The ASTRO Crew arrived in Boston greeted by freezing cold snow, but nothing could stop us from enjoying the legendary Penny Arcade Expo East. This is ASTRO’s 7th consecutive PAX event as the official headset, and once again we’ve documented the chaos with daily video recaps, hosted by @LisaMalambri. On the eve of PAX our crew began setting up the ASTRO booth and gearing our partners up with custom speaker tags and headsets. Soon the once empty show floor turned into a kingdom of awesome, teaming with fans, drawn by the lure of free swag and a glimpse at their next favorite game. Let’s kick it off with our first video recap:

Day one in Boston was wicked awesome. PAX was full of some real colorful characters and we snapped photos of the best Cosplayers on the scene; setting them up into teams that battled it out for our Facebook fan’s respect- Who won the fight?   …[drumroll]…

TEAM 2 is victorious! Congratulations and thanks for all the votes! PAX never ceases to amaze with truly creative fans and always impressive cosplay.  Keep up the good work!

At the ASTRO booth, fans experienced ASTRO Audio with premier titles like: Zombie Studio’s upcoming Daylight, Konami’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and EA’s Dead Space 3.  Fans also participated in several contests featuring : World of Tanks speaker tags and in-game currency, Kontrol Freek prizes, Wizards of the Coast products and ASTRO headsets. All our game stations were outfitted with Scuf Gaming controllers, and we gave away several controllers to loyal fans. The ASTRO booth acted as a meeting place, chill spot, and general hang out hub for many. Fans and crew alike lounged with friends, met YouTube celebs, or just get caught up on some z’s, @LoLDyrus !

Lisa kicked off day two at PAX with a walk through of Cryptic Studios new game Dungeon & Dragons: Neverwinter, a free to play action MMO. Then Soup followed up with Signal Studios, to get the download on their new free to play MMO Ascend: New Gods. It all ended in the ECA battle arena where Lisa brutally beat down Soup and claimed victory as ultimate host.

For the third and final day of PAX, Lisa got up bright and early to check out Dust 514, another awesome free to play MMO (noticing a trend here?) where you can interact with players from Eve Online. Pretty rad. We ended our game coverage with a special guest, Gold Glove, who discussed Execution Mode and grenade load out in Gears of War: Judgement.

Your PAX experience just wouldn’t be complete without the Pro team meet & greet. We all got to chill in the ASTRO booth and party with our newly sponsored teams, Evil Geniuses and TSM Snapdragon.  The teams were both big hits and we are excited for the upcoming competitions and blossoming partnerships. The ASTRO Booth really is the coolest spot to kick back and enjoy everything that PAX is, and has to offer. Thanks again to all our partners, crew, fans, and new friends for makin’ it happen. What a ride…

Browse our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to catch up on the PAX East madness.

The countdown to PAX Prime has begun… see you in Seattle!

-ASTRO Crew

Both of ASTRO Gaming’s premier Call of Duty squads, OpTic Gaming and EnvyUs, entered the MLG Dallas tournament with hopes to place within the Top 8 teams. Placing this high would grant them access to the exclusive Million Dollar International Tournament hosted by Treyarch. Each team came prepared to battle through the rigorous Open Bracket tournament compared to some of their peers who’ve already pre-qualified for the desirable Championship Bracket. With the odds and 15 potential rounds of Open Bracket series stacked against them, both squads quickly got to work.

It was OpTic Gaming who exploded from start, while not dropping a single game, advanced 6 consecutive rounds before finding themselves among the higher-tier opponents who’ve been waiting for them in the Championship bracket. OpTic Gaming continued their trend in the new bracket and on the MLG Main Stage versus two more Professional teams until they bumped into MLG’s second place champions, UNITE, who knocked them into the Losers Bracket.

Meanwhile, EnvyUs, had done just the same along side OpTic Gaming in the Open Bracket while only dropping a single game. They stomped through the pit, even counting an incredible 2-0 sweep versus CompLexity Gaming who later in the weekend knocked OpTic Gaming out of the the tournament. However, early in the Championship Bracket, EnvyUs suffered an hiccup by losing to MLG Dallas’ first place champions, Fariko Impact. Now EnvyUs would have to run a gauntlet of teams in the Losers Bracket to earn their spot at the Million Dollar tournament.

They did just that. EnVyUs bounced back with fury from their meeting with Fariko to dismantle four of North America’s best Call of Duty teams in a row.

OpTic Gaming and EnvyUs’ stellar performances from the bottom of the MLG Open Bracket all the deep into the Championship Bracket has secured them each a spot in the Call of Duty Million Dollar Tournament in Hollywood, this April. We are excited to see what adjustments each squad will make before competing in ASTRO’s honor once again.

