Championship Gaming Series Looks to the Future
By Shawn on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 11:00 AM PST In Gamer Life, Games Industry
ZDNet has the stats on the newest pro video-game league Championship Gaming Series. CGS is establishing itself as the first league to consolidate many of the industry’s top professional gamers and provide an organization many gamers can aspire to join. Each of the six league teams has a general manager and ten players. Teams will be competing on Counter-Strike: Source, Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing 3; and FIFA ‘07.
Kat Hunter, former member of the Frag Dolls, Ubisoft’s all female team, is one of six general managers that chose teams at the inaugural player draft at the Playboy Mansion Tuesday night. Her picks include first draft Vanessa Arteaga and her controversial first FIFA pick Alessandro Avallone. Avallone, also known as “Stermy”, has only played the game a matter of weeks.
CGS is sponsored by DirecTv, the U.K.’s BSkyB, and Asia’s Star networks. The league has big plans over the long haul for Internet and television coverage making video games the next big sport. Andrew Reif, the CGS commissioner, believes that as video games are big business throughout the developed world, the league can meet the challenge of establishing itself as a success.
“I hope we’ll look back 5 to 10 years from now,” said Reif, “and say the next great sports property started at the Playboy Mansion in 2007.”
How many people will be able to play in these leagues? Seems pretty small – how did people qualify – I’m really not clear on all of this.
There has been huge attention paid to CGS and MLG while a handful of online tournament sites have been springing up that allow people to play in secure cash tournaments whenever they want.
You don’t need to be a sponsored gamer or play for a league to earn a living or supplement your income with your gaming! Also, you don’t need to travel across the country or be drafted at the playboy mansion. Most gamers that log a dozen-plus hours a week will be able to win a fair amount by playing at places like http://www.getgosu.com