Championship Gaming Series Announces UK and European Qualifiers and Finals
Championship Gaming Series (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, will hold its UK and European Qualifiers and Finals in Birmingham and London on 20th - 28th September 2007.
Birmingham's newly-launched Omega Sektor, Europe's largest gaming venue, will host the UK and European Qualifiers of the inaugural season of the Championship Gaming Series. The events will be open to the public to come and watch or play against those who have already qualified online, including some of the best gamers in Europe such as 4Kings and Dignitas.
The UK and European Qualifiers will both be held from 20th - 23rd September. Sign-ups to participate in the Qualifiers will be on a "first-come, first-serve" basis at www.thecgs.com.
The two teams from Europe will then face off in the European Final on 24th September at Omega Sektor. Meanwhile, the two teams from the UK will battle in the UK Final on 26th - 28th September at Three Mills Studio in East London, a competition which will be televised on Sky One and Sky Two, presenting a unique opportunity for UK gamers to show off their talents on TV.
Order of Play:
Date CGS Stage Location
20th - 23rd September UK and European Qualifiers Omega Sektor, Birmingham
24th September European (excl.UK) Final Omega Sektor, Birmingham
26th-28th September UK Final Three Mills Studio, London
December World Championship Los Angeles
All four teams from the UK and Europe will receive contracts with annualised payments of £15,000, with the possibility of taking home more than £50,000. All four teams will compete at the CGS World Championship in Los Angeles in December, along with other top gamers from around the world, including two teams from Latin America, two teams from North America, and four teams from Asia. Payments for CGS professional gamers worldwide will total approximately £2.5 million in 2007.
"The Qualifiers and Finals in Birmingham and London signal the transformation of gaming into a major sporting event with spectacular competition, outstanding rewards, and major television coverage," said CGS Commissioner Andy Reif.
The games featured in the Championship Gaming Series are Valve's Counter-Strike®: Source® and FIFA 2007 from EA on PC, and, on the Xbox 360 console, Tecmo's Dead or Alive® 4 (DOA4) and Project Gotham Racing® 3 (PGR3) from Microsoft Game Studios. Each CGS team consists of ten players, including one Counter-Strike: Source squad of five players, one man and one woman DOA4 player, one FIFA 2007 player, and two PGR3 racers.
About Championship Gaming Series
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture between BSkyB, DirecTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 100,000,000 households worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, and STAR in Asia and Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Dell XPS and Xbox 360.
For more information:
Arseny Tseytlin
Fleishman-Hillard +44 (0) 207-395-7044
Arseny.tseytlin@fleishmaneurope.com