CGS World Final Begins!
Over 15 cameras, hundreds of crewmembers, cables everywhere, and a huge live audience. If you're now thinking the latest live Carrot Top special on HBO you might be correct, but for the next 7 days that all applies to the Championship Gaming Series World Final taking place at the Sony Studios in Los Angeles.
Last night was the first night of the Championship Gaming Series. Four teams faced off in four different games – Counterstrike: Source, Project Gotham Racing 3, Dead or Alive 4, and FIFA 2007. Each team is based in a different geographical location around the world – there are teams from Brazil, San Francisco, Europe, Asia, and everywhere in-between.
CGS has a huge goal – they want to make Professional Gaming a true sport, like football or basketball. This really is a major challenge, but in only 7 months they have begun to line up the partners to do it. Every weeknight CGS is broadcast live on DirecTV, and it’s already the highest rated program on DirecTV's channel 101.
Teams are recruited like any major sport, via a draft. The best players compete in front of managers who then recruit players onto their teams. Managers want to balance their team best between the four games, the best teams will be strong in each area – games are on equal level when it comes to earning points, every member of the team counts toward the final total which determines a win or lose.
So you ask, how does any of this matter to me? I play World of Warcraft! Who cares about FIFA 2007? At the World Final this week a new game is being thrown into the fold, one that has already been approved for a full season next year – World of Warcraft. On Saturday WoW will take the stage with two different tournaments, a 2v2 and a 3v3. These tournaments are sponsored and supported by Blizzard, and it looks like they may become the official professional gaming option for World of Warcraft.
This should be exciting for any WoW players who really feel they have the skill to be the best in the Arena. It's unknown yet if WoW will have the same teams and managers as the other games, or if it will be based off the official arena standings like the upcoming 3v3 event is – but what is clear is that by this time next year we'll all have celebrity World of Warcraft professional gamers.
If you want to watch CGS and you have DirecTV point your tuner to channel 101. The World of Warcraft events on saturday will be broadcast live at www.thecgs.com.
Be sure to check back Saturday for our coverage of the event – we're going to interview some of the top players, CGS officials, and maybe even some Blizzard employees and get their thoughts on the future of CGS and World of Warcraft in professional gaming.
Last night was the first night of the Championship Gaming Series. Four teams faced off in four different games – Counterstrike: Source, Project Gotham Racing 3, Dead or Alive 4, and FIFA 2007. Each team is based in a different geographical location around the world – there are teams from Brazil, San Francisco, Europe, Asia, and everywhere in-between.
CGS has a huge goal – they want to make Professional Gaming a true sport, like football or basketball. This really is a major challenge, but in only 7 months they have begun to line up the partners to do it. Every weeknight CGS is broadcast live on DirecTV, and it’s already the highest rated program on DirecTV's channel 101.
Teams are recruited like any major sport, via a draft. The best players compete in front of managers who then recruit players onto their teams. Managers want to balance their team best between the four games, the best teams will be strong in each area – games are on equal level when it comes to earning points, every member of the team counts toward the final total which determines a win or lose.
So you ask, how does any of this matter to me? I play World of Warcraft! Who cares about FIFA 2007? At the World Final this week a new game is being thrown into the fold, one that has already been approved for a full season next year – World of Warcraft. On Saturday WoW will take the stage with two different tournaments, a 2v2 and a 3v3. These tournaments are sponsored and supported by Blizzard, and it looks like they may become the official professional gaming option for World of Warcraft.
This should be exciting for any WoW players who really feel they have the skill to be the best in the Arena. It's unknown yet if WoW will have the same teams and managers as the other games, or if it will be based off the official arena standings like the upcoming 3v3 event is – but what is clear is that by this time next year we'll all have celebrity World of Warcraft professional gamers.
If you want to watch CGS and you have DirecTV point your tuner to channel 101. The World of Warcraft events on saturday will be broadcast live at www.thecgs.com.
Be sure to check back Saturday for our coverage of the event – we're going to interview some of the top players, CGS officials, and maybe even some Blizzard employees and get their thoughts on the future of CGS and World of Warcraft in professional gaming.
By: Ryan Bohmann
Tags: Editorial, WorldofWarcraft