The compLexity Academy is proud to announce that it has partnered with Beyond Gaming to host another round of recruitment for its StarCraft II division. While previous tournaments were limited to players of Master rank or higher, this time around the Academy will allow anyone in Diamond and above. The Academy has also decided to remove the age limit, meaning anyone residing in North America can try their hand at joining the squad.

This recruitment tournament will last the entire month of August, with registration opening on July 29th. Sign up quickly though, the registration period will only last until August 7th. In order to register head over to BeyondGaming.com/ComplexityAcademy.

The previous Academy recruitment tournaments followed a bracket format. This time around we’ve changed things. We have shifted from a bracket format to a ladder of sorts. Each match will be a best of three. The winner of the match receives 5 points while the loser gets 1. The top four participants at the end of August will be offered a 9 month option contract with compLexity. The contract includes: a SoundBlaster Headset, a QPad compLexity mouse pad, and the chance to earn a trip to a North American LAN event.

Toledo, OH [August 1, 2013] – Complexity Gaming has partnered with Beyond Gaming to operate the “Complexity Academy Recruitment Events” in which gamers have a chance to win a contract with Complexity Gaming. This month long competition is open to most StarCraft 2 Heart Of The Swarm players in North America. The top 4 players will win a contract from Complexity Gaming on the Complexity Gaming “Academy Team.”

Contract winners for the Complexity Gaming Academy Team will receive a spot on the Academy Team, some awesome gaming gear from Creative Labs SoundBlaster and QPAD Pro Gaming Gear, chances to attend major gaming events, and the opportunity to be promoted to the professional Complexity Gaming Team.

Registration for the Complexity Academy Recruitment Event opens on July 25 with competition running from August 1 through August 31, 2013. Players have until August 7 to register for free at BeyondGaming.com/ComplexityAcademy and to start competing in StarCraft 2 Heart Of The Swarm.

Complexity Gaming is the premier competitive gaming brand in the Americas with a long heritage of championship caliber teams, superstar players, news reporting and gaming entertainment ventures. Complexity’s gamers have been featured by numerous mainstream media outlets like Sports Illustrated, New York Post, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal, and live television programs such as CBS’ 60 Minutes.

StarCraft 2 Heart Of The Swarm is Blizzard Entertainment’s critically acclaimed PC sci-fi real-time strategy game. StarCraft2 Heart Of The Swarm sets the standard for competitive eSports video games with over 5.5 million units sold.

The format for the Complexity Academy Recruitment Event will be an open competition with each match the best of 3 victories and the winner receiving 5 points, the loser receiving 1 point for their placement on the standings. Players will be encouraged to compete as often as possible with as many different players as possible. The map pool will include many of the popular such as Bel’Shir Vestige, Derelict Watcher TE, and Neo Planet S which have been hand-selected by Complexity Gaming.

Players should head over to BeyondGaming.com/ComplexityAcademy to join the Complexity Academy Recruitment Event for a coveted chance for a pro gaming contract from Complexity Academy.

In addition the Complexity Academy Recruitment Event, Beyond Gaming operates a variety of competitions for prizes including Daily Challenges in StarCraft 2, bi-weekly events in ShootMania and TrackMania, and other special events with top publishers and developers. Players are able to compete for prizes ranging from pizza and sandwiches, to headsets and controllers, and now gift cards and downloadable entertainment.

About Beyond Gaming

Beyond Gaming is the social engagement and casual competition platform for the world’s most popular video games. Players can challenge their friends and opponents in top PC, Xbox, and PS3 games using Beyond Gaming’s virtual currency Tokens to compete and cash in for valuable prizes. The company also runs top industry events with leading video game brands, software companies, advertisers, and celebrities. Beyond Gamings’s “Play For It!” casual competition platform connects brands with gamers who compete for their products.

About Complexity Gaming

Complexity Gaming® is the premier competitive gaming brand in the Americas. Owned and operated by some of the finest minds in the industry, Complexity has a long heritage of championship caliber teams, superstar players, news reporting and gaming entertainment ventures. Complexity’s gamers have been featured by numerous mainstream media outlets like Sports Illustrated, New York Post, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. They have also appeared on live television programs such as CBS’ 60 Minutes and the Championship Gaming Series, have been featured in film documentaries and were a focus of the book “Game Boys.”

Please note that this event is not officially sanctioned by Blizzard Entertainment and is solely for entry into Complexity Academy. 

For the full press release and registration information click here.

This past week the compLexity Academy held an internal tournament to determine which player would receive an all expenses paid trip to MLG Anaheim this weekend. We at the Academy are pleased to announce that the winner of the trip to Anaheim is Sam “Firezerg” Prowse. In celebration of this victory, compLexity Academy commishoner Michael “Twixz” Shane sat down with Sam to discuss his history and the tournament.

