the League Play area.

If you’ve never heard of eSports, a quick stop by the Call of Duty Elite site will get you up to speed. The Elite service launched with Modern Warfare 3 with free and premium memberships, but is now free. Black Ops 2 does offer the now customary “season pass” for $50 that gives early access to all the maps. Activision took a little less of your money but still wants some space in your brain. They’re hoping this focus on eSports can make CoD as big with the competitive gaming crowd as it is with casual players. It is one of the most popular brands in gaming, so in theory this should be easy.

The numerous problems encountered during the 2012 League of Legends championship show how quickly things can go wonky. That game was designed with eSports in mind from day one. CoD is still relatively new to this eSports party.  But this championship is an exciting development for a game that millions are playing. Soldier, pick up that assault rifle. There could be a share of $1 million in it for you.

Site [Call of Duty Elite]