[PR] NVIDIA Announces STARCRAFT II TOURNAMENT, to be Cast by HUSKY and DAY9

GeForce StarCraft II Pro/Am Tournament to Offer over US$22K in Cash and Hardware in 6 Week Competition

SINGAPORE — June 7, 2011 — Calling all Nerd Ballers! Registration is now open for the first ever GeForce® StarCraft II Pro/Am online tourney! With more than US$22,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, now is the time to mosey on over to GeForce.com and secure your spot playing one of the world’s most popular PC games and possibly earn the title of grand champion.

There are two levels of participation: Pro and Amateur!

• Pro Open: The top StarCraft II players in the world will be competing in the pro line-up with no limit to the number of players.
• Amateur Open: Amateur registration is open and free to all ages of 16 and over with no limit to the number of total entries per Protoss, Terran, or Zerg.

“Our GeForce users are some of the most passionate gamers on the planet,” said Drew Henry, general manager of the GeForce business unit at NVIDIA. “This free tournament and all the great casting coverage from Husky and Day9 are our way of providing a really fun and rewarding experience for our best customers.”

All tournaments are 1 versus 1 (1v1) head-to-head battles. There will be at least 5 weeks of guaranteed group play, with the top players from each group moving on to the double-elimination championship brackets.

In addition, StarCraft II community favourites, Husky and Day 9 will be shoutcasting the battles in real time with live broadcasts streamed on Geforce.com and the Game Station YouTube channel. World-class tournament features including match setting, anti-cheat controls, leader boards and more are being provided by tournament management veterans, Cevo (www.cevo.com). ASUS is the official hardware sponsor offering GeForce GTX 500-series of GPU products to the top 20 pro and amateur winners.

“GeForce.com provides a one-stop shop for all the tournament media including our casting videos, guest commentaries and multiple blogs,” said Mike “Husky” Lamond, the popular StarCraft II shoutcaster on The Game Station. “We can’t wait for the tournament to begin!”

“I’m delighted that NVIDIA is stepping forward to support eSports in a way that involves the whole community,” said Sean “Day9” Plott, of Day9tv. “Literally anyone can sign up to compete or watch free of charge. How cool is that?”

To obtain the official GeForce StarCraft II Pro/Am rules and regulations, or to register for the tournament, please visit: www.geforce.com and follow the links. The tournament is a free North American-hosted event but international players can register and compete where allowed by law. See the official rules for more information.