It was announced today that the Direct TV owned professional video game league “The Championship Gaming Series” would cease operation immediately.
The CGS, was founded in 2007 by Direct TV, owned by Liberty Media in association with British Sky Broadcasting and STAR TV. The league was organized like any other american sports league and was sponsored by major brands in gaming and mainstream like Moutain Dew, Fatality gaming gear, Alienware and Xbox 360.
The league launched its first season with six franchises in six major cities in the United States including Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, San Fransico, Chicago and Carolina. In 2008, they launched new franchises in major international markets like Berlin, Spain, England and Mexico. Unforyunately there was not enough support for more than two seasons.
Jenny Snegaroff, a PR representative for the CGS, released this statement when the Hollywood Reporter contacted her: “While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim.
Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didn’t add up for us at this time.”
On the CGS website, the league announced their closure, and also mentioned their regret of losing “a team of creative and talented individuals who invested their heart and souls into the league.”
Robert Welkner, host of the video game show “Coin-op TV”, said “We’re sad to hear this news and hope the best as they move on to their next venture”
CGS was also the only league with international television coverage where the players where able to get more then bragging rights, but was also paid a salary like professional athletes.
Emanuel “Master” Rodriquez a member of the Dallas Venom franchise playing Dead or Alive 4 for the league sent me the following statement via email.
“CGS is what eSports should try to achieve and although it is down and out like some of the other leagues, Players that have competed in it or any other league should know that the league isn't what made them great players, they where great players before the league. we just help build it and we can very well do it again but better with our new experiences!”
Adande "sWooZie" Thorne added this statement in regards to his time in the league as the DOA 4 player for the Los Angeles franchise Complexity.
To me CGS has and will always be the physical manifestation of gamers dream comes true. It's Disneyland for grownups times's10. From the first combine in 2006 to what seems like it's final televised match on "The 101", CGS has exceeded my expectations each and every time.
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