If you've kept up with Major League Gaming during seasons past, you know that each event culminates in a weekend-long championship tournament . . . and the first season of 2013 is no exception. The 2013 MLG Winter Championship will put the pros through their paces as the first premier eSports event to feature StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm following the game's epic launch. Load into your Medivacs, ignite the afterburners, and get ready to be abducted to the Dallas Convention Center, as the tournament swarms Dallas, Texas from Friday, March 15, through Sunday, March 17.

If you haven't followed the story over the past five weeks, 56 pro StarCraft II players from around the world were invited to compete against each other during the Winter Season Showdowns. The 28 players who managed to earn seats at this weekend's event by toppling their Showdown opponents will be joined by Lee 'Life' Seung Hyun, Lee 'Leenock' Dong Nyoung, Choi 'Bomber' Ji Sung, and Lee 'Flash' Young Ho, who were invited based on their performances at MLG events in 2012. Over the course of the weekend, these 32 competitors will clamber for their share of the $75,000 prize pool and the glory that comes with being the first MLG Champion of the year.

The show kicks off at 23:00 CET on Friday, March 15 and the Winter Championship is sporting a stellar lineup of shoutcasters prepared to cover every single match across two live streams dedicated to StarCraft II. Tune in to the free high-definition broadcast on the official MLG website, or MLG's Twitch.tv stream, to join Sean 'Day[9]' Plott, Mike 'Husky' Lamond, Marcus 'djWHEAT' Graham, John 'TotalBiscuit' Bain, Geoff 'iNcontroL' Robinson, Nick 'Axslav' Ranish, Alex 'Axeltoss' Rodriguez, Anna Prosser Robinson, and thousands of live spectators for the coming tempest of professional Heart of the Swarm play. Whether you attend the tournament in Dallas, watch with friends at a local BarCraft, or enjoy it from the comfort of home, MLG's 2013 Winter Championship will certainly be an event for the ages.