World Cyber Games Yields Gold for Netherlands, Korea, USA and Germany

Dutch Win Medal Count, Americans Dominate Halo, CounterStrike in WCG's Most Thrilling Matches

(SAN FRANCISCO, October 10) - If you don't think computer and video games are spectator sports, tell it to the 30,000 fans who crammed in to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium & Plaza to witness the 2004 World Cyber Games Grand Final.

The World's largest computer & video game tournament drew to a close Sunday night amid fireworks after an intense week of competition between 650 players from 59 countries. With elite players, breathtaking matches and colossal stakes, the World Cyber Games is proof that the age of e-sports is upon us.

Sunday's Counter-Strike Final featured intense action that brought the crowd to its feet many times as America's Team3D and Denmark's Titans battled into triple overtime before 5,000 fans.

"It's awesome," said team captain David "Moto" Geffon of Westlake Village, CA. "There couldn't be a better place or a better tournament than the World Cyber Games."

When the tournament dust finally settled, the Netherlands collected the most Gold Medals, winning Unreal Tournament, Project Gotham Racing 2 and, in a huge upset over the heavily favored Korean team, the WarCraft III competition as well.

Gold medalist Matthew Leto of the USA took home $20,000, winning his second consecutive Halo title at the World Cyber Games. $412,000 was awarded overall to winners at the 2004 Grand Final.

"The competition this year was the toughest ever," said Hank Jeong, CEO of World Cyber Games Organizer ICM. "Every year the World Cyber Games expands to include even more of the world's best players. This year's champions should be truly proud of their achievement."

The WCG Gold Medal winners are: Team3D, USA (CounterStrike: Condition Zero); Jihoon Seo, Korea (StarCraft III: Brood War); Manuel Schenkhuizen, Netherlands (WarCraft III: Frozen Throne); Daehan Choi, Korea (FIFA Soccer 2004); Laurens Pluymaekers, Netherlands (Unreal Tournament 2004); Niklas Timmermann, Germany (Need for Speed: Underground); Arthur Vankan (Project Gotham Racing 2); and Matt Leto, USA (Halo).

Full results for all matches, as well as highlights, pictures and instant replay files of key games are available online at http://www.worldcybergames.com/pressinfo.

About the World Cyber Games

The World Cyber Games (Co-Chairmen Chung, Dong-chea & Yun, Jong-yong, www.worldcybergames.com is a global game culture festival that was founded in 2000 to promote global harmony through e-sports. The event started in 2000, and has been running annually ever since (this will be the fourth year). With the slogan "Beyond the Game" and with contestants from more than 60 countries expected to participate in this year's event, the World Cyber Games has truly developed into a global game phenomenon with arguably the largest prize amount at stake. The World Cyber Games prides itself on leading the "Digital Entertainment Culture." The 2004 Games in San Francisco will run for 5 days from October 6 through October 10.

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