The World Cyber Games Committee announced today that Chengdu, China would host the leagues’ tournament and festival for 2009. The formal announcement is scheduled to be made in China on April 23rd when the WCG organices head to Chengdu for the official signing ceremony.
New York, April 8, 2008 – The World Cyber Games (WCG) today announced Chengdu, China as the WCG 2009 Grand Final host city for the world’s largest and most prestigious video game tournament and festival. The formal announcement will be made in China on April 23rd when Chengdu city officials and World Cyber Games organizers join together for the official signing ceremony in Chengdu, China.
The World Cyber Games Committee considers numerous factors when selecting each year’s host city, including geography, facilities, infrastructure and marketing plans. For 2009, Chengdu received the overall highest score due to the extensive support offered by local government, accessibility of the Grand Final venue, and high network potential of broadcasters.
“As a state-level digital entertainment industry base, Chengdu aims to become the eSports training and tournament center in China,” said Ge Honglin, Mayor of Chengdu. “By hosting the World Cyber Games Grand Final, the biggest and most celebrated eSports and gaming festival in the world, we believe we are now well on our way to achieving this goal.”
Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in China, is a city rich in history, dating back more than 2,300 years. Chengdu is a cultural center for science and technology, commerce and finance, as well as a hub for transportation and communication in southwest China. The city has already hosted a number of major eSport competitions and is the first place in China to establish ratings for players, referees and coaches. Chengdu is also the first Chinese city to train cyber gaming referees and mandate gaming venue standards.
“Chengdu already has an incredible reputation for being one of the world’s elite cities when it comes to hosting video game competitions,” said Mr.Hyoung-Seok Kim, CEO of International Cyber Marketing, organizers of the World Cyber Games. “We have no doubt that they will be a wonderful and exciting host city that provides World Cyber Games players and fans with a unique and amazing setting for the premiere event and competition.”
Founded in 2000, the pioneering WCG continues today under the slogan “Beyond the Game.” Over the years, it has steadily grown to become the world’s largest and most prestigious video game festival and tournament, with an aim to be a total digital entertainment festival for gamers and the general public.
The 2007 World Cyber Games experienced record numbers of gamers and participating countries, with more than 700 players and 70 countries competing. At last year’s WCG Grand Final in Seattle, USA, TEAM USA captured the overall championship for only the second time in the history of the tournament. National Championship registration is well underway in the USA (www.worldcybergames.com/usa) and many other countries for the WCG 2008 global tournament, which culminates with the World Cyber Games 2008 Grand Final, Nov. 5 – 9, in Cologne, Germany.
