Eight Aspiring Professional Gamers Win Big in Nashville at Inaugural Doritos MLG Pro-Gaming Combine

NASHVILLE, Tenn. and NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Eight video game fans broke through a field of over 1,200 game players aspiring to become professional video gamers at the first stop of the 2010 Doritos MLG Pro-Gaming Combine in Nashville this past weekend.  

The Combine – which was created with Doritos to inspire fans to pursue their gaming passions and showcase their talents at the highest levels – brought together thousands of video game amateurs with MLG Pros and League officials across America.  Aspiring professional gamers were given a rigorous testing ground to showcase their skills, and an opportunity to further gain exposure through MLG's thriving community of players. The winners will now travel to Orlando to compete alongside the best gamers in the world at the MLG Pro Circuit event April 16-18.

The Nashville winners are:

• FFA winner: 18 yr old Tim "Adrenaline" Keane from Queens, NY
• Winning 4v4 team: "Adrenaline Rush" with featured players:
  • 17 yr old Ryan "a.reallygoodnoob" Alexander Geddes from FLA
  • 17 yr old Chris "Blaze" Chapon from Cleveland, OH
  • 18 yr old, JR " JeRawockee" Pacheco from Conyers, GA
  • 18 yr old, Nick "Dubay" Dubay from Minneapolis, MN
• Wild Card Winners:
  • 17 yr old Edward "Reaction" Leck of Power team from Manchester, England
  • 19 yr old Zach "PIGGY" Cahill of The Yellow Dragons from Ontario, Canada
  • 17 yr old Mason "Aries" Miller of Hood Ninjas from Augusta, GA

Over the course of the weekend, more than 1,200 players played almost 650 games and were evaluated by the league in key areas including: communication, accuracy, decision-making and situational performance. Approximately 400 players who exhibited superior performance in those categories were identified by the MLG Scout Team, and put through additional competitions and tests to separate out the players with professional-league potential. The eight winners each received:

• $500 in prize money.
• An invitation to compete for Pro Status in the Finals Event.
• Round Trip Airfare ($500 Limit) to the Pro Circuit National Championship Competition and a three night stay in the Pro Circuit National Championship Competition Hotel booked by Major League Gaming (provided that winner maintains his or her eligibility status for the Finals Event).  MLG will have the option of either booking the airfare for winner or providing winner with a $500 airfare stipend (or cash) at the upcoming Pro Circuit Competition.
• Free Entry into the upcoming Halo 3 Pro Circuit Event and the opportunity to purchase a Reserved Team Pass for that Event.    
• A Profile page on the Doritos Pro-Gaming Combine Web site.
• Editorial Coverage at the upcoming Pro Circuit Competition.
• The ability to play on a Feature Station, at the upcoming Pro Circuit Competition, dedicated to Matches featuring Combine Winners.

The series of nationwide Combine events will culminate at the Finals Event co-located at the 2010 MLG Pro Circuit National Championship, the date and location of which has yet to be announced. Four players will receive MLG pro status at that time. The remaining three Doritos MLG Pro-Gaming Combines are:

"We had an incredible weekend and are thrilled with the outcome.  We're more excited than ever about the potential of the Combine to help amateurs transition from aspiration to 'living the dream' in professional video gaming," said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and chief brand officer of Major League Gaming.

Full details about the event are available at www.doritoscombine.com, including specifics about the Combine format and other events.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING

Founded in 2002, Major League Gaming (MLG) is the dominant media property exclusively targeting the approximately 40 million consumers in North America who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. The company exclusively represents the best professional gamers and gives millions of aspiring gamers around the world an opportunity to compete, improve their skills, and socialize through our thriving online competitive community and live Pro Circuit competitions. For more information: www.mlgpro.com.

ABOUT FRITO-LAY

Doritos tortilla chips is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com/, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fritolay.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales.  Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries.  With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose.  By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Major League Gaming