Championship Gaming Invitational
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The Championship Gaming Series (CGS) was a professional
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
league in the United States, that operated from 2007 to 2008. It was a global league that featured teams representing cities from around the world. The CGS aimed to bring a traditional sports league format to competitive gaming, with teams, franchises, and a regular season leading to playoffs and a championship. The CGS was preceded by the 2006 Championship Gaming Invitational, a television pilot featuring several future CGS players. The league was founded in 2007 and was owned and operated by
DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
in association with
British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers a ...
(BSkyB) and STAR TV. Games played in the CGS included titles such as '' Counter-Strike: Source'', ''
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
'', ''
Dead or Alive 4 is a 2005 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth main entry in the ''Dead or Alive'' fighting series following ''Dead or Alive 3'' (2001), and the last before Tecmo's merger with Koei i ...
'', ''
Project Gotham Racing 3 ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' is a 2005 arcade-style racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios as the third entry of the ''Project Gotham Racing'' series. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 ...
'', and ''
Forza Motorsport 2 ''Forza Motorsport 2'' is a 2007 sim racing, simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the second title in the ''Forza'' series, and is the sequel to the original ''Forza Motorsport (2005 video game ...
''. The league had a television broadcast deal, and matches were aired on various networks. Despite initial hype and investment, the CGS faced financial challenges and eventually ceased operations in 2008.


History


Concept and buildout

In 2005, David Hill, the president of
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...
, left his role to assume the presidency of the satellite TV company
DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
. Shortly after, he discovered competitive gaming, influenced by his grandchildren. Recognizing the potential of esports, Hill became an early participant in the industry. Drawing on his experience from Fox Sports, he understood the challenges broadcasters might face with the rising popularity of esports, particularly concerning bidding wars for broadcasting rights. When conceptualizing what eventually became the Championship Gaming Series, Hill wanted DirecTV to secure ownership of the broadcasting rights for the league. Hill secured over from
News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
, associated with
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, to finance the new venture for a period of five years. The CGS initially targeted the core esports audience for support and embarked on a recruitment campaign to attract well-known figures. Exclusivity was crucial to maintain the value of CGS, requiring players to commit exclusively to the league. Initially, the CGS aimed for complete exclusivity, but some team owners voiced concerns privately, expressing that this approach could restrict their earnings and potential sponsorship deals. Some franchises desired participation in local events for market exposure, and while CGS had reservations, the CGS adjusted contractual agreements to incorporate "Limited Exclusivity," allowing teams to attend other events with express written permission. However, certain conditions applied, including wearing CGS jerseys, utilizing CGS players or approved substitutes (taxi players), and promoting CGS in media appearances. In July 2006, a
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
called the Championship Gaming Invitational (CGI) was taped at
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...
in San Francisco, California. A second CGI then took place in Santa Monica, California, on December 16, 2006. On January 8, 2007, at the
International Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, DirecTV announced the official launch of the Championship Gaming Series. The first season was to be broadcast from July to December. The league immediately faced setbacks, as in March 2007, Hill returned to Fox after News Corp's stake in DirecTV was sold to
Liberty Media Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company founded by John C. Malone in 1991. The company has three divisions, reflecting its ownership stakes in the Formula One Group, S ...
. DirecTV then partnered with Britain's
British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers a ...
(BSkyB) and China's Star TV and secured sponsorships with
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and
Alienware Alienware Corporation is an American computer hardware subsidiary brand, but not of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers and accessories and can be identified by their Extraterrestrial life, alien-themed designs. Alienware ...
. To replace Hill, Andy Reif, who had formerly worked with
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and
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
, was brought on to the league's CEO and commissioner. In determining the gaming titles for the league, CGS aimed to secure exclusive broadcasting rights by collaborating with game publishers. The league prioritized titles with modern graphics and, for its inaugural season, selected fighting game ''
Dead or Alive 4 is a 2005 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth main entry in the ''Dead or Alive'' fighting series following ''Dead or Alive 3'' (2001), and the last before Tecmo's merger with Koei i ...
'', soccer simulator ''
FIFA 2007 ''FIFA 07'' (also known as ''FIFA Football 07'' and ''FIFA 07 Soccer'') is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, P ...
'' and racing simulator ''
Project Gotham Racing 3 ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' is a 2005 arcade-style racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios as the third entry of the ''Project Gotham Racing'' series. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 ...
'' in their first season. The league also debated on whether or not to have ''
Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games, in which opposing teams attempt to complete various objectives. The series began on Windows in 1999 with the release of the first game, '' Counte ...
'' as one of their games, considering its potentially violent and disorienting nature for viewers. However, the league ultimately chose to include it to enhance legitimacy. Despite ''Counter-Strike'' being a more popular esports title, they opted for its sequel '' Counter-Strike: Source'', due to its more contemporary graphics.