Sam, first off congratulations on your win! You have been part of compLexity for a while now, but for those unaware why don’t you tell us about your journey with compLexity?

Thanks! I’ve been involved with compLexity since their first ever StarCraft II roster, and was fortunate enough to be sent to two MLG events back in 2010; Anaheim and Columbus.  I guess looking back, it really has been a long time since I was able to represent compLexity at a major event and I’m very happy to have that opportunity again!

You have played in the Academy Qualifiers before but failed to qualify, what has kept you motivated to improve and compete in these events?

To be honest, I had very long on-again-off-again streak on Wings of Liberty as far as activity goes, I think at least in some part due to my enjoyment of the game. My ‘e-sports’ background, if you could call it that, is in Brood War (StarCraft 1), which was a game I got a lot of enjoyment out of and was subsequently very active in.  I’m personally of the opinion that Heart of the Swarm is a major improvement over Wings of Liberty, and in the last couple of months since the expansion’s release, I’ve found myself putting in the 9 hour practice days that I used to back in Brood War.

What are you looking forward to the most about getting the chance to compete at MLG?

Unfortunately I don’t think many people will look at the notable players list for MLG Anaheim, see my name, and get excited about me competing in this event. I’m looking forward to the opportunity that a major competition like this allows for me to fix this problem.

Is there anyone attending that you would like to play against in open bracket?

Anybody playing Zerg, Protoss or Terran; I don’t practice against Random ;D.

What are your goals for MLG?

I think back in 2010 I didn’t get any farther than round 7 in the loser’s bracket.  There isn’t a group stage at this event as far as I know, but to make it to that level in the open bracket would be a big win for me.  I think the equivalent in this tournament would be top 16 or so (this is also the cutoff for WCS points).

Where can we follow you/ track your experience at MLG?

I don’t have access to my twitter account at the moment, but it’s @coLFireZergSC2— hopefully I have this problem fixed before I leave Thursday. I’ll try and take as many pictures and videos as I can while I’m in Anaheim and hopefully post them somewhere on the complexity website when I get back ^^!

Any thank you/shoutouts?

Shoutout to compLexity Academy for giving me this opportunity to travel for e-sports and compete in this event, and to Soundblaster, Q-pad, PNY, Creative, Origin, Twitch, 1337 Gaming and Newegg. Cheers!

Be sure to tune into MLG Anaheim this weekend and cheer for Firezerg as he represents the compLexity Academy.

June is turning out to be a pretty busy month for the compLexity Academy League of Legends squad. This past weekend they took home second place in the ESL Go4LoL May Monthly Finals, falling to Denial eSports in the finals. In addition to Go4LoL, the CA.LoL team has been invited to play in the MOBAFire Challenger Series, a newly announced tournament created by MOBAFire and Pulse eSports that focuses on both professional teams as well as amateurs.

According to MOBAFire:

The MOBAFire Challenger Series (MCS) was created to provide an arena for pro-am, or sub LCS, teams to compete for prizes and earn experience playing against other highly skilled teams to help prepare for competing in the LCS. Teams qualify or are invited to play in each series of the MCS. 4 Series are played each year with playoffs for each series. The top 6 teams keep their spot for the following series unless they withdraw voluntarily (hopefully because they won a spot in the LCS).

The other teams invited to MCS include: New World Eclipse, The Salad Bar, Bozo Bears, Reality Check Gaming, Exertus Vigor, Gold Gaming LA, Team Summon, Denial eSports, FXOpen, compLexity (non-Academy), Wazabi Gaming, Team Tower Dive, and Pulse eSports.

The MCS is set to start early July. Their website hasn’t launched yet, but as soon as it does expect to see a link added to this post. Be sure to check out the matches in July to see both CA.LoL and compLexity Gaming take on some of the best teams around.

Earlier this week The compLexity Academy won the Go4LoL Cup #116. The Academy really brought their A-game tearing through the 128 team bracket. In the end it came down to The Academy versus Kimchi to the Challenger, who was quickly defeated 1-0.

This tournament win brings The Academy one step closer to earning a spot in the Go4LoL Monthly Finals. After last month’s defeat The Academy is really wanting that finals victory.

This week The compLexity Academy’s StarCraft II squad will be pitted against itself for the compLexity Academy MLG Spring Qualifier. This tournament, hosted by compLexity Gaming, is used to determine which player from The Academy will receive an all expense paid trip to the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim, CA.

The action already kicked off on Monday and saw Ero-Sennin defeat Midday 2-0, Duster defeat Nocreativity 2-0, and Firezerg defeat Agiantsmurf 2-1. If you’re a fan of one of the losing players don’t get upset, this is a double elimination bracket, so there’s still hope.