- Nexy

Click here for:  MLG Dallas 2013 – Winter Championship : Brackets and Results

Team Envyus

Watch Team EnVyUs : Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Open Bracket – Winners Round 5

EnVy vs compLexity – Game 1 – WBR5 – MLG Dallas 2013 

Optic Gaming

Watch Optic Gaming : Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Open Bracket – Winners Round 6

OpTic Gaming vs High Hopes – Game 1 – WBR6 – MLG Dallas 2013

Team Solomid

Watch Team SoloMid : League Of Legends – Season 3 NA LCS

compLexity vs TSM Snapdragon – LCS – MLG Dallas 2013

That match was epic! Awesome wins TSM! Keep up the good work!

~ MLG Dallas – Season 3 NA LCS Results ~

~ Season Three NA LCS Matches ~

 TSM Snapdragon vs Good Game University – TSM Win

TSM Snapdragon vs Curse Gaming  - TSM Loss

TSM Snapdragon vs compLexity – TSM Win

 Want more Team SoloMid? Click here to see the League of Legends Championship Series upcoming battles!

www.SoloMid.net

Big congratulations to our teams Optic Gaming and Team EnVyUs for qualifying for the $1 Million Dollar Tournament: April 5-7.  See you in Hollywood!

Also looking forward to the MLG Spring Championship with the Grand Finals in Anaheim, June 28-30, 2013. Can’t wait!

BE SURE TO FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL FEEDS FOR THE MOST CURRENT ASTRO NEWS AND TEAM UPDATES!

ASTRO GAMING IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE OFFICIAL SPONSORSHIP OF FOUR PRO TEAMS : EVIL GENIUSES ~ TEAM SOLOMID ~ OPTIC GAMING ~ ENVYUS

ASTRO has been a long-time supporter of eSports, hardcore gaming, and having fun. Over the years we’ve worked closely with professional teams to develop premium audio systems for dedicated pros and at-home gamers alike. We are proud to announce a dramatic expansion of our eSports division, becoming the official sponsor of  today’s most dominant pro gaming teams: Evil Geniuses, Team SoloMid, OpTic Gaming, and EnVyUs.

As an official sponsor of each team, we will provide logistical and travel support for all major tournaments held nationwide. We’ll be providing tournament entry fees, and of course, ensuring our teams have the latest Headsets, MixAmps, and ASTRO gear. This weekend, March 15-17, our teams will be competing alongside more than 1,000 other superstars from around the world at the Major League Gaming Winter Championship in Dallas, Texas.  Players and teams will compete in a variety of games, including Call of Duty®: Black Ops II™, League of Legends™ and Starcraft® II: Heart of the Swarm™ for $170,000 in prizes.

With our new sponsorship of Evil Geniuses, Team SoloMid, OpTic Gaming and EnVyUs, we plan to push the limits, taking pro gaming to the next level.  As the industry evolves, we’ll work closely with our teams to drive research and development into the next generation of ASTRO Gaming products.

Evil Geniuses

League of Legends ~ DOTA 2 ~ Starcraft II ~ CounterStrike ~ World of Warcraft: Cataclysm ~ Super Street Fighter IV

“We’re very happy to have been welcomed into the ASTRO portfolio of sponsored teams. We’ve always admired ASTRO’s attention to detail and approach to eSports, and we expect this partnership to help Evil Geniuses in a variety of different ways.” -  Alexander Garfield, CEO of Evil Geniuses.

About Evil Geniuses:

• Founded in 1999, Evil Geniuses is the Western world’s best video game team and a leading new media agency with a client portfolio that includes such brands as Intel, Monster Energy, Kingston Technology, and other major technology and consumer brands. Featuring gaming celebrities like Greg “IdrA” Fields, Justin “JWong” Wong, Lee “JD” Jaedong, Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson, and Stephen “Snoopeh” Ellis, Evil Geniuses consists of only the most popular, storied, and influential gamers from around the world.

