Mike Sepso
{{Short description|American esports entrepreneur (born 1972)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mike Sepso
| birth_name = Michael Sepso
| birth_date = June 25, 1972
| birth_place = Bridgeport, Connecticut, US
| known_for = Major League Gaming
esports
}}
Michael Sepso (born June 25, 1972) is an American video game, media and technology entrepreneur and currently co-founder and CEO of Vindex, a gaming and esports technology infrastructure business.{{Cite web|last=Fitch|first=Adam|date=2020-04-27|title=From MLG to Vindex: The story of Mike Sepso|url=https://esportsinsider.com/2020/04/mlg-vindex-mike-sepso-story/|access-date=2021-06-22|website=Esports Insider|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204820/https://esportsinsider.com/2020/04/mlg-vindex-mike-sepso-story/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2021-06-23|title=Belong Gaming Arenas opens 1st U.S. esports gaming center in Houston|url=https://venturebeat.com/2021/06/23/belong-gaming-arenas-opens-1st-u-s-esports-gaming-center-in-houston/|access-date=2021-06-23|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623130109/https://venturebeat.com/2021/06/23/belong-gaming-arenas-opens-1st-u-s-esports-gaming-center-in-houston/|url-status=live}} He is the co-founder of Major League Gaming,{{Cite web|title=From Lazy Summer to Major League Gaming: Mike Sepso on Founding the Esports Giant|url=https://cheddar.com/media/from-lazy-summer-to-major-league-gaming-mike-sepso-on-founding-the-esports-giant|access-date=2021-06-23|website=Cheddar|language=en|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204223/https://cheddar.com/media/from-lazy-summer-to-major-league-gaming-mike-sepso-on-founding-the-esports-giant|url-status=live}} a professional esports league and media company acquired by video game publisher Activision Blizzard in December 2015{{Cite web|last=Lawton|first=Jacob|title=Mike Sepso|url=https://esportsinsider.com/speaker/mike-sepso/|access-date=2021-06-22|website=Esports Insider|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204822/https://esportsinsider.com/speaker/mike-sepso/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Activision Blizzard Acquires MLG for $46 Million|url=https://fortune.com/2016/01/04/activision-blizzard-acquires-mlg/|access-date=2021-06-22|website=Fortune|language=en|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202829/https://fortune.com/2016/01/04/activision-blizzard-acquires-mlg/|url-status=live}}
Major League Gaming (MLG), is a professional esports organization. Sepso and co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni founded MLG in 2002.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
Life and career
= Major League Gaming =
Major League Gaming, or MLG, is arguably the first professional esports organization. Headquartered in New York City, New York, MLG holds official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. MLG's aim from its founding was to bring computer and console game competitions to the level of spectator sports in terms of competition and production value.
Early on, MLG was kept afloat exclusively through financing from its founders.{{Cite news|last=Feuer|first=Alan|date=2013-08-09|title=Seeking to Be Both N.F.L. and ESPN of Video Gaming|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/nyregion/seeking-to-be-both-nfl-and-espn-of-video-gaming.html|access-date=2021-12-16|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216223653/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/nyregion/seeking-to-be-both-nfl-and-espn-of-video-gaming.html|url-status=live}} In 2006, Oak Investment Partners, a local venture capital firm, invested in MLG and by 2012 it had invested nearly $60 million in the league.
In 2006, MLG broadcast their Halo 2 Pro Series on USA Network as the TV program Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit.{{Cite news|last=Magee|first=Kyle|date=May 8, 2009|title=MLG Secures $10 Million in Series A Financing from Ritchie Capital to Build World's First Professional Video Game League|work=Major League Gaming|url=http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/news/mlg-secures-10-million-in-series-a-financing-from-ritchie-capital-to-build-worlds-first-professional-video-game-league|access-date=April 8, 2015|archive-date=August 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820074638/http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/news/mlg-secures-10-million-in-series-a-financing-from-ritchie-capital-to-build-worlds-first-professional-video-game-league|url-status=live}} With the broadcast, MLG became the first televised video game console gaming league in the United States.{{Cite news|last=Wingfield|first=Nick|date=2016-01-04|title=Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E-Sports|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/technology/activision-buys-major-league-gaming-to-broaden-role-in-e-sports.html|access-date=2022-01-27|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2016-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114163411/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/technology/activision-buys-major-league-gaming-to-broaden-role-in-e-sports.html|url-status=live}} The Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit ran until 2007,{{Cite web|title=A video-game league of their own - Aug. 21, 2008|url=https://money.cnn.com/2008/08/05/technology/mlg.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008082113|access-date=2022-01-27|website=money.cnn.com|archive-date=2022-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127175929/https://money.cnn.com/2008/08/05/technology/mlg.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008082113|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Terdiman|first=Daniel|title=Major League Gaming goes big league|url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/major-league-gaming-goes-big-league/|access-date=2022-01-27|website=CNET|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127175929/https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/major-league-gaming-goes-big-league/|url-status=live}} and was also featured on ESPN.com,{{Cite web|title=ESPN:The Life:Video Games:MLG|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/mlg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208013538/http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/mlg|archive-date=February 8, 2009|access-date=September 25, 2009|website=ESPN.com}} and other sites.{{Cite web|date=June 4, 2009|title=ESPN 360 acquired|url=https://www.espn.com/videogames/news/story?id=4222274|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721080646/http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=4222274|archive-date=July 21, 2015|access-date=September 30, 2009|url-status=live|website=ESPN}}
In 2013, MLG.tv, MLG's website, launched video streaming. The online-only platform was one of the first for streaming esports, closely following the spinoff from Justin.tv into Twitch.tv in the summer of 2011.{{Cite web|last=Wilhelm|first=Alex|date=2011-06-06|title=TwitchTV: Justin.tv’s killer new esports project|url=https://thenextweb.com/news/twitchtv-justin-tvs-killer-new-esports-project|access-date=2022-01-27|website=TNW {{!}} Media|language=en|archive-date=2022-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802205341/https://thenextweb.com/news/twitchtv-justin-tvs-killer-new-esports-project|url-status=live}} Sepso said of MLG.tv, which would later be a driving factor in Activision Blizzad’s acquisition of the company: “The past two or three years started to explode because of online video. While we early on did bring MLG to television, the reality is our audience lives online.”{{Cite web|last=Dispatch|first=Tim Feran, The Columbus|title=Major League Gaming's Columbus arena set to open|url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/theater/2014/10/24/major-league-gaming-s-columbus/23308730007/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=The Columbus Dispatch|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630191746/https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/theater/2014/10/24/major-league-gaming-s-columbus/23308730007/|url-status=live}}
In October of 2014, MLG opened the MLG.tv Arena in Columbus, Ohio.{{Cite web|title=MLG.tv Columbus Arena Opens Tonight With $75,000 Call of Duty Tournament|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mlg-tv-columbus-arena-opens-tonight-with-75-000-ca/1100-6423161/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211173900/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mlg-tv-columbus-arena-opens-tonight-with-75-000-ca/1100-6423161/|url-status=live}} The 14,000 square feet arena is located near the Easton Town Center and the campus of Ohio State University. MLG.tv arena’s first live event was the MLG Pro League Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season 3 Playoffs.
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:American businesspeople