Video games sure have come a long way since playing Super Nintendo in the basement.
This weekend, thousands of competitive gamers from across the country will find their way to the Columbus Convention Center for a pro circuit tournament run by Major League Gaming (MLG).

“It’s going to be crazy,” said Chris Puckett, the head commentator of MLG, “Last year in Columbus, when I was getting on the main stage, it was just shaking with energy. People in the crowd were so loud.”

The tournament this weekend is one of four regular-season tournaments, the other three being in Orlando, Fla., in April, Raleigh, N.C., in August, and Dallas in November. After the completion of the four, the circuit will shift to the national championship, where the date and location of the event are still to be determined.

Puckett, a native of nearby Pickerington, Ohio, is one of the more instrumental figures in the rise and development of MLG and competitive gaming. Although the league’s inception was in 2002, it was not until 2004 when Puckett decided to run a tournament for the popular “Halo” video game.

“In 2004 I decided to run a tournament of my own,” Puckett said, “and we teamed up with MLG for that tournament. MLG supplied all the equipment and all the prize money and after that event it was the biggest ‘Halo 1′ tournament of all-time at that point.”

Competitive gaming has exploded on a worldwide scale in recent years, but many of the games’ biggest names come from Ohio.

In addition to Puckett, Tom “Ogre 2” Ryan, one of the top players on the Halo Circuit, also comes from Pickerington, and Rich “Shibby” Webb, co-host of MLG’s original home makeover show “The Dr. Pepper Ultimate Gaming House,” is a native of Delaware, Ohio.

“There’s just a huge amount of gamers that are in the Columbus area and in the Ohio area,” said Puckett, 24, who attended Ohio University for a year and a half. “If you wanted to go play, and go play with the best players in the world, they lived in Columbus, so you would go travel there.”

The marquee game at these events is, “Halo 3,” other games included at the competition are “Tekken 6, “World of Warcraft” and “Super Smash Brothers.”

Much like any other sport and competition, MLG gets a high amount of spectators at its events to watch the best that competitive gaming has to offer.

“You have kids who actually drive all the way across country just to come and watch these events,” Puckett said. “And they look up to these guys.”

Puckett also adds that Tom “Ogre 2” Ryan is a fan favorite among the Columbus crowd.

Despite an extensive resume on the MLG circuit, he has not won a tournament since 2008.

One person in attendance this weekend will be Matt Siegfried, a second-year in operations management. Siegfried has been to 10 MLG tournaments in the past and participated in three of them. An avid online competitor, he is active in the online community for MLG. He will be looking on this weekend with excitement.

“The crowds are wild, everyone’s excited and cheering for their favorite teams,” said Siegfried, who also does part-time refereeing for MLG events. “It’s a really great experience.”

As for what Puckett is expecting from this weekend, he has his predictions of what might happen.

“Starting last year at our finals it’s kind of been the story of the teams that work together and use communication are really the ones that are standing out,” Puckett said, “And you know what, I think Ogre 2 finally has a team that can win a tournament again.”