You can keep an eye on the tournament’s progress here. Keep an eye out for a post detailing the finals, which will be streamed live on compLexity’s Twitch.tv channel.

Today the new compLxity Academy League of Legends team will be participating in the Go4LoL Cup #115. Last week the squad played in the April finals and if they’re looking to repete this month they’ll need to bring their A game. While last week’s finals were an eight team bracket, this tournament will feature 128 teams duking it out.

The tournament kicks off at 3:00 PM EST and will be streamed on the ESL Twitch.tv channel.

Tonight the new compLexity Academy League of Legends team will be playing in the Go4LoL April Monthly Finals.

Comprised of eight teams who placed high enough in the previous Go4LoL April tournaments, tonight’s Finals will be one you won’t want to miss. The teams participating are: CA.LoL, The Salad Bar, Kimchi to the Challenger, Diamond Powers Combined, Synesthesia Gaming, Wazabi Gaming, Too Hipster For Challenger, and Exertus Zeal. For the full bracket and rules click here.

The action kicks off at 9:00 PM EST and can be watched on the ESL Twitch.tv Stream. Be sure to tune in and see what our new squad show you what they are made of.

In this installment of Getting to Know The Academy, compLexity Academy commissioner Michael “Twixz” Shane sat down with one of our newest members; Mark “Dragonrouge” Jreige from CA.LoL.

Lets start off with a little about yourself!

Hi, I’m Mark Jreige. I’m Canadian, originally from Lebanon. I moved to Canada to pursue my studies in Software Engineering, Astronomy and Physics five years ago. I’m 22 years old, and my gaming handle is Dragonrouge.

What do you enjoy outside of gaming?

My favorite thing to do outside of gaming is perfecting my massage techniques, play the classical guitar (which I’ve been learning for 15 years now; my style being flamenco/baroque), swimming, going to the gym, and going out in the mountains/skiing in the Winter.

Tell us a little about your team.

The team was first known as Armata Gaming. We were a local team formed in January of this year with the sole reason of competing in amateur tournaments around the QC province region in Canada. After taking many victories in LANs and ByoC events, we finished it off with the victory in LAN ETS 2013 (the biggest LAN event in eastern NA). After such a big win we decided to go more global and started practicing more often. We started getting requests from sponsors but nothing was as enticing as compLexity’s brand name, credibility, and resources. After signing and becoming part of The Academy program we became even more dedicated and put in more hours daily in order to become the best team we can possibly be.

Did you play any competitive games before league?

I was a World of Warcraft player and I have a very competitive nature. Since the day I could walk and run I would compete in sporting events and galas every week. That made me overzealous and committed to win, so naturally I played in the competitive arena brackets. In the arena I accumulated over 400 days played on one account and all the achievements I could possibly accumulate over the years I was active, mostly reaching the highest ranks in PvP on my server at the time. I moved to League and found the constant threat and action more suitable for my taste and took over.

What role do you play in LoL on your team?

I am the Top Laner. At the start of the game I would stick to a champion and master him. In pre-rank Season 1 I would just play Poppy or other champions that could duel well and have cool animations. I then moved to Xin Zhao and Jax, pretty much all-in champs. Then I found some fun in supporting, but only with Janna. Then I tried her at mid after noticing her AP ratios and by Season 1 of the ranked system. I climbed to the top playing Janna mid and Gangplank exclusively in any lane. In Season 2  I was still playing Janna, but I started supporting more because that was my role on the team I had assembled at the time. Later I would play Janna and Taric mostly, but in Solo Queue I would mostly go mid and jungle playing stuff like Mordekaiser, Kassadin, Shaco and Veigar. Finally in Season 3 I mastered top lane playing Rumble, Lee-Sin, Lulu, and Singed.

Who are you top 3 favorite champions and why?

My all time favorite is Janna, she just doesn’t die…or she shouldn’t with the kit she has available. I mean shes one of the most annoying Champions to deal with when you’re chasing her down or trying to take down the carry. My second favorite would have to be Gangplank mainly because of the Remove Scurvy ability. The memories of baiting people under turret, maxing Scurvy and using it in the bush so that they don’t notice how much hp it heals are just too precious. And lastly I’d have to say Singed. Singed is a walking poisonous annoyance that flings people around and gets to do whatever he wants with the proper build: immortal and dangerous, farm in their base, between their turrets and run away from 1v5 situations by running into their whole team and surviving makes him one of the most fun champs I’ve ever had the pleasure to play!

Any events coming up that we should look out for?

We will be signing up for every single amateur weekly tournament, qualifying for bigger events as they come, and practicing for the upcoming LCS!

Thanks for letting us interview you, is there anyone out there you would like to give a shoutout to or thanks?

