January 16th to 18th 2009, Intel Chengdu eSport Stadium in China – World's best Counter-Strike 1.6 and Warcraft 3 players compete for 60,000 USD prize money – Global league of eSports champions with 750,000 USD prize money overall

Cologne, January 13th, 2009 – From January 16th to 18th the elite of electronic sports meets at the Intel Extreme Masters Continental Finals Asia in world's first eSports stadium. In the City of Chengdu, China, professional gamers compete in the disciplines of Counter-Strike 1.6 and Warcraft 3 for a total of 60,000 USD prize money and for their spot at the Intel Extreme Masters Global Finals at CeBIT 2009 in Germany. The overall prize money of the Intel Extreme Masters season III is 750,000 USD.

The Intel Extreme Masters Continental Finals Asia open up the world's first dedicated eSports arena, the Intel Chengdu eSport Stadium. The stadium is used exclusively for the athletes of the 21st century: the eSportsmen. More than 2,000 square meters can accomodate over 1,000 spectators and 200 highend computers for the pro gaming competitions.

"For the first time we bring the Intel Extreme Masters to China, one of the leading countries in the world in eSports. With this tournament, the national eSports leagues move even closer together", said Jens Hilgers, CEO of the Turtle Entertainment GmbH from Cologne, Germany. "Together with our partner Intel at the Continental Finals Asia we open up world's first stadium dedicated to eSports only. A clear sign of growth which shows the way eSports in the future will go."

The Intel Extreme Masters are the global league of eSports champions. Eight live tournaments at the world's most important IT and gaming conventions are tied together by three continental eSports leagues. The leagues are held in America, Asia and Europe to find the best teams on each continent in Counter-Strike 1.6 and World of Warcraft. To Chengdu the world's best Warcraft 3 players will be invited. The eSportsmen compete at the Continental Finals Asia in Counter Strike 1.6 and Warcraft 3 for 60,000 USD prize money and their spot at the Intel Extreme Masters Global Finals at CeBIT 2009, Germany.

"The Intel Extreme Masters Continental Finals Americas are the second event of the eSports league of champions in the United States", said Jens Hilgers, CEO of the Turtle Entertainment GmbH from Cologne, Germany. "Presenting the best American Counter-Strike and World of Warcraft teams live at VGXpo Gaming Expo is another great opportunity to integrate America into our global league structure and to bring world wide electronic sports forward."

The IPTV station ESL TV and its global partners broadcast the matches of the Intel Extreme Masters III live. The IPTV stream is available at: http://tv.esl.eu.

The games are played on Alienware systems from Dell's gaming group based on Intel® Core™2 Extreme processors. All events feature free gaming areas giving everybody a chance to play gaming blockbusters on the latest Intel processors: The Intel® Core™2 Extreme and the brand new Intel® Core™i7. Intel and Dell sponsor the global league of eSports champions. In addition to the title sponsorship of the Intel Extreme Masters, Intel supports the Intel Friday Night Games and the ESL European Nations Championship across Europe.

Further information about the Intel Extreme Masters is available online: www.intelextrememasters.com


Intel Extreme Masters
The Intel Extreme Masters is the global league of eSports champions since 2006. The league elevates Counter-Strike and World of Warcraft competition to a new level. eSports champions from Europe, America and Asia struggle for USD 750,000 prize money – All-time record for a global online league. Live tournaments at the worlds largest IT conventions feature the top performers of the season - Global stars in eSports. The league has its exciting final in early 2009, inviting the top teams and players to participate in the Intel Extreme Masters Global Finals. The IP-TV station ESL TV and its global partners present the best games of the season live and reports directly from the offline events.
More information: www.intelextrememasters.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 20 different countries worldwide. The league portal www.esl.eu reaches above one million unique visitors a month generated by more than 900,000 active members. Turtle Entertainment broadcasts ESL events via IPTV channel ESL TV since 2007. Turtle Entertainment has 170 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, Volkswagen and adidas.
Further information is available at www.turtle-entertainment.de