Championship Gaming Series Announces Revised World Final Competition Brackets

International Travel Visa Issues Forces Wuhan Team to Withdraw from CGS World Final

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on Dec. 5, 2007

Los Angeles, CA - December 4, 2007 - Championship Gaming Series (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, today announced revised brackets for the upcoming CGS World Final taking place December 6-14 in Los Angeles. The change is the unfortunate result of the Wuhan Dragon team's forced withdrawal from the competition because several of its players were unable to obtain the necessary visas to enter the United States.

Despite tireless efforts by CGS to facilitate visa approval for the Wuhan teammates, the U.S. Consulate in Beijing twice denied the players entry into the United States. Nonetheless, contingency of Chinese media will attend the World Final.

"We are profoundly disappointed by the news that visas have been denied to the Wuhan Dragon players," said CGS Commissioner Andy Reif. "Between the competitions leading up to the establishment of the Wuhan Dragon team, the avid fan support and the success of Wuhan at the Pan Asia Final, China has been a very important part of our success in 2007. Nonetheless, CGS and its partners left no stone unturned in its efforts to assist these players in obtaining the necessary visas. We've been working tirelessly with the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing repeatedly, and all other contacts in our extensive network to rectify this matter. The gamers are the real victims here; they are being denied the right to prove themselves at the World Final. We are committed to finding a solution to this situation for the 2008 season."

At the highly-anticipated showdown, the remaining 11 top CGS teams from around the world will battle each other for their share of an unprecedented $1,000,000 total prize purse, of which $500,000 will go to the World Champion team. CGS World Final will be broadcast on television to more than 350,000,000 viewers by DIRECTV's The 101 in the U.S., BSkyB's Sky One, Sky Two and Sky HD in the UK, ESPN STAR Sports in Asia, SKY in Mexico and Brazil, DIRECTV throughout the rest of Latin America, and across mainland Europe via additional soon-to-be confirmed broadcast partners.

CGS World Final revised brackets attached.

FIRST ROUND

December 6:

Match 1: Birmingham Salvo vs. Rio Sinistro

Match 2: Stockholm Magnetik vs. Sydney Underground

December 7:

Match 1: Carolina Core vs. Seoul Jinwha

Match 2: Mexico City Furia vs. Bye

QUARTERFINALS

December 10:

Match 1: London Mint vs. Winner [of December 7 First Round Match 1]

Match 2: Berlin Allianz vs. Mexico City Furia