The ESL today confirmed the IEM5 tournament in New York City during ComicCon. The event will be hosting a prize purse of over $60,000, part of the $400,000 total for the IEM series along with the right to compete in the Intel Extreme Masters Global Finals at CeBit in Hannover, Germany.
Below is the official press release.
——-
Cologne, September 20, 2010 – Electronic Sports League (ESL), the leading eSports league in Europe, presents the Intel Extreme Masters V American Championship, the continental finals of the global league of the video game champions. The event will be held on October 8 – 10 at New York Comic Con, the East Coast’s biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. The best professional gamers of the western hemisphere will fight for their share of 60,200 US Dollars, a piece of the total prize purse in the fifth season – 400,000 US Dollars. In addition, top teams and players will receive the right to compete in the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship which will be held at CeBIT in Hanover, March 2011. The main disciplines of the competition will be Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake Live and StarCraft® II – the most anticipated computer game of the last years.
In addition to the Intel Extreme Masters tournament, the New York event will host iRacing Intel GP Series North America Finals, the regional qualifications for the Grand Final held in 2011 in Germany. Apart from eSports action on the highest level, the audience will be able to take part in one of the Comic Con’s panels describing competitive gaming and will be given the opportunity to enjoy some of the latest computer game blockbusters on the 2010 Intel® Core™ i7 processor Extreme Edition in the Intel Gaming Showcase.
Intel Extreme Masters V American Championship
Intel Extreme Masters, one of the most prominent international tournaments, has just entered its fifth season. The best gamers from all over the world compete for the World Champion title and their share of 400,000 US Dollar – the highest prize purse in an international eSports league. The Intel Extreme Masters American Championship, among other continental finals, gives the opportunity to qualify for the grand final of the tournament held next year in Germany.
iRacing Intel GP Series North America Finals
Next to the Intel Extreme Masters Continental Championship, the event in New York will also host the iRacing Intel GP Series North America Finals. On Saturday, October 9, ten top competitors from the US and Canada will face each other in a race for their share of 8,100 US Dollars and the right to represent their region in the World Final. The ultimate battle will be held at the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship event at CeBIT 2011 in Germany.
Further information at www.iracing.com/intel-gp-series
Comic Con Panels and Screenings
In one of the New York Comic Con panels Michal Blicharz, the Product Manager of Intel Extreme Masters at Turtle Entertainment, will explain the astonishing phenomenon of competitive gaming. The presentation will take place on Saturday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Panel Room 1 (1A24).
eSports highlights on ESL TV, the IPTV station
New York Comic Con will be the scene of the battle for both Americas’ best e-athletes this year. It attracted over 77,000 attendees in 2009, easily making it the second largest comic book and pop culture gathering in the United States. Crain’s New York Business has ranked it as the second largest event in New York City. The IPTV station ESL TV will report live from the venue throughout the entire show. At www.esl.tv all eSports fans can follow the action in Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City from home.
Intel Extreme Masters
Intel® Extreme Masters is the global league of eSports champions since 2006. The league arranges the hardest and most popular competitions in Counter-Strike, StarCraft 2 and QuakeLive. eSports champions from Europe, Asia and America struggle for $400,000 in prize money – the most lucrative prize purse globally. Live tournaments at the worlds largest IT- and Gaming conventions feature the top performers of the season – global stars in eSports. The fifth season will have its exciting final in Germany in 2011, finding the top teams and players in the Intel® Extreme Masters World Championship.The IPTV station ESL TV presents the best games of the season live and reports directly from the offline events.
Further information is available at: www.intelextrememasters.com
Intel Corporation
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com
Turtle Entertainment GmbH
Turtle Entertainment was founded in 2000. The company quickly grew to be the European leader in the sector of electronic sports (eSports). The Electronic Sports League (ESL), operated by Turtle Entertainment, is active in 37 different countries worldwide. The league portal www.esl.eu reaches above ten million visits a month generated by more than 2,5 million registered users. Turtle Entertainment broadcasts ESL events via IPTV channel ESL TV since 2007. The headquarter has 160 employees and is located in Cologne, Germany. Turtle Entertainment owns the majority of the Chinese eSports league PGL (Pro Gamer League) since 2007. Important business partners of Turtle Entertainment are global corporations such as Intel, Alienware, ASUS, adidas, Volkswagen, Nokia, Trend Micro, Sennheiser, Windows 7, Sidewinder, SteelSeries and gamed.de.
Further information is available at www.turtle-entertainment.com