Cyberathlete Professional League

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) was a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions. It was founded by Angel Munoz on June 27, 1997 in Dallas, Texas.[1] The CPL is considered the pioneer[2] in professional video game tournaments, which have been held worldwide. The CPL's tournaments are open to all registrants, but due to the ESRB content rating of some video games, CPL competitions are restricted to participants age 17 or older. The CPL has distributed more than US$3 million in cash prizes.

Cyberathlete Professional League
SportElectronic sports
FoundedJune 27, 1997 (1997-06-27)
Most recent
champion(s)		 X3O (CS)
Team XFX (CSS)
Most titles SK-Gaming (7 times)
Official websitethecpl.com

In 2005, the CPL moved to a World Tour format. The 2005 CPL World Tour focused on the one-on-one deathmatch game Painkiller, and had a total prize purse of $1  millions. The winner of the CPL Grand Finals event, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, went home with the grand prize of $150,000, while Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager took home the MVP trophy for having the most tournament wins.

In March 2008, the CPL ceased operations, citing a "crowded field of competing leagues".[3] On August 25, 2008, the CPL announced that it had signed an acquisition agreement with an investment group based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[4] On August 23, 2010, the former parent company of the CPL, announced that the two-year acquisition process of the CPL was finalized, and that the sole owner of the CPL (and its subsidiaries) was now WoLong Ventures PTE of Singapore.[5][6] Following this acquisition, the CPL has hosted annual competitions in China, in collaboration with the municipal government of Shenyang.[7]

Events

2007 and 2010s
Date Event Venue Prizes GameWinnerRunner-up
2013 CPL Championship 2013[8] Shenyang $6,500 StarCraft IIHui Cao "Jim" JinLee "MarineKing" Jung Hoo
2012 CPL Championship 2012[9] Shenyang $10,250 StarCraft IIXiang "XY" YaoXing Biao "Way" Zhu
League of LegendsInvictus GamingMVP White
2011 CPL Invitational 2011[10] Shenyang $26,057 StarCraft IILee "MarineKing" Jung Hoo[11]Kim "SaSe" Hammar
Defense of the AncientsInvictus Gaming.z[12]World Elite
Warcraft IIIHuang "TH000" Xiang[13]Wang "Infi" Xu Wen
2008 CPL World Tour 2007: Finals.[14] London $300,000 F.E.A.RHenrik "Jagad" Dahl[15]Marc-André "4 Glory" Messier
World In ConflictTeam Dignitas[16]Don't Care
2007 CPL Winter 2007 Dallas $60,000 Counter-Strikex3o-gamingDynamo
Counter-Strike SourceTeam XFXcarnage

2006

The 2006 CPL World Season was a series of electronic sports competitions organized by the CPL in the fall of 2006. It was a follow up of the 2005 CPL World Tour and was announced by the CPL on July 31, 2006.[17]

The tour featured two games, Counter-Strike and Quake 3. After a total of 7 qualifier events, the finals were held on 16–20 December 2006 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dallas, Texas. The championship finals had a total prize purse of $150,000 and were won by ORG: Team: fnatic (Counter-Strike) and Paul "czm" Nelson (Quake 3).

Event Venue Prizes GameWinnerRunner-up
CPL Winter 2006 Dallas $150,000 Counter-StrikefnaticMeetYourMakers
Quake IIIPaul "czm" NelsonFan "Jibo" Zhibo
CPL World Season 2006: Nordic Jönköping Qualifier Counter-StrikeNinjas in PyjamasH2k Gaming
Quake IIIFan "Jibo" ZhiboSebastian "Spart1e" Siira
CPL World Season 2006: Italy Verona Qualifier + $50,000 Counter-StrikeaAaa-Losers
Quake IIIMagnus "Fojji" OlssonMarcel "k1llsen" Paul
CPL World Season 2006: Korea Seoul Qualifier Counter-StrikeLAVEGA-GAMINGproject_kr
CPL World Season 2006: China Chengdu Qualifier Counter-StrikeStar.exHacker Gaming
CPL World Season 2006: Brazil São Paulo Qualifier Counter-Strikeg3nerationXMade in Brazil
Quake IIIDaniel "Ryu" Souza De LimaDiogo "met" Fressato
CPL World Season 2006: Singapore Singapore Qualifier + $30,000 Counter-StrikefnaticSpeedLink
Quake IIIFan "Jibo" ZhiboBrian "dkt" Flander

2005
The CPL World Tour Logo

At the 2004 Cyberathlete Extreme Summer Championships, the CPL announced details on its largest event ever, the CPL World Tour. This event took place throughout 2005, with a total of 10 international stops, and a finals event held in New York City, televised by MTV.[18]

