MLG Orlando marked only the midpoint of the 2008 Pro Circuit Season, and it has perhaps already secured its place as the most exciting and tumultuous in league history. In every single event, the competition has rapidly reached a fever pitch. As the level of awareness spreads across the globe, exponentially more competitors are emerging from the ether with every passing event, thus pushing the mastery required to win each game to previously unheard heights. The ride through the rest of the season will be anything but tame, and you won’t want to miss a minute of it. But first, the lowdown on this incredible Orlando competition…

The way Halo 3 is played at the top level is mutating at a phenomenal pace, and we are constantly seeing the game develop as teams discover more and more ways to maximize efficiency and teamwork. Far and away, the most impressive examples of this were Triggers Down and Str8 Rippin, two teams that positively towered above all of the others in MLG Orlando. Naturally, they found themselves face to face in the Championship Match, and while the series was hotly contested, Triggers Down was eventually able to emerge victorious. This marked the first time since September 2005 that a team besides Final Boss, Str8 Rippin and Carbon won an MLG Halo Championship, and signaled the emergence of an unbelievably talented new top contender.

Gears of War made a triumphant return to the Pro Circuit with a packed lineup of top caliber teams eager to get back into the action. Frag Domant made major strides between events by acquiring Mr. X and Finest, who gave the team just the jolt they needed to leap from their Meadowlands fourth place finish all the way to the top of the podium. As Mr. X proclaimed following the victory, many people believe they witnessed the birth of a new dynasty this weekend, and we can’t wait to find out how much weight the claim holds in Toronto next month.

Orlando’s World of WarCraft competition expanded upon the success of MLG’s explosion onto the PC scene with its San Diego debut. The world’s best WoW teams once again collided in an unparalleled tournament environment that cemented MLG’s reputation as the only platform for true competitive gaming. When the dust settled, Orz emerged victorious, which marked the first time a female gamer has finished in first place at an MLG-sanctioned competition. Once again, literally hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to the live broadcast from over 100 different countries, and the future holds nothing but greatness for this fantastically competitive game.

The Rainbow Six Vegas 2 competition was full of upsets as teams shuffled around since Orlando in hopes of finding a magic combination of players. It would appear that vVv ReWriTTeN has found such a roster, improving upon their previous fourth place finish with an absolutely crushing first place finish at this event. It’s clear that players are beginning to turn the game’s strategy from its experimental stages into a science, and it will be thrilling to watch the competition arc ever-upward throughout the rest of the season.

While they are basking in the spotlight now, these faces will become burned in the minds of the competition who will be gunning for their positions at the next event. Congratulations to all of the prize winners from MLG Orlando!