Major League Gaming's League of Legends competitions are set to kick off later this month during the MLG winter season in North America, according to a press release from organizers.

The North American Summer Promotion Qualifier begins Feb. 26 when 16 teams will battle in a series of qualifying rounds and quarterfinals through March 7. The final four will head to the Pro Circuit Winter Championship, which will be held in Dallas from March 15-17. The teams there will compete for $30,000 in prizes. The winning team will receive receive $20,000. The Winter Championship will also include International Exhibition Tournament, which pits the top four League of Legends teams worldwide against each other for $15,000 in prizes. Those teams will be announced at the end of February.

Developer Riot Games recently announced that changes coming to the competitive side of the game were inspired by the NFL. For more on League of Legends competitive play, be sure to check out our interview with producer Carl Kwoh, in which he discussed the developer's ongoing attempts to clean up some players' "toxic behavior."