Avalon Heroes

Munich, Germany, January 19, 2010

The first Avalon Heroes tournament organized by the Electronic Sports League (ESL) is about to begin: As early as this Tuesday (January 19, 2010) - still during the Open Beta phase - games publisher burda:ic and the ESL will launch the tough "2on2 Cup" for the gripping free-to-play online strategy highlight. Ambitious Open Beta players who secured a copy of the client at www.avalonheroes.alaplaya.net and registered with the ESL ( www.esl.eu) can look forward to rounds full of action. Moreover, the best players of the "ESL Avalon Heroes 2on2 Open Beta Cup" will receive fantastic prizes, such as exclusive item sets or even additional heroes that they can use when the game is officially released following the Open Beta phase.

Avalon Heroes entered the Open Beta phase a few days ago. Players profit from an increased rate of gathering EXP which allows them to progress faster through the game. Thus, the strategists can take a look at the contents of higher game levels. The primary goal of the "2on2 Cup" is to check the rules and settings for future eSports tournaments.

Key data on the "ESL Avalon Heroes 2on2 Open Beta Cup":

Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Game mode: battle mode

Team size: 2 players

Max. number of teams: 8 teams (extensions possible)

Cup mode: single elimination

Map: Gemini Cross

Registration required by: January 18, 12 midnight CET

Schedule: round 1 - 7 p.m.; round 2 - 8 p.m.; final - 9 p.m.

For more information, please visit the official website of the Electronic Sports League www.esl.eu/eu/avalonheroes.

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About alaplaya

The free multiplayer games portal offers high-quality games such as Audition Season 2, Fantasy Tennis-Season 2, S4 League, or Florensia. More titles, such as Land of Chaos Online (LOCO) and Avalon Heroes, are being prepared for release. More than 3.5 million users are already playing alaplaya games.

The portal is provided in eight languages; the games are available all over Europe, including Turkey. Some can also be played in Russia, as well as North and South America, at www.alaplaya.net.

alaplaya offers numerous community features such as user search, blogs, chat & forums, and a special avatar system. All games can be obtained and played for free. Only valuable virtual goods for customizing avatars in the game, and some special items, are purchased and paid for in the shop. Users sign on at alaplaya only once for a central login to all games.

About burda:ic

burda:ic GmbH specializes in online PC games, and markets and maintains so-called Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) - e.g. Ragnarok Online, Florensia, and Hello Kitty Online - throughout Europe including Turkey, Russia, as well as North and South America. burda:ic also establishes interactive gamer communities such as alaplaya.net or sanriotown.com. For Hubert Burda Media, the gaming industry constitutes a key medium for appealing to young target groups. www.burda-ic.com

About Electronic Sports League

The Electronic Sports League (ESL) is the largest and most important league for gamers in Europe consisting of more than 2.3 million registered members and over 570,000 registered teams. ESL is operated by the company Turtle Entertainment GmbH since 2000 and offers more than 3,500 professional leagues and amateur ladders from a variety of games. More than 220.000 matches per month are being played worldwide using the ESL technology. The ESL website currently reaches above 1,1 million unique visitors a month and about 10.000 people register every month. Further information: www.esl.eu

Press contact:

Gärtner PR

Dirk Gärtner

Destouchesstr. 68

D-80796 Munich, Germany

Phone: +49 89 - 30766856

Mobile: +49 151-15166249

E-mail: dg@gaertner-pr.de