The Major League Gaming (MLG) circuit has been operating in the United States since late 2002, but struggled to make an impact for its first few years. Low turnout cancelled MLG game tournaments for the likes of Tekken 5 and Gran Turismo 3, but the organizers never relented, and their tenacity has paid off.

Now, in 2007, and MLG has picked up enough steam to take its product to the Great White North. Canadian pro gamers are no strangers to the bright lights and increasingly big money of pro gaming, given that they've already competed internationally at events like the World Cyber Games (WCG).

Nelson Triana, who hails from Ottawa, knows all about that experience. He's ranked number one in Canada and number two in the world for Halo 2. The lack of high stakes gaming competitions here forced Triana to travel south of the border to play against the best.

"It'll be nice to have the circuit closer to home," said the soft-spoken Triana on MLG's move to Canada. "There's a lot of good gamers up here, but traveling to the States would be hard because their parents might not be cool with it or other reasons."

The move by MLG could add a new pool of talent to the publicity-starved league, especially considering that there's more money to go around. In 2006, 18 pro gamers made five figures in prize winnings.

Ben "Karma" Jackson isn't even 19 yet, but he went unbeaten in Halo 2 MLG competitions throughout the U.S. for a full year in 2005-06. The Seattle-born teen got so good at the game that he was credited with being instrumental in helping to take down Final Boss, the top Halo 2 four-versus-four team sponsored by NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas.

Aside from his $250,000 annual contract with MLG, Karma also pulled in close to $100,000 in prize money alone. Known for his steely demeanor during gameplay, Karma admits that his mood hardly changes regardless of whether he's winning or losing.

"I talk a lot of trash though," Karma concedes. "Just like any other sport or whatever, you want to get in the other guy's head. We were the top Halo 2 team and we almost got beat going down 2-0 in a best-of-5 series, but we came back to win and I think they got intimidated by all that trash-talking."

Triana's team was on the receiving end of that verbal tirade.

"I'm a good Canadian boy so I don't trash talk," Triana (right) says with a laugh. "But it was a great experience and you learn a lot from those types of meltdowns."

MLG uses a payment structure similar to Major League Soccer (MLS) where the league pays the salaries of the players. Except that it can't pay everyone, so only the ultimate pros are offered exclusive contracts.

But the league is looking to change that by doing more to market its talent in order to get more people interested and drive up revenue. It operated on a budget of $35 million in 2006.

The traditional knock against MLG is that it has the perception of being difficult to televise. But it definitely has a cult following and USA Network ran seven episodes last year drawing relatively good numbers, says Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and chief marketing officer for MLG.

"People are making millions playing poker and driving around in circles making only left turns -- and it's all on TV," he says. "We believe that if you're truly phenomenal at something, then you should be celebrated for it. In order to have a league, you have to establish personalities and give people something they wouldn't expect."

A taped 90-minute special will air in November following two individual Canadian gamers, as they train and prepare for the MLG Canadian Open in November of this year.

From there, the Score and G4TechTV will share MLG telecasts with six broadcasts per week that include repeats spread out over 15 consecutive weeks.

"We know how to put on a good show," DiGiovanni says. "People will see that soon enough."