ESET UK Masters: £10,000 StarCraft 2 tourney starts tonight

ESET has today announced season 1 of the 2013 ESET UK Masters, a tournament that will see StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm players battling out over a £10,000 prize pool. The competition begins tonight, and the season one final takes place at Telford-based eSports event Insomnia48, taking place 22nd – 25th March.

In a statement sent to VG247 today, ESET confirmed that the tourney will attract some big names from the circuit, including Woo "Sage" Kyung Chul, and British contender Nick "Ziktomini" Copello. During the season, players will compete for a chance to face-off at the grand finals, taking place at Insomnia48.

You can watch the first matches of season one on Twitch, starting at 19:30 GMT tonight. The second match-up will take place February 21st.

If you want to get involved, you can take part in a “Bring Your Own Computer” session at i48 for a chance to win one of 12 slots in the final. To sign up, simply hit this link.

Quinton Watts, VP Marketing and Sales at ESET UK said of the eSports scene, “On a global scale, eSports are now more popular than cable television, with millions tuning in to tournaments all over the world. I’m thrilled that we’re now able to bring this phenomenon to the UK, to provide UK competitive gamers with a chance to compete, win prizes and thrill the masses. This is the beginning of something special.”

What do you make of the growing eSports scene? Let us know below.