Thank you, and I would like to thank my family and friends for being awesome, compLexity for giving us the opportunity to accomplish what we’ve always wanted to accomplish, our future fans and supporters/sponsors, and lastly the fortune cookie I had a few days ago that pretty much said strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine, by that principal I am the most powerful being in the universe because feeders gon feed.

Again we at compLexity would like to thank Mark for taking the time out of his busy practice schedule to talk with us. The compLexity Academy strongly believe in growing the North American eSports scene by supporting our players and giving them a chance to get in the community’s spotlight.

 

Today The compLexity Academy is pleased to announce that it has signed a new player. Samuel “Midday” He is a strong Zerg player from Alberta, Canada who has shown that he possesses the skills and determination desired by The Academy. He recently took home a 2nd place finish in the Challonge May 11 SC2 Open tournament, only losing to the Canadian GM Protoss SaroVati.

In an effort to get to know Sam better, I sat down with him and asked him a few questions.

Hey Sam, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. Before we really get into the interview would you mind introducing yourself to some of the fans who may not have heard of you?

Hi everyone, I’m Sam “Midday” He, a Zerg player from Alberta Canada. I’ve been playing StarCraft II since late June 2011, so I have about 2 years of experience under my belt. I started taking StarCraft seriously from the start, and I was fortunate enough to have people who were already competent at the game teach me regularly.

In regards to accomplishments, I haven’t really done much: Top 8 in King of the Prairies 2013, was featured on Gamers Den on Access TV, and won a couple local tournaments. That said, I’d really like to dish out a really strong notable result in the near future to show people I have to be taken very seriously. Maybe something in WCS or an MLG online qualifier, however a lack of live open brackets in MLG is making that difficult.

Outside of StarCraft, I am a music student (just finished my first year), studying clarinet performance at the University of Alberta. I might transfer schools for this upcoming semester, but we’ll see what happens.

Focusing a bit on the game, what are your goals for SC2 as well as the Academy?

My goal for SC2 is to simply become a progamer. In my opinion, the player job is the most exciting out of all eSports jobs, and I want to be a recognized top tier progamer. I am working very hard towards it.

My goal in The Academy is to be promoted to the main compLexity squad through some shape or form of a strong result. I will be actively aiming to meet and surpass Goswser’s and Sasquatch’s success.

You recently took home 2nd place in the Challonge SC2 Open. How was the competition? Who were the notable players involved? Were there are particularly good games you’re proud of?

The competition in that tournament was overall relatively light. The only major hitter that tournament brought was the captain of Clarity Gaming, SaroVati, who ended up winning it. I didn’t find myself being proud of any of the games I played in that tournament.

What are your thoughts on the WCS format? As an up and coming player how do you feel WCS affects your chances/situation?

I think the WCS format isn’t bad. I liked the European one where they gave you more chances. It really just comes down to being an apex predator, so you don’t really have to worry about the format and competition. I wish they would go back to the notion of national champions though. Also, there’s no reason to play in Korea other than practice, and that seems pretty unfair.

How are you liking the Academy so far? 

Everybody seems really friendly and funny in The Academy. Overall, I haven’t spoken much with management, although I have only been here for a very short time so I’m sure it’ll be great getting to know them. If only everyone wasn’t so damn busy! haha – The opportunities that The Academy provides are great. There are lots of connections within the team and now that I’m on The Academy, it’s just one step closer to becoming a progamer.

Thanks for the quick interview Sam. Any shoutouts you’d like to give?

I want to say thanks to my friends for always supporting me with this, and that I appreciate it so much. Also thanks to compLexity for giving me this amazing opportunity. I also want to give a special thank-you to my mother who is learning about industry with me, and is supporting me with the tools I need to be successful in it.

Again I’d like to thank Sam for taking the time to speak with me. With his determination and skill Sam will surely be an asset to The Academy.

Tomorrow the new compLexity Academy League of Legends squad will be participating in their first tournament wearing the coL tag. Kicking off at 2:00 PM EST, the WellPlayed Cup Qualifier will see 16 teams duking it out for two spots in the Championship tournament, which will be held in the first week of June. The Qualifier will follow a standard format; single elimination, best-of-3, teams seeded based on NA ladder rank. For the full breakdown of the entire tournament check out the post here.

This is a huge tournament for the CA.LoL team. While they had success under their old name Armata Gaming, CA.LoL has yet to play under the compLexity flag. Hopefully their success continues and they make a big splash in the scene as a compLexity team.

To watch the tournament tune into WellPlayed’s Twitch.tv stream at 2:00 PM EST on Saturday the 18th. The tournament will continue throughout the weekend, so be sure to watch on both Saturday and Sunday. While you’re watching the event, be sure to cheer for CA.LoL as they make their debut under the compLexity name.