Local teen to participate at MLG in fall

Since 2002 when Major League Gaming (MLG) was created, gamers across North America have sat for even longer in their basements with the lights off and their headsets on, practising harder in order to reach the ever-elusive “pro” status.
Greyson Wesley, 17, of Fort Frances is one of those aspirants.
This past weekend, MLG hit up Toronto, ON with the Pro Circuit 2008 and Wesley was gearing up to play.
He had joined a four-person team for the popular game Gears of War for Xbox 360 and they were set to win the $2,000 prize that went to the first-place team.
Unfortunately, the team that he joined decided that they just were not good enough yet, having not put in enough game hours, and feeling insecure with going up against others who have.
Wesley felt like he was ready to take on the big kids and was a little disappointed with their decision to pull out.
But the time to make up for the forfeit is nearing.
Wesley informed the Times that he will still be going to participate at MLG in due time—he has his name down for the final event in Dallas, TX on Oct. 3-5.
Major League Gaming is a pretty big deal. It is the upper echelon that the hardcore gamers really aspire to.
Under this corporation, there are gamers with pro status and those reaching for it.
To become a pro, you have to log the hard hours and place first in a pro event. After that, the sponsorships roll in.
While anyone who enters has a sponsor (Wesley is sponsored by John Racioppi, owner of Global Gaming), the pros get the big time sponsors like professional basketball players and Red Bull.
Wesley practises day in and day out, and is always seen at Global Gaming playing Xbox Live, the popular online program to go with the Xbox 360.
He has entered multiple competitions online and has done very well but he has never done anything like what MLG offers.
But still he thinks he has a good chance of doing some damage to the Gears of War scene.
And Racioppi thinks so too.
When asked what he thinks about Wesley’s playing, he succinctly applauded him by saying, “He owns!”
And that he does, but don’t ask Wesley because he is modest enough to keep his head down and say, “I usually do pretty good.”