Birmingham Salvo Wins US$500,000 Grand Prize and Title of CGS 2008 World Champions
– Birmingham Salvo Defeats San Francisco Optx 22-15; Dean “Picaso” Sutton and David “Daveyskills” Kelly Named 2008 CGS World Finals MVPs
LOS ANGELES—July 29, 2008, Championship Gaming SeriesTM (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, announced that Birmingham Salvo defeated San Francisco Optx 22-15 in the 2008 World Final championship match last night to win US$500,000 and the coveted Mountain Dew World Champion trophy, following a thrilling live competition broadcast to more than 450 million viewers worldwide. The competition aired live in the U.S. exclusively on DIRECTV’s The 101 Network and will air on G4TV this Saturday, August 2 at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT, and in August and September on BSkyB in the UK, Eurosport in Europe, ESPN STAR Sports and STAR throughout Asia, and STAR in Australia.
“I’m extremely proud of my team right now,” said Michael O’Dell, General Manager for Birmingham Salvo. “They truly deserve the title of World Champions. We faced a lot of tough competition throughout the season, but when our backs were against the wall, every player demonstrated the skills and the poise to step up when it mattered the most. My players spent hundreds of hours practicing this season, and their hard work paid off tonight.”
Months of mental and physical training paved the road for Birmingham’s successful championship run. The CGS 2008 season began in March, as gamers from across the world competed in NFL-style Combine events with the hope of winning CGS professional gamer contracts. 18 teams emerged, comprised of the best gamers in the world who all had their sights set on winning the CGS 2008 World Final, the $500,000 top prize for this year’s CGS World Champion team, and the Mountain Dew Trophy – the ultimate symbol of excellence in competitive gaming. Eight top teams advanced to the World Final, which kicked off in mid-July and culminated with tonight’s championship match.
“CGS fans everywhere join me in congratulating Birmingham for such a momentous victory,” said Andy Reif, CEO and Commissioner of CGS. “Birmingham had some of the most exciting and close matches that pro gaming has ever seen coming into the Championship Match. However, they proved themselves dominant. We couldn’t have asked for a more worthy champion in our second season.
Each CGS team features a total of ten athletes, each specializing in an official League game. Five of the ten players comprise a Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) squad which competes in five-on-five matches. FIFA 08 is played one-on-one. Each CGS team also has a mixed-doubles team of two DOA4 players, who play against other teams in one-on-one matches. The racing game Forza2 is played by two players on each team in a two-versus-two format.
For more information, please go to http://www.thecgs.com/