WGT Finals to be Held in Mumbai

Mumbai is set to witness the national finals of the World GameMaster Tournament (WGT), supported by Asus, Intel and ATI.

The three companies announced the alliance in the city today, stating that they aim to create opportunities for Indian gamers to compete at a national level and to make WGT an annual global event. While the WGT is held independently in 26 countries in its first year, representatives said that they plan to organize a grand finale from next year onwards, which is most likely to be held in Taiwan, the WGT's home country.

The finalists from India will compete against each other at Inorbit Mall, Malad on the 14th and 15th of October. Players are divided into amateurs and professional leagues for Counter Strike (Half Life) 1.6, while DoTA (Defense of the Ancients) is open only for professional league players.

WGT representatives added that they will add more games like FIFA and Need for Speed Most Wanted to the tournament, next year in India (no mention of UT 2004 though). Prizes for the national winning team for DoTA (Pro) are Asus Vento 7700 Gaming Chassius (1st place) and Asus P5LD2-VM SE motherboards (2nd place). For CS, prizes include Asus P5RD2Motherboards and Asus DRW 1608P DVD writers for amateurs for 1st and 2nd place winners respectively. Professional league winners win Asus Vento 7700 Gaming Chassius and Asus 450 watts PSU (1st place) and Asus P5LD2-VM SE motherboards (2nd place).

Amit Jaokar, techinical production manager, Asus, said, "Being an enthusiastic gamer myself, I have observed that Indian gamers need more recognition. WGT is a platform for the same and the only place where even amateur gamers get to compete separately. Gaming as an industry is still at a nascent stage in India and Asus as a high end technology vendor fulfils the hardware requirements of hardcore gamers."

WGT representatives revealed that the objective of the tournament is to represent gaming as a respectable sport and to showcase the best in gaming hardware.

Click here for the World GameMastersTournament official site.