Launch and expansion

The inaugural CGS season showcased franchises from six major American cities, with teams from other global regions qualifying through tournaments rather than a structured league format as in the United States. The American teams were given names associated with major cities and regions: New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Carolina, Chicago, and San Francisco. However, these designations primarily served to mimic the structure of traditional professional sports leagues, and none of the players physically relocate to those cities. Both CompLexity and Team 3D were sold to DirecTV, rebranding to Los Angeles CompLexity and New York 3D, respectively, and were run by their existing general managers. The four other teams, the Carolina Core, Chicago Chimera, Dallas Venom, San Francisco Optx, were run by general managers of other existing ''Counter-Strike'' teams. The inaugural season's draft took place at the
Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby H ...
in San Francisco in June 2007, where each of the six teams selected ten players to participate in the CGS: one six-person ''Counter-Strike'' squad, one male and one female ''Dead or Alive 4'' player, one ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' player, and one ''FIFA 07'' player. The first pick of the draft was female ''Dead or Alive 4'' player
Vanessa Arteaga Vanessa Arteaga, also known as just Vanessa, is a former professional video game player who plays fighting games. She is from California. Arteaga was the first pick in the draft of the Championship Gaming Series video game league list of players, ...
, who was selected by San Francisco. In regards to the ''Counter-Strike'' picks, both Los Angeles and New York selected their respective squads, Dallas selected JaX Money Crew, Carolina selected Team Pandemic, Chicago selected
Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty (series), Call of Duty'', ''Counter-Strike ...
, and San Francisco selected EFGaming. The sixty players selected in the draft would reside in corporate housing in
Marina del Rey Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...
for two months while filming season one on a nearby Los Angeles soundstage. Each of these players would receive a starting salary of $30,000, covering the duration of the two-month shoot in Los Angeles. In addition to the salaries, a reported $5 million in prize money was available in the first year. This encompassed payouts for promotional events, global qualifiers, and the World Championships scheduled for December. The inaugural season of the CGS reportedly garnered a viewership of 50 million, with 90% of viewers coming from Asia. The three regional finals were hosted in Los Angeles, London, and Kuala Lumpur. The World Championships in December, which also took place in Los Angeles, were won by the Chicago Chimera. The CGS expanded for its second season expansion by introducing teams in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. The league had also aimed to bring established European teams like
SK Gaming SK Gaming is a professional esports organization based in Germany that has teams across the world competing in different titles. SK is particularly known for their success in '' Counter-Strike'' (CS) tournaments. SK's Brazilian ''CS'' team won ...
and
Fnatic Fnatic (pronounced "fanatic"; also stylised as fnatic or FNATIC) is a professional esports organisation headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded on 23 July 2004, it has players from around the world competing in several games. Fnatic' ...
on board, but the high costs involved led these teams to maintain their independence. The league made two changes to the games that were played, which included ''FIFA 07'' updating to ''
FIFA 08 ''FIFA 08'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 08'' in North America) is a Association football, football Simulation video game, simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on all po ...
'' and ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' changing to ''
Forza Motorsport 2 ''Forza Motorsport 2'' is a 2007 sim racing, simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the second title in the ''Forza'' series, and is the sequel to the original ''Forza Motorsport (2005 video game ...
''. The 2008 draft took place at
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in Austin, Texas, in March 2008. The same month, CNET reported that the CGS was building a 1,000-seat arena and training facility that would be used exclusively for matches in Wuhan, China. The CGS reported that 2 million viewers watched its second season on DirecTV. The World Final Championship was held in June 2008 and was won by the United Kingdom's Birmingham Salvos. In August 2008, Andy Reif was replaced as commissioner with Dale Hopkins, the former chief operating officer of G4.


