E-Sports are on the rise. Announced earlier this week, the North American Star League (NASL) is set to become "the premiere Starcraft 2 event in North America." Modeled after GomTV's Global Starcraft 2 League (GSL) in South Korea, the league will feature 50 of the world's best Starcraft 2 players weekly.

Currently, there are plans for three seasons, with the first season starting on April 5th. There will be nine weeks of group play, which will be streamed online, and will culminate in a 16-man LAN event in Southern California.

Players will be playing for $400,000 in prize money, with $200,000 being spread over the first two seasons, and $200,000 for the third season.

It's becoming increasingly evident that if E-Sports are going to become really huge in North America, it's going to happen because of a game like Starcraft 2. Earlier this month, Major League Gaming (MLG) announced they will be giving away over $250,000 this year in prize money for Starcraft 2 alone.

For more information on the North American Star League, check out www.nasl.tv.

For our review of Starcraft 2, click here.