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Watch the $1m Call of Duty 2015 Championships live online

Thirty-two teams from around the world descend upon Los Angeles for the weekend of March 27-29 and the Call of Duty Championships 2015, with an eye on a major slice of its $1m prize fund and the huge boost in reputation that goes with it.

-- Running commentary --

Commentators will be on hand to guide viewers through the tournament play of "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare."

"In [First-Person Shooter] eSports, you see the action through the eyes of the individual players. It's not like football or basketball where you instantly understand what is happening in the game by just looking at a wide camera shot of the field," experienced broadcaster Chris Puckett told the Call of Duty website. "The casters are the ones who have to explain the bigger picture, while simultaneously calling the detailed action."

-- Preview package --

It's not just about the energy of a big prize competition for spectators. "Ascendance," the second add-on pack for "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare," will be shown off during the Championship event as well.

Four versus maps -- Perplex, Site 244, Climate and Chop Shop -- plus a new zombie map should get the treatment, and game director Michael Condrey has been teasing certain classic weapons.

-- Big money deal --

A total prize pool of $1m is dwarfed by the "League of Legends" and "Dota 2" world championships, $2.13m and $10.9m respectively, but sends a clear message to PC rival "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," whose pot at ESL One Cologne 2015 in August will be $250,000.

Several teams from previous years return, even if rosters have changed significantly: EnVyUs and OpTic Gaming placed second and third in 2013 and 2014, and Patrick "Aches" Price of Faze looks for his 20th Major win.

New Zealand team Mindfreak is the obvious dark horse, having thrashed 2014 finalist T1dotters during qualifying.

-- Live streams --

March 27 and 28 will see the 32 teams work on escaping qualifying pools and work their way through the knockout bracket, with action due to get underway at 9:30am PT (12:30 ET, 1:30 Sao Paolo, 16:30 GMT, 17:30 CET, then 00:30 March 28 in Singapore, Malaysia and Beijing, 1:30am in Seoul and Tokyo, 3:30am in Sydney, AUS, and 5:30am in Wellington, NZ).

Then, on March 29, the finals take place 11am - 3pm to decide 2015's set of grand champions.

Xbox owners can fire up their console during broadcast times to watch a live stream of the event, while the publically accessible Call of Duty website will also carry the livestream at callofduty.com/esports.