Evil Geniuses Social:

www.MyEG.net

Team SoloMid

League Of Legends

“We are extremely proud to be sponsored by ASTRO! They have the best headsets on the market and we feel privileged to have the opportunity to represent their products.” – Andy “Reginald” Dinh

Team Roster:

~ Andy “Reginald” Dinh

~ Shan “Chaox” Huang

~ Brian “TheOddOne” Wyllie

~ Alex “Xpecial” Chu

~ Marcus “Dyrus” Hill

~ Daryl “Wingsofdeathx” Hennegan

~ Jason “WildTurtle” Tran

Highlights:

• ~ 2011 MLG Providence – (1^st place)
• ~ 2012 IPL 4 Las Vegas – (1^st place)
• ~ 2012 RoG International – (1^st place)
• ~ 2012 MLG Spring Championship – (1^st place)
• ~ 2012 MLG Summer Arena – (2^nd place)
• ~ 2012 IPL Face Off San Francisco – (1^st place) 

Team SoloMid MLG Dallas Schedule:

~ Friday, March 15 @ approx. 5:30 PM CST ~

Season Three NA LCS - TSM Snapdragon vs Good Game University

~ Saturday, March 16 @ approx. 4:00 PM CST ~

Season Three NA LCS - Curse Gaming vs TSM Snapdragon

~ Sunday, March 17 @ approx. 1:00 PM CST ~

Season Three NA LCS - compLexity vs TSM Snapdragon 

Team SoloMid Social:

www.SoloMid.net

Optic Gaming

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

“OpTic Gaming is excited to continue our growth as an organization with the continued support of ASTRO Gaming, with their help the 2013 season is going to be a memorable and successful season!” – Hector Rodriguez, OpTic Gaming.

Team Roster:

~ BigTymer

~ Merk

~ Rambo

~ Scumpi

Highlights:

• ~ 2011 GameStop Black Ops PS3 – (1st place)
• ~ 2011 MLG Columbus Black Ops – (1st place)
• ~ 2011 MLG Orlando Black Ops – (1st place)
• ~ 2011 CoD XP MW3 $1 Million Dollar Tournament – (1st place)
• ~ 2012 UMG 10K Tournament – (1^st place)
• ~ 2012 EGL7 CoD MW3 – (1^st place)

Optic Gaming Social:

Envyus

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

“Our team couldn’t be more excited to represent ASTRO Gaming in 2013. Their gear has truly become part of our daily lifestyles and has been integral to our success in competition.”  - Mike Rufail, Team EnVyUs.

Team Roster:

~ Jordan “Proofy” Cannon

~ Ray “Rambo” Lussier

~ Tosh “Stainville” McGruder

~ Jordan “JKap” Kaplan

Highlights:

• • ~ 2008 MLG COD4 National Championship – (2nd place)
  • ~ 2009 MLG COD4 National Championship – (2nd place)
  • ~ 2010 MLG MW2 XBOX National Championship – (1st place)
  • ~ 2011 GameStop Black Ops XBOX – (1st place)
  • ~ 2011 MLG Black Ops National Championship – (2nd place)
  • ~ 2012 EGL8 Manchester – (3rd place)
  • ~ 2012 UMG Chicago MW3 – (2nd place)
  • ~ 2012 UMG Chicago Black Ops 2- (4th place)

EnVyUs Social:

ALL ASTRO PRO TEAMS ARE COMPETING AT THE MLG WINTER CHAMPIONSHIP, MARCH 15-17 IN DALLAS, TX.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL FEEDS FOR THE MOST CURRENT ASTRO NEWS AND TEAM UPDATES!

It’s game time!

-ASTRO Lovehammer

The year started off with a bang as ASTRO Gaming announced their first professional team, Team Eon. Consisting of Optic Gaming, Team EnVyUs, and Team Instinct. It began when EnVyUs launched their first Gears Of War 3 team at the, ASTRO sponsored, HYPEFESTATION tournament. Team Instinct then continued to kill it at the Red Bull Gaming LAN and the very first MLG Columbus Winter Championship.

Hastro and Team EnVyUs also hosted Team Instinct and Optic Gaming at their gaming house for some friendly LAN competition, sponsored by GUNNAR, TWITCH.TV and ASTRO Gaming. Watch our behind the scenes exclusive video of the LAN, here:

We were also honored to become the official communications partner for IGN’s Professional League, the IPL, where pro players compete in Starcraft2 and League Of Legends. The world of eSPORTS has grown immensely since the early days, and the demand for premium audio has never been higher. ASTRO has been reppin’ PRO quality since the beginning so there wasn’t much surprise when Best Buy and GameStop began retailing our products. Stop by, and check out our listening stations to hear what sets ASTRO Gaming apart from the rest.

Got wireless? 2012 was big news for ASTRO as we launched our first wireless headset, the A50. Boasting ASTRO Audio, Dolby Digital 7.1, three EQ presets, an integrated MixAmp, and overall comfort, the A50s have it all. Along with our big announcement we released a radical A50 trailer featuring a track off Krewella’s new EP, PLAY HARD. Check it out yo!