Event Winner Runner-up Prizes Venue
CPL Winter 2005 CS: SK-Gaming

Quake 4: Anton "Cooller" Singov

F.E.A.R: Neal "cleaner" Sisbarro

 CS: Lunatic Hai

Quake 4: Johan "Toxjq" Quick

F.E.A.R: Steven "BlueWolf" Anderson

 $100,000
 Dallas
CPL World Tour 2005: Finals Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel
 Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager
 $500,000
 New York City
CPL World Tour 2005: Chile CS: Made in Brazil

Painkiller: Alexander "ztrider" Ingarv

WC3: Rodolfo "Virus" Ehrhorn

 CS: United 5

Painkiller: Andrew "Gelleshak" Ryder

WC3: Bernardo "PaTo" Rodrigues

 Qualifier + $60,000
 Santiago de Chile
CPL World Tour 2005: Italy Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager
 Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel
 Qualifier + $50,000
 Milan
CPL World Tour 2005: Singapore CS: fnatic

Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel

 CS: Team XCN

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

 Qualifier + $70,000
 Singapore
CPL World Tour 2005: United Kingdom CS: Team9

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

 CS: Ninjas in Pyjamas

Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel

 Qualifier + $60,000
 Sheffield
CPL Summer 2005 CS: SK-Gaming

Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel

CS:Source: PowersGaming

WC3: Yoan "ToD" Merlo

Halo 2: Final Boss

Day of Defeat: Check Six

 CS: Evil Geniuses

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

CS:Source: upper

WC3: Dimitar "DIDI8" Aleksandrov

Halo 2: h2o

Day of Defeat: compLexity

 $200,000
 Dallas
CPL World Tour 2005: Sweden Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager
 Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel
 Qualifier + $50,000
 Jönköping
CPL World Tour 2005: Brazil CS: Made in Brazil

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

 CS: SSV Lehnitz(fnatic)

Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel

 Qualifier + $70,000
 Rio de Janeiro
CPL World Tour 2005: Spain CS: mousesports

Painkiller: Stephan "SteLam" Lammert

 CS: compLexity

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

 Qualifier + $70,000
 Barcelona
CPL World Tour 2005: Turkey CS: Catch Gamer

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

WC3: Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen

 CS: M19

Painkiller: Benjamin "zyz" Bohrmann

WC3: Mykhaylo "HoT" Novopashyn

 Qualifier + $70,000
 Istanbul

2004
Event Winner Runner-up Prizes Venue
CPL Winter 2004 CS: Team NoA

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

Day of Defeat: Highball

Doom 3: Yang "RocketBoy" Meng

 CS: EYEBALLERS

Painkiller: Benjamin "zyz" Bohrmann

Day of Defeat: Check Six

Doom 3: Stefan "dragon" Schott

 $150,000
 Dallas
CPL UK Qualifier 2004 CS: 4Kings
 CS: GoodGame
 Qualifier
 London
CPL Greece Qualifier 2004 CS: The Titans CS: TeG Qualifier Athens
CPL Brazil Qualifier 2004 CS: g3nerationX CS: Made in Brazil
 Qualifier
 São Paulo
CPL Japan Qualifier 2004 CS: Epiphyllum Oxpetalum CS: Dynamic Qualifier
 Tokyo
CPL Turkey Qualifier 2004 CS: mousesports CS: Team Quash Qualifier Istanbul
CPL Romania Qualifier 2004 CS: SK-Gaming CS: AMD Cyber Team Qualifier Timișoara
CPL Summer 2004 CS: EYEBALLERS

Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager

UT2K4: SK-Gaming

Call of Duty: United 5

Halo: Team Wat?

 CS: SK-Gaming

Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel

UT2K4: Xtreme(fnatic)

Call of Duty: Team 3D

Halo: cooked_Gamers

 $250,000 Dallas

Past CPL World Champions
Main article: List of Cyberathlete Professional League champions

Individual competitions
  • 2006 - USA - Paul "czm" Nelson - Quake III[19]
  • 2005 - USA - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - Painkiller[20]
  • 2004 - The Netherlands - Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager - Painkiller
  • 2003 - Norway - Chris "kJer" Lujan - Painkiller
  • 2002 - USA - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - Unreal Tournament 2003
  • 2001 - USA - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - Alien versus Predator 2
  • 2001 - Australia - Harley "HarlsoM" Grey - Quakeworld
  • 2000 - USA - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - Quake III
  • 1999 - USA - Mark "wombat" Larsen - Quake III
  • 1998 - USA - Dan "Rix" Hammans - Quake II
  • 1997 - USA - Tom "gollum" Dawson - Quake

