World Cyber Games Final Scheduled For Las Vegas

The World Cyber Games, one of the major organizations of professional video game competition, has announced that the Aladdin Hotel, soon to be Planet Hollywood by Sheraton in Las Vegas, Nevada, will host the 2006 WCG USA Championship Final, set to take place from September 15-17, 2006. The National Final event at the Aladdin is the culmination of the 2006 WCG USA Championship program, with thousands of players competing in both online and offline tournaments over a four-month period. The event is expected to see more than 175 of America’s top PC and video game players competing for over $75,000, the largest prize purse in WCG USA tournament history. In addition, winners will also earn a spot on Team USA at the WCG Grand Final in Monza, Italy, where more than 700 of the world's best gamers are expected to compete. The roster of official games for the WCG 2006 season consists of StarCraft: Brood War, WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne, Half-Life: Counter-Strike 1.6, Warhammer 40,000: Winter Assault, FIFA Soccer 06, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, all on PC, as well as Dead or Alive 4 and Project Gotham Racing 3 for the Xbox 360. The WCG USA competition is already underway, with two more regional qualifiers scheduled over the next several weeks. Each event is open to the public, and includes the Pacific Regional at the CG Centre in Irvine, California from August 5-6, and the Northeast Regional at the Samsung Experience @ the Time Warner Center in New York City from August 12-13. “Las Vegas and the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Resort represent the ideal high-energy city and venue for an e-Sports tournament of this caliber,” said Michael Arzt, general manager and senior vice-president for ICM USA, organizers of the World Cyber Games USA Championships. “e-Sports fans will be treated to an optimum blend of entertainment and serious competitive video gaming, with America’s best gamers going to Italy to defend Team USA’s title as overall world champions of the WCG.”