Termination and aftermath

The substantial growth of the league in its second season consumed a significant portion of DirecTV's initial $50 million commitment. Coinciding with a challenging economic climate as the global economy approached one of the worst recessions in decades, the CGS announced in November 2008 that it would be shutting down. The presence of the CGS had significant consequences for the esports landscape, with games unprepared for professional tiers facing dissolution. In the case of ''Counter-Strike: Source'', a number of players chose to stop competing in the game, contributing to a noticeable gap between professional and amateur players. Amateur organizations also felt pressured to provide salaries that were unsustainable, akin to those offered by CGS, in order to attract talent. This, especially in North America, led to a culture where players prioritized individual interests, forming teams for assured victories and attending events selectively based on profitability. Moreover, the CGS's impact extended to competing companies, particularly if their flagship game was part of CGS and represented a substantial competitive threat. Elite-level talent from these organizations couldn't participate, leaving second-tier teams outside CGS with less thrilling victories and reduced prize funds. Additionally, the challenges faced by CGS affected the perception of esports on television among potential outside investors. Despite the aspiration to showcase esports on television and garner mainstream attention, the struggles of CGS portrayed esports as unprepared and labeled it a risky venture that fell short of budgeted expectations.


Format


General structure

Before the start of the season, the CGS holds
scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
s in various cities around the world. Based on the results of the combines, the
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
s then meet and draft players to participate in the league. Combines are open to all comers. In 2008, leagues could protect players in two of the five events; everyone else is put into the draft pool and can go to any team.


Scoring system

Points are awarded for each event as follows: *DOA 4: One point per each round won, regardless of result; this event is best five of nine rounds *Forza Motorsport 2: Teams are awarded four points for the winning driver, two points for the second-place driver, and one point for third place. *FIFA 08: Gamers participate in an eight-minute minigame. Each goal is scored one point for the team competition. If the game is tied,
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
s determine the winner, and each goal also counts as a point in the team totals. *Counter-Strike Source: This event consists of 18 rounds. All games count toward the team total, one point per winning round. If the teams tie after 18 rounds, a
sudden death Sudden Death or Sudden death may refer to: Medical * Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death, natural death from cardiac causes * Sudden cardiac death of athletes * Sudden infant death syndrome * Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy *Su ...
round is played. There is also a tie-breaking round if the teams are tied in the overall points. No bonus points are awarded to any team for winning an event.


Broadcast

The first season of the CGS was originally planned to be pre-taped, as was done in the previous pilot events. However, that plan was changed, and the entire season was filmed live. The first season was broadcast on DirecTV beginning on July 9, 2007, with two-hour episodes running twice weekly. The matches took place at a movie sound stage in Manhattan Beach, with an audience of around 200 people. The 2008 North American matches and the world tournament took place at the
Barker Hangar Santa Monica Airport (Santa Monica Municipal Airport) is a general aviation airport largely in Santa Monica, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles area. It opened on April 15, 1923, making it one of the United States' oldest a ...
in
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. Tickets were free and were distributed by Jam Packed Entertainment. Commentators on the broadcasts included Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner, Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham, and Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. Hosts throughout the years included DJ Stryker,
Tommy Tallarico Tommy Tallarico (born 1967 or 1968) is an American video game music composer, sound designer, and television producer. Since the 1990s, his company Tommy Tallarico Studios has produced audio for many video games. He co-hosted the television ser ...
, and
Andrew Siciliano Andrew David Siciliano (born August 28, 1974) is an American sports television anchor, reporter and radio broadcaster. He is the play-by-play announcer for the National Football League's Cleveland Browns Radio Network, and for Big Ten Football ...
.


Regions and teams

Source:


References


External links

* {{Professional Counter-Strike competition Sports leagues in the United States DirecTV 2007 establishments in the United States 2008 disestablishments in the United States Former Liberty Media subsidiaries Audience (TV network) original programming