Team competitions
  • 2007: USA - Pandemic - Counter-Strike Source
  • 2006: Sweden - fnatic - Counter-Strike[21]
  • 2005: Sweden - SK Gaming - Counter-Strike[22]
  • 2004 - Unattached - Team NoA - Counter-Strike
  • 2003 - Sweden - SK Gaming - Counter-Strike
  • 2002 - USA - Team3D - Counter-Strike
  • 2001 - Sweden - Ninjas in Pyjamas - Counter-Strike
  • 2000 - Sweden - e9 - Counter-Strike
  • 2000 - The Philippines - DATA mngt - Counter-Strike

Cyberathlete Amateur League

The CPL also owned and operated an online video game league for amateur players and teams, named the Cyberathlete Amateur League or CAL. CAL operated year-round, with regular eight-week seasons, one or two matches per week, and a single-elimination postseason (playoffs).

On November 14, 2008, the newly formed CPL Holding Group, LLC from United Arab Emirates announced that it had acquired CAL.[23] On February 22, 2009, CAL ceased online operations. At its peak CAL was one of the largest online gaming leagues in North America with 20,000 teams and over 600,000 registered players.[24]

The CAL is based mainly on online game play. A 2003 competition hosted by CAL was played in a Hyatt Regency Ballroom. Several tables were placed together where 10 computers were set up for the professional gamers. The game was Half-Life: Counterstrike.[25] The CAL ceased operating in 2009.

CPL divisions

In mid-2006, the CPL together with its international partners announced a series of licensed divisions to bring worldwide the experience of the CPL events.

  • Singapore: Edge of Reality
  • China: Media Gaming Live Pte Ltd
  • Australia: Ping Events Australia EH? (James Duffy's "Puffing Duffy's Pro's")
  • Chile: ALM Ingenieria (LAN-Z) S.A.
  • Brazil: Made in Brazil Esportes Eletrônicos (MiBR) Ltda
  • South Korea: International e-Sports Group, Inc (IEG)
  • Sweden: E-Sport Entertainment Group AB (EEG)
  • Romania: E-Sport Entertainment, Inc (OSIM)
  • Italy: A.S. Play.it (ASPI)

Possible fraud leak

On April 2, 2010, a former CGS employee Tonya Welch, released information[26] about an alleged "fraud scheme" by which the new buyers of the CPL had made fictitious statements to the general public and to the previous owner of the CPL. She claimed that the investors were not from Abu Dhabi, as had been announced, but that the purchase was actually conducted by a private group of US investors. Despite the allegations the acquisition was ultimately completed by WoLong Ventures of Singapore.

References
  1. John Gaudiosi (2013-04-09). "CPL Founder Angel Munoz Explains Why He Left ESports And Launched Mass Luminosity". Forbes.com. Retrieved 1 Jul 2013.
  2. "Club FORUM Beograd | PROJECTS |". clubforum.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  3. "Cyberathlete professional league (CPL) is no More!". GameGuru. 17 Mar 2008. Retrieved 15 Aug 2013.
  4. Adrenaline Vault (2008-08-25). "Investment Group Acquires CPL". avault.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  5. "NewWorld and WoLong Ventures Announce Completion of CPL Acquisition". newworld.com. 2010-08-23. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  6. "NewWorld and WoLong Ventures Announce Completion of CPL and CAL Acquisition" (Press release). NewWorld. 2010-08-23. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  7. "China- Shenyang CPL Championship is Back!!!" (Press release). theCPL.com. 6 Jul 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-19. Retrieved 30 Aug 2013.
  8. "CPL Championship 2013". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  9. "CPL Championship 2012". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  10. "CPL Invitational 2011". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  11. "MarineKing wins CPL Invitational 2011". Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  12. "CPL 2011: group-stage details specified". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  13. "沈阳CPL2011国际电子竞技明星邀请赛圆满落幕" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  14. "CPL World Tour 2007: Finals".
  15. "F.E.A.R".
  16. "World in Conflict 2007".
  17. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-07-31). "The CPL Announces 2006 World Season". thecpl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  18. "MTV To Air CPL Finals". gotfrag.com. 2005-11-25. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  19. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-12-21). "Championship Finals Winners!". thecpl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  20. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-09-15). "The CPL Announces Past 1v1 Champions". thecpl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  21. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-12-21). "Championship Finals Winners!". thecpl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  22. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-10-19). "CPL Announces Counter-Strike World Champions". The CPL Romania 2010. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  23. GotFrag (2008-11-14). "CPL Holdings Group Acquires CAL". thecpl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  24. "The CPL Heritage". Archived from the original on 2013-11-05.
  25. "Are video games a sport?". csmonitor.com. 2003-08-08. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  26. Don't Be Fooled (2010-04-02). "New CPL: Don't be fooled". Complexitygaming.com. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
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