Call of Duty Being Added as an Event at X Games Austin

It was inevitable that eventually the two largest consumers of Mountain Dew would converge in a single event. Thanks to Major League Gaming and ESPN, the upcoming X Games in Austin, Texas will have a Call of Duty: Ghosts tournament-- complete with X Games medals awarded to the winners.  
 
The X Games themself have always been considered an outsider in the sense of being an official "sport", so it makes perfect sense for an eSport to officially try to push those boundaries as well. The teams chosen to compete will be the top 5 in ranking from the latest MLG Call of Duty championship. While we're used to tuning in to eSports events on streaming sites like Twitch.tv, this is a significant time to shine on both ESPN and ABC-- reaching audiences that have likely never seen Call of Duty played at a pro level. 
 
MLG definitely is aware of how big this is for them-
 

“The popularity of competitive gaming and the MLG Pro Circuit is at an all-time high with millions watching the best gamers compete each month on MLG.tv,” said Don Reilley, MLG EVP Sales.  “This collaboration with X Games will help further bring MLG to the mainstream while we provide advertisers with quality exposure and deep engagement with our fan base on MLG.tv across all platforms.” 

 
MLG has been making some moves lately that I definitely approve of, like adding fighting games like Killer Instinct to their lineup, and answering the fan demand to bring back games like Super Smash Bros Melee. They are also building the world's first eSports stadium in China. It seems that no matter if you can pull off a sweet kickflip or a sweet killstreak-- both could land you up on ESPN on June 6-8th.