Singapore gamer among 24 finalists in first ever global Xbox Live tournament
On June 10, gamers from 24 countries, including Singapore, will vie for the honor of being crowned the Xbox Live™ Halo 2® World Champion, playing entirely online via Xbox Live.
The 24 country winners taking part in the Finals have battled with other Xbox Live gamers in their respective countries over 2 weeks in Halo 2’s Rumble Pit game mode to emerge as the country champion. In Singapore, 18-year-old Brendam Koh, has emerged as the Halo 2 Singapore Champion. Like other country winners around the world, Mr Koh has won a limited edition half-size Master Chief statue, a personalized Xbox Live Halo 2 Championship sweatshirt, a country champion plaque, an O2 Xphone II Smartphone mobile phone and US$500 in cash.
Qualifying finalists from 22 out of Xbox Live’s 24 regions have been identified. The United States and Japan regional contests are currently underway, with the winners being determined by the end of May. The winners from each locality will vie for the honor of being crowned Xbox Live “Halo 2” World Champion, playing entirely online via Xbox Live.
The global championship rounds will be played on Friday, June 10 in double elimination rounds. The 24 regional winners will be sectioned into four pools of six players each. The top three will move on to the next round, while the bottom three from each group will move into a elimination bracket; once a regional champion loses twice, they are eliminated. Each round will last 10 minutes. The final matches will be played on the new “Halo 2” map, Warlock. Local start times for the final rounds will be based on Greenwich Mean Time.
Having all 24 regions participate in one global tournament is a first for Xbox Live, which makes the following gamers trailblazers in a new era of online gameplay and competition. Because each Xbox Live region was guaranteed a spot in the final round, each country has crowned its own “Halo 2” champion. Below is the list of the Xbox Live regional champions to date:
1. Australia: Cabel
2. Austria: Billykater
3. Belgium: Project BE
4. Canada: I DaMan I
5. Denmark: GermanFreak
6. Finland: Iw1K1LL
7. France: I theos I
8. Germany: Pr0gamer
9. Hong Kong: Runningboy
10. Ireland: TheBar0n
11. Italy: N3LucifeRLS
12. Japan: To be crowned
13. Korea: Oddwing
14. Mexico: MexLoco
15. Netherlands: King Tuur
16. New Zealand: Bob69er nz
17. Norway: ZpiKey
18. Singapore: tidusSG
19. Spain: IlopsI
20. Sweden: Shellman
21. Switzerland: Otcho Boy
22. Taiwan: I Kobegod I
23. United Kingdom: o0Lethal0o
24. United States: To be crowned
The worldwide champion will receive, in addition to the country champion prize package, a 50' Samsung Flat Screen DLP HDTV, a Samsung HighDef DVD Player, a personalized Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Champion Trophy featuring a 24 karat gold Halo 2 game disc, and US$1,500 in cash.
“Halo 2” is one of the highest rated and top selling video games of all time, with more than 6.7 million copies sold worldwide since November 2004. It was also one of the most profitable entertainment initiatives of the past year, pre-selling 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and taking in more than $125 million in its first 24 hours of release – that is more than any opening weekend for a major motion picture in history. As Xbox Live continues to redefine online gaming, “Halo 2” features superior online multiplayer capabilities, evidenced by the fact that Xbox Live gamers have logged a record-breaking 240 million hours playing “Halo 2” since its launch. To date, more than 2 million unique users have played “Halo 2” online on Xbox Live.
