World Cyber Games US Open June 2nd – 3rd In New York City

The United States’ top gamers will meet June 2-3 at the Samsung Experience in New York City for the World Cyber Games US Open video game tournament. The two-day competition kicks off the American leg of the WCG USA 2007 Championship Series for the world’s largest international video game festival, which culminates with the WCG 2007 Grand Final this October in Seattle, Washington. During the US Open, a virtual “who’s who” of elite American video gamers will compete in 10 of the hottest PC and Xbox 360 games on the market including: Starcraft: Brood War (PC), WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne (PC), Half-Life: Counter-Strike (PC), Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (PC), Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs (PC), FIFA Soccer 07 (PC), Need For Speed Carbon (PC), Gears of War (Xbox 360), Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360), Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360).

WCG US Open Competitors will be vying for automatic berths and top seeds to the WCG USA National Championship in September. Also up for grabs is more than $20,000 in cash and prizes. Winners of certain games will also receive roundtrip airfare and hotel accommodations to Cancun, Mexico to compete in the WCG Pan-American Championships. The Pan- American Championships, taking place June 22nd — 24th are composed of professional gamers from 10 different countries in North and South America playing 8 of the WCG official gaming titles.

The WCG US Open will also feature several interactive product demonstrations and giveaways from tournament sponsors. Additionally, spectators and local gamers are invited to compete in Tony Hawk’s Project 8 for an automatic berth and a free trip to the WCG USA National Final in September. Headlining an all-star lineup of elite e-Sports competitors at this year’s WCG US Open are defending WCG 2006 gold medalist Wesley “Chomper” Cwilko (Project Gotham Racing 3), Sean “Max1mus” Heffelfinger (Project Gotham Racing 3), Emannuel “Master” Rodriguez (D.O.A. 4), Isidro “Novusnaim” Sifuentes (FIFA), Team Pandemic (Counter Strike), Ralph “Red_ScorpiO” Geunhwa (StarCraft), Oscar “Teknoboy” Riviera (War Craft), Team MoB Hot n Mild (Gears of War) and more. On June 2nd and 3rd, the tournament will play out in a double elimination format, with individual game finals held on Sunday, June 3rd. The complete schedule can be found here.

“The World Cyber Games US Open offers excitement for the whole family, where attendees will have the opportunity to see top-notch competitive e-Sports action, as some of America’s best pro gamers vie for a spot in the WCG USA National Championship,” said Michael Arzt, general manager and senior vice president of ICM, global organizers of WCG. “The most exciting part is that the WCG US Open is not just for the pros: In the true spirit of an ‘open’, people can come off the street and compete in one of the most popular console games on the planet: Tony Hawk’s Project 8! The WCG is renowned for launching the pro careers of many of the world’s top gamers and now is the time to find the next generation of e-Sports stars.”

With well over one million players from more than 70 countries, the World Cyber Games is the gaming world’s premier tournament. Featuring online and offline events held throughout the world, the year-long series attracted more than 1.3 million competitors world-wide in 2006. The WCG 2007 Grand Final in Monza, Italy broke new ground as more than 24 million people tuned in to watch the competition unfold in real-time, marking the first-ever global, live satellite broadcast for an e-Sports event. This year’s WCG 2007 Grand Final will be held in Seattle, Washington. For more information about the WCG US Open, or to find out how to register to play in the WCG USA tournament, visit the official Web site.