Hmm, summer already? Guess it’s time for some gaming festivals! Out of all the various gaming events, PAX and E3 are two of the most epic and fun shows you’ll ever see. The annual Penny Arcade Expo, PAX, was epic as ever and we partnered with Dark Vale to debut their newest MMO, FORGE at our booth. It was a big hit and we can’t wait to see finished product! E3 was also amazing this year. While at E3, you could find ASTRO gear powering some of our favorite partners like Ubisoft, SEGA, Capcom, Konami, Sega, and THQ, just to name a few.

ASTRO hit the refresh button in 2012 and kicked it up a notch by launching a new event booth, moving to a new office, and premiering a fancy new website. Evolution is a must in the world of gaming, and ASTRO is always aiming to push it one step further, while having some fun doing it.

Assassins Creed III? Uhh, yes please! Ubisoft’s legendary Assassins Creed series launched their third title this year and honored ASTRO with exclusive art for custom speaker tags. Weather you rock the A30s or A40s, there’s AC3 tags for you, keeping you fresh to death with the best.

Shortly after the AC3 editions dropped, ASTRO took a huge leap forward with the 2013 MixAmp Pro. Lose the battery pack, choose your favorite EQ preset, and buckle up. The 2013 A40 audio systems are a game changer, and are now available on ASTRO’s website, at Best Buy, and GameStop. The 2013 A40 Audio System boasts four EQ presets, Dolby Digital 7.1, a new quick disconnect cable system, a new optical cable, and a streaming port for all the hardcore fans.

The year was coming to an end with the season for giving right around the corner. Our 2012 giveaway contest had to be big this year. So we pulled a few strings and got the opportunity to design some custom ASTRO Gaming BESPOKE NIKE AIR FORCE 1′s. Say what!? Given away to one lucky winner, as the only guy on the planet with ASTRO Gaming NIKEs. However, this exclusive deal wasn’t the end for 2012 style points. Upper Playground came also through with a fresh take on new A40 2013 speaker tags. Including my personal favorite, “The Bay” tags. SF, CA!

Overall 2012 was an amazing year for competition, and creativity. We launched new products, new teams, basically new everything, but we couldn’t have done it without all of you, the fans. Thanks to all our loyal “ASTROIDS” out there for choosing ASTRO Gaming and supporting our cause for a premium gaming experience. 2013 has some exciting surprises on the way, so stay tuned in to our ASTRO blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I can’t wait to see all of your posts! Also, don’t forget to tell your friends why ASTRO Gaming is the one for you!

-ASTRO Lovehammer

Many of Halo’s strongest players were in attendance competing to be the final standing team of the weekend. One of those teams was ASTRO’s very own, Instinct.

Last we saw Team Instinct in their entirety was at MLG’s Halo: Reach Columbus event. This was a tournament that would go down in the record books. If you recall, Instinct met up with friendly rivals, Status Quo, in the Grand Finals. On this occurrence, Status Quo would come out the victors but Instinct left some bold words for the opposing squad.

“We are going to win next tournament no matter what. SQ we’re coming for you and we’re taking the next Halo event.” – Pistola

When the dust settled at AGL, Instinct was the final team standing. It was a hard road for the team that was taking a break from competitive Halo. For such a decorated team of players, they were even considered the underdogs in the later stages of the tournament. But in the end, Instinct accomplished everything they are known for, winning. While Status Quo was not in attendance at the AGL tournament, this win in Columbus will certainly send a shockwave to all of the Halo teams around the country.

The next stop for Team Instinct will be MLG Dallas’ Halo 4 competition November 2nd-4th. I’ll be there with my video team creating ASTRO True Stories: Team Instict PART 2.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with the final games from the Championship Match at Arena Gaming League this weekend featuring Instinct.

- ASTRO Nexy

IPL4 will be the second live eSports event from IGN Entertainment — IGN’s first live tournament, IPL 3: Origins, was held last year at Caesars Atlantic City, offering a prize pool of $120,000. IPL 3 Origins drew in more than 12 million online viewers. The championship bracket of 32 players included 8 invited players, 8 players from online qualifiers, and 16 players from the open bracket. Ultimately, Stephano defeated Lucky in the Finals 4-0.

Taking place April 6-8th, 2012, IPL4 will be held at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Featuring a total $150,000 prize pool between StarCraft 2 and League of Legends, IGN continues to highlight eSports as not only a profession, but as a mainstream form of viewer entertainment. IGN has teamed up with Twitch.tv to showcase all of their main stage matches with commentary by casters like Doa, PainUser, dAppolo and others. The previous IPL winners IdrA, White-Ra, and Stephano, along with Online Qualifer winners aLive, PuMa, Bomber, and Polt have already secured their spots at IPL4.

