Paris to Host Electronic Sports World Cup
The best of the best gather to play games and win obscene amounts of cash.
One indicator of the growth of videogames is the rise of the cyber athlete. This summer, Paris will host the Electronic Sports World Cup 2005, which will pit top gamers from around the world against one another in a variety of events.
Competition will be based on several current and past games that have earned themselves reputations as the best for testing a player's mettle.
This year's tournament hosts players of Counter-Strike, Warcraft III, Pro Evolution Soccer 4, Unreal Tournament 2004, Quake 3 Arena and Gran Turismo 4.
Qualifying rounds will be held in 50 countries between February and June, with qualifiers going through to the main event in Paris, which will run from 6-10 July.
The winners of the team and solo events will collect over $300,000 in prize money, with the Counter Strike victors alone taking $120,000 of that.
The tournament will be held at the Carrousel of the Louvre, which has a seating capacity of 2,000, and it will also be broadcast on television and over the Internet.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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