XFX To Launch Challenge One 2007 In Search of the Country’s Best Amateur Video Gamers

XFX Challenge One 2007, is a nationwide Counter Strike: Source® competition that launched on September 10, and is seeking top U.S. gamers for an official XFX gaming team. The mobile phase of the tour kicks off October 18th, at the E for All Expo in Los Angeles, and will continue touring the country to numerous destinations

Along the tour, five finalists will travel on a fully-equipped rock-star gaming tour bus, competing to win prizes and money in major gaming tournaments and defending their spot on the bus against challengers. While on the road, XFX contestants will be coached by pro gamers, such as Fatal1ty, to sharpen their gaming skills in preparation for the CGS Region 1 2008 Combine.     

“By working with the industry leader of gaming competitions, CGS, and Fatal1ty, the top name in professional gaming, this is sure to be one of biggest moves in the gaming industry this year”, said Eddie Memon, Senior Vice-President of Worldwide Marketing for XFX. “We are honored to have their participation on XFX Challenge One 2007.”

“This is a great concept, to take a high level of competitive gaming on the road and introduce it to gamers across the country”, says Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. “Everyone will have fun with this, while watching great competitions.” 

CGS Commissioner Andy Reif said, “We’re looking forward to sending CGS pros on the road with XFX and Fatal1ty. The league is committed to finding the best gamers, wherever they are, and we can’t wait to get out there and discover the next generation of pro gaming talent in the U.S.”

Because of their dedication to gamers, XFX Challenge One 2007 wants to send out a special thanks to NVIDIA, Creative Labs, Newegg.com, G8 Brand gamer clothing and Dell, who is also a sponsor of Championship Gaming Series.

About XFX Challenge 1 2007

XFX Challenge 1 2007 is a three phase campaign to find the most talented and popular gamers, and transform them into The XFX Team. In Phase One, teams compete in a Counter-Strike Source competition and the top two winning teams from each of the eight host centers will move on to Phase Two.  In Phase Two, each team will post their profile, pictures, and video on the XFX Challenge website and let the public decide, via online voting, which one of the 16 teams should teams should move on to Phase Three. The winning team of five will move onto Phase Three, where they will travel around the country competing in local competitions to defend the spot on the bus. The five finalists from the tour will make up The XFX Team and will be invited to attend the CGS World Championship on December 6th in Los Angeles and compete in the CGS Pro-Gamer Spring Draft in 2008. Learn more about XFX Challenge 2007 at www.XFXteam.com.

About XFX

XFX is a global presence in the world of electronic gaming. With its focus on taking gaming to the extreme, XFX has developed an exciting array of video cards and accessories that are designed to maximize the entire entertainment experience. A division of PINE Technologies, XFX operates its own manufacturing facility and maintains an R&D team that features some of the industry’s most renowned talents. Learn more about XFX at www.xfxforce.com.

About Championship Gaming Series

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series™ (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture between BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 100,000,000 households worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, and STAR in Asia and Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Dell XPS and Xbox 360.

About Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel

Johnathan became the world’s first full time professional video gamer in 1999 after accepting an invitation to represent the USA at an international tournament in Stockholm, where he went undefeated with a perfect performance, winning all 18 maps. He has continued to dominate competitions all over the world, competing on 6 continents during his 8-year professional career, including a Gold Medal finish for the USA at the 2000 World Cyber Games in Seoul, Korea.

Winning the 2005 CPL World Tour Finals in New York City secured his twelfth Major Title, accomplished while competing in 5 different games - an unprecedented achievement. His New York City victory earned him $150,000 and brought his 2005 total winnings to $231,000. During his competitive gaming career Fatal1ty has placed 1st in 65% of all the competitions he has entered and top 3 in 90% of them.

In December 2006, Johnathan joined forces with Championship Gaming Series (CGS) as exclusive on-air analyst, global spokesperson and gaming ambassador to help establish competitive video gaming as a 21^st century sport. Catch Johnathan and all the action on DirecTV’s channel 101, Sky or Star as well as a live stream on www.thecgs.com.

In August 2007, Johnathan was awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award in the four-year history of the eSports-Award for “showing exceptional sportsmanship, taking part in shaping eSports into what it is today and for being the prime representative of this young sport. He has become the figurehead for eSports worldwide”.

For more information please visit www.fatal1ty.com.