The World Cyber Games is the biggest e-Sports festival on earth, and since May over 40,000 gamers across the US have been battling to qualify for the US Final and we are now at the Regional Qualifier (playoff) stage.
This weekend a Regional Qualifier for the popular game "CounterStrike" - played with teams, 5 on 5 - will be staged at the following game centers:
NCK Cyber Lounge
1927 S. El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
USA
Website: http://cyber.nck.com
Euphnet Cyber Cafe v1
612 South Mary Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
USA
Website: http://www.euphnet.com
Players who advance during the regional qualifier rounds earn a berth to the 2005 WCG US National Finals, to be held September 8 through 10, 2005 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. All Regional winners receive paid food and accommodation (4 days, 3 nights) for the US Final, plus $200 towards travel expenses, a total package valued at over $750 per player.
Game categories and cash prizes for the US Final include:
HALF-LIFE: Counter-Strike
FIFA Soccer 2005
Need for Speed: Underground 2
StarCraft: Brood War
WarCraft III: the Frozen Throne
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Halo 2
In New York, players will compete for a prize pool of $34,000 and a chance at the ultimate honor in e-sports, representing their country. The winners will form Team USA and will travel to Singapore in November to compete against the world's best gamers at the 2005 World Cyber Games Grand Final and win a share of over $400,000 in cash and prizes.
Nearly 30,000 participants competed in the WCG US preliminary events in 2004; more than 1 million competed globally for an aggregate prize pool of $2.5 million. The World Cyber Games is the event that helped launch the careers of professional gamers such as Counter-Strike gold medalists Team 3D, WCG Hall of Famer and reigning Halo champion Matt "Zyos" Leto, and many other careers in professional e-Sports worldwide.
More details on the World Cyber Games may be found on their website www.worldcybergames.com
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