Not going to IPL4 in Sin City? IGN’s made it easy for you and will be broadcasting the event at http://www.ign.com/ipl. You can also catch updates on our Facebook and Twitter.

ASTRO will continue to support the MLG and gamers by providing full MixAmp racks at all Halo team stations and the main stage, as well as at all PC setups for StarCraft 2. Competitors need only to plug their A40 or A30 headset in to our MixAmps for full Dolby 7.1 audio and be able to hear your teammates for crucial team communication.

Eon Instinct is set to defend their title after winning the MLG National Championship last November in Providence, RI. They remain one of just a few teams without any changes to their team or coach since the last competition. They’ve proven that with time, skill, and keeping their roster the same, that it can lead to winning several Halo titles. In the same fashion, Instinct has been an ASTRO supporter and used our gears for many years, and we were happy to partner with them and the rest of Eon for competitions throughout the year.

Be sure to catch all the live streams of the event, as the SD quality streams are free for the whole weekend at http://www.majorleaguegaming.com!

IPL @ SXSW
http://www.ign.com/ipl/

IGN hosted a taste of their IGN Pro League (IPL) over this last weekend at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. SXSW combines the audiences of music, film, and technology over the course of a week. Companies showcase products, and new films musical artists are highly promoted in this space.

This year, IGN was the main sponsor for the Screenburn Arcade, and was able to bring the world of eSports to SXSW attendees. Kicking off on Friday night, they partnered with Capcom to showcase their latest game release, Street Fighter X Tekken. Inviting out eight of the top players from around the US, they faced off in a double elimination exhibition match. Ultimately it came down to Justin Wong vs. nycfurby (aka Arturo Sanchez) in the finals with JWonggg taking home the prize.

Watch IPL@SXSW SFxT VODs here.

The next day, IPL hosted two other exhibition matches. The first was with the very popular, free-to-play game League of Legends. The IPL community voted on which players should be invited out, and chose 10 of the best players from the US to duke it out in a West vs East match up. Both EPIK and v8 had major showings, taking up 7 of the 10 spots with their team members.

Watch IPL@SXSW League of Legends VOD here.

The last showmatche brought the two latest champions of IPL2 and IPL3 together for Starcraft 2. White-Ra’s Protoss army vs Stefano’s Zerg with a prize pool of $5,000 on the line. An intense match-up with a best of 9 series shown before a first-time audience in Austin, TX. Both players gave quite a show and even displayed some new strategies tried out in these games. In the end Stefano defeated White-Ra 5 wins to 1 win.

Watch IPL@SXSW Starcraft 2 VOD here.

The Iron Squid
http://www.ironsquid.tv/

Under the name Iron Squid hides a brand new tournament that should entertain every StarCraft II fan. In the Iron Squid, 20 world class players from all around the globe will battle for a juicy prize pool of $25,000.

Games have already been underway the last couple of weeks with VODs of the first two weeks already up on their site. This week, Shows #4 and #5 showcased matches between Groups A & B. The first having SlayerS BoxeR vs. EG PuMa; the second having Liquid Ret vs. Prime MarineKing; and the last match with SlayerS BoxeR vs. Prime MarineKing. The matches concluded jumping into Group B with IM Mvp vs. mouz ThorZaIN.

Red Bull Gaming LAN
http://www.redbullgaming.com/

The crew from Red Bull put together a LAN event this last weekend hosted by Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. They invited out top talent StarCraft 2 players and Halo teams Instinct, Status Quo, and Dynasty. Also on hand as commentators were StarCraft experts Sean “Day[9]” Plott and Marcus “djWHEAT” Wheat hosting 3 StarCraft streams and recent retiree David “Walshy” Walsh for the Halo stream.

With some very big names in the StarCraft 2 competitive world (Ret, SaSe, Sheth, JYP, NaNiWa, PuMa, and more), it provided some great match ups throughout the 3 day tournament.

Watch Red Bull LAN StarCraft 2 matches here.

The Halo matches went back and forth each day. StatusQuo’s new teammates Royal 2 and Snakebite proved to be great additions to their roster of Flamesword and eNable and put them on par with the current MLG National Champions, eon Instinct. All three teams should have benefited by participating in this LAN just a week before the MLG Winter Championship.

Watch Red Bull LAN Halo matches here.

-ASTRO Warblade