The crowd gears up for some Terran vs. Terran action.

Grand Champion IMMvp, preparing for the semifinals in a soundproof gaming booth.

His expression frozen in concentration, StarCraft II legend IMMvp leans forward. His hands blur in a flurry of hotkeys and mouse clicks. IMMvp's Viking succeeds in destroying his opponent's first banshee; thousands upon thousands of fans roar with approval, surging against the iron grate separating them from the stage.This frenzy is a recurring theme at Major League Gaming's Pro Circuit championship, held this past weekend in Anaheim, CA. During a pre-match interview, crowd-favorite Korean player Boxer does a bit of posturing in the style of pro wrestling. "I will have vengeance," is all he has to say to make the enormous crowd scream in approval. He then throws something into the crowd. Everyone cheers wildly.The hangar-sized Anaheim convention center bulges with gaming fans, most of whom came to see the three-day StarCraft II championship. They all crowd around two soundproof gaming booths, set on a stage in front of a movie screen that shows every move. Two announcers call the match with the gusto of rabid soccer broadcasters. Everything has the feel of a sports championship, right down to the player-endorsing t-shirts and signs sported by dozens of audience members. Hundreds of chairs are set up, but these were packed six hours before the finals started. By the time MMA and IMMvp square off for the championship, it's standing-room-only, several hundred meters away from the stage. Fortunately, televisions are set up throughout the hall, each broadcasting the exciting showdown, so everyone gets a great view of the action.This spectacular is the result of the combination of two growing forces. The first is the enormous, fanatically devoted StarCraft II fan base in Korea; televised matches are a regular thing there. Major League Gaming, once solely devoted to shooters such as Call of Duty and Halo, decided to put StarCraft II on the circuit. With the media power of MLG, the event has turned into a viewer must-see in just three short months. According to MLG founder Sundance DiGiovanni, the MLG website reported 30,000,000 stream feed activations over the weekend. "It's given us access to the Korean scene -- which, right now, is where the best players in the world are."Every few months, the best players in south Asia fly to an American city, to do battle with American and European players hoping to loosen the cement on the Korean StarCraft legacy. While the online video streams covered a variety of matches, it's obvious who the live attendees have come to see: Asian stars. Even match losers leave their soundproof gaming booths to hear the eruption of a room full of devotees and witness a line of eager autograph-seekers. Popular on both sides of the world, this link between the American and Korean gaming leagues has brought them to a place where U.S. fans can watch them live for the first time. The fans weren't missing any opportunities: Every Korean quarter-finalist turns away a large line of fans hoping for a handshake or an autograph. The lines are just too long for the popular players to take care of everyone in the short amount of time in-between matches; booths for autograph signings have queues in the hundreds, to the point where one stands in line during one artist's signing, and gets to the front an hour later for another artist's signing.The competitors did not disappoint, putting up match after match of spectacular finishes. One championship battle between Boxer and Rain saw the two build up enormous armies in a game that lasted an entire hour. With each player holding about 10,000 minerals, the moment when the two great gamers sent their epic forces to clash brought the cheers to earsplitting levels throughout the entire convention center. Although all of the final four played StarCraft II's Terran faction, the crowd found the events anything but vanilla. Every setup brought hushed tension across the entire room, followed by skirmishes that catapulted the crowd to its feet. Even the sides of the soundproof booths appeared to vibrate.Entering the finals, the undefeated IMMvp expresses great confidence in his ability to conquer his competitor. "Because I come from the winner's bracket," he boasts through an interpreter, "I am certain I can beat my opponent." IMMvp refers to the competition structure, where the loser's bracket champion has an uphill battle to win the grand championship.The finals definitely see IMMvp getting down to business: Sneaking a dropship into opponent MMA's territory, IMMvp manages a staggering 34 kills, only 10 minutes into the game. Then, IMMvp deftly deconstructs MMA's attempts to make up for the worker slaughter. Moving his tank force to the center of the map is all IMMvp needs to do to take the first of this best-of-three match.Game two sees MMA take an early lead in the expansion war. From there, IMMvp fights a losing battle for the rest of the game. Showing the skill that brought him to the finals, MMA switches up his usual Terran vs. Terran style beautifully to stop a counter-charge by IMMvp. Inevitably, MMA takes the field for the win.The deciding game, played on the Xel Naga map, sees MMA open with an initial Banshee rush strategy. But his legs get dramatically swept out from under him when IMMvp blasts MMA's Banshee with a Viking. MMA tries a mech push; IMMvp mobilizes and fends it off handily. IMMvp counters immediately after to trounce MMA's underdeveloped forces and take the title from MMA. It is a significant passing of the torch, as MMA had won the previous championship in Columbus, OH. Amid dozens of flashbulbs at the post-tournament press conference, IMMvp compliments his opponents' strengths, and says he would be eager to defend his title at the upcoming MLG in Raleigh, NC.If MLG attendance grows at the rate it has been, they might just have to hold that one in a stadium!What do you think of Major League gaming? Would you be hyped to witness a live gaming event, or do you find it weird?