08:55 (BST), 25/07/2008

– Following Semifinal matches earlier this week where San Francisco Optx defeated Berlin Allianz, 24-17, and Birmingham Salvo prevailed over Carolina Core by a single point in overtime, 21-20, the two finalists compete Monday in a live World Championship match that will award one team with the title of Championship Gaming Series 2008 World Champion, the coveted Mountain Dew trophy and the US$500,000 grand prize.

San Francisco Optx and Birmingham Salvo will face off at 7 p.m. PDT/10 p.m. EDT, Monday, July 28 during a televised match, which will be broadcast to more than 450 million viewers worldwide, and air live in the U.S. on DIRECTV’s The 101 Network. Birmingham Salvo holds a uniquely historic position in this second annual World Championship match as the first international team ever to reach the championship match in the CGS World Final.

The match will air live and in HD in the U.S. on DIRECTV’s The 101 Network and on Saturday, August 2 at 10 p.m. PDT on U.S. cable network G4. Additionally, the match will air in early August on BSkyB in the UK, Eurosport in mainland Europe, ESPN-STAR and STAR in Asia, STAR in Australia, SKY in Mexico and Brazil, and DIRECTV throughout the remainder of Latin America.

“The title of CGS World Champion is the most coveted honor in gaming and July 28 will mark an historic moment for the sport,” said CGS Commissioner and CEO Andy Reif. “2008 has featured amazing competition all season long, but it all comes down to this one night, and Monday’s final will pit our European Champion against San Francisco, who had to battle their way just to get the Wild Card spot in our World Finals. I know that gaming fans everywhere are going to see an unbelievable Championship Match.”

At the 2007 CGS World Championship, the Chicago Chimera crushed Carolina Core, 27-15, to capture the league’s inaugural World Champion title. Now in its second season, CGS has garnered increased viewership thanks to its rapidly-growing popularity and expanded television and online distribution.

Valve’s Counter-Strike®: Source® and EA’s FIFA 2008 are the official PC games for CGS. On the Xbox 360, CGS features Tecmo’s Dead or Alive® 4 (DOA4) and Forza Motorsport® 2 from Microsoft Game Studios.

Each CGS team features a total of ten athletes, each specializing in an official league game. Five of the ten players comprise a Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) squad which competes in five-on-five matches. FIFA 08 is played one-on-one. Each CGS team also has one male and one female DOA4 player, who play against other teams in one-on-one matches on Xbox 360. The racing game Forza 2 is played by two players on each team in a two-versus-two format.

For more information, visit thecgs.com.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Championship Gaming Series®(CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007 as a joint venture among 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 450 million viewers worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, G4 in the United States, BSkyB in the UK, Eurosport in Europe, ESPN-STAR and STAR in Asia and STAR in Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Creative, Xbox 360 and Dell.

Michael Hope

Championship Gaming Series

310-574-5142

mhope@thecgs.com

Laura Werkheiser

Fleishman-Hillard

212-453-2394

laura.werkheiser@fleishman.com