As you might imagine, things are moving quickly.

Competition

Testing the waters

The potential

IGN is one of the largest gaming websites on the net and so it is no surprise that its move toward e-sports has attracted a ton of attention. In fact, the IGN ProLeague has weighed on the minds of gamers for a month now As its first season rapidly approaches, the team at IGN is making clear that it intends for its move to the e-sports industry to be no flash in the pan. A $5,000 season one will be followed by a second season of IPL with a minimum of a $50,000 prize pool according to Edward Chang, the associate director for IGN e-sports.“This is our show match,” Chang said of the first season, “our ‘clash of the titans’.”Already, the new league is impressing fans. Simple moves such as high quality interviews have raised expectations skyward for what could become one of the most important leagues in the world based on IGN's enormous audience, deep pockets and considerable experience in producing high quality content for a wide audience.Edward Chang, a veteran of the world of Counter-Strike and now the managing director of Root Gaming in addition to his role at IGN, is increasingly seen as the face of this league.Chang says that he came into his current position with IGN after David Ting, the VP of Engineering, gave a passionate and intelligent pitch over a single dinner in the Bay area. Now Chang is the man moving the chess pieces behind the scenes, making sure the right people are in the right place at the right time.In fact, that sort of anecdote doesn’t seem too rare when it comes to the new league. The league’s newest caster, Kevin “CatsPajamas” Knocke, got his job after IGN employees heard him analyzing MLG Dallas games in the audience while the official commentary was muted. IGN liked him, quickly told him so and he had the job before the event was through.The other casters are household names: DjWheat, TotalBiscuit, HDStarCraft and Painuser are a stable with talent and popularity that few other tournaments can match.Of course, there are still complaints about the group. Chang said that the group was “polarizing but good.”Questions about the absence of stars such as Day9 and Husky are commonplace but easily answered. In a growing industry, politics and packed schedules rule the day after all. Day9 is probably the most in-demand caster on the planet and Husky has more than his fair share of obligations as well. Signing them, some of the biggest stars in e-sports, is no small task.Not signing the two star casters will not be the make or break decision for the new league. The make or break comes down to the gamers themselves and IGN knows it. In fact, they’re laying out the red carpet for the players in their invitational. The IGN team has provided excellent interviews that look to provide stories and context to attract new fans as well as satisfy the StarCraft faithful.The new league will be in direct competition with the upstart North American StarLeague, Chang readily acknowledges. However, he says he believes the exploding American scene can support two major leagues just as the Korean scene has done for a decade. In addition, Chang believes that the majority of viewers will seek out VODs rather than live action, making the conflicting recording schedules of the two leagues less relevant.The league’s goal, says Chang, is to reach a much larger audience than e-sports currently does. Chang says that ‘StarCraft hipsters’ may object to the hype videos and the player interviews but “they can’t have their cake and eat it, too. We all want to go bigger.”The key, says Chang, is to get the fans to know the players.“They know them in a StarCraft sense,” says Chang, “but to attract a fan base we’re going to need a back story and life story. We’re not going to be doing wrestling-style storylines but if there’s a rivalry, we’re going to tell it how it is.”Some of the keys to success, as Chang sees them, are supplemental content and features that give fans a glimpse behind the scenes and offer a “surround sound” perspective. Plus, offering the best product gameplay-wise wouldn't hurt.Despite the fact that IGN plans to sink at least $150,000 in prize money into this venture and more still into production, this entire adventure remains something of a test.“We’re going to see how well we do with the first season,” says Chang, “and determine an ongoing budget from that.”In fact, Chang himself is working as a contractor rather than a permanent staffer at IGN. The leagues success will have considerable influence on his future.Right now, “crazy ideas” are flying at IGN, including offering a major e-sports news portal in the style of ESPN. However, the group is smartly wary of biting off more than it can chew. The team seems to have taken lessons from its predecessors and, having learned, wants to move slowly and surely.“If this does well, we will scale up the the level of the GSL,” says Chang. “I can’t in good faith promise all these things. We want to be true to the fans because after all, this is new for IGN too and we’re learning as we go.”E-sports offers IGN a brand new way to attract a new, loyal base. For e-sports, IGN offers realistic hope that our game may be about to reach an entirely new audience of fans and players in the Western world.We'll begin to find out if the potential will be realized as IPL kicks off on April 21st.Images: Fnatic