Professional Gamers League

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Professional Gamers League
SportCommand & Conquer: Red Alert
Quake
StarCraft
StarCraft: Brood War
Founded1997
Owner(s)Total Entertainment Network
CommissionerNolan Bushnell
CountryUnited States
Sponsor(s)Advanced Micro Devices
Microsoft
Nvidia

The AMD Professional Gamers League (PGL), founded around 1997, was one of the first professional computer gaming eSports leagues. The PGL was run by Total Entertainment Network and was sponsored by AMD.[1] The first professional tournament they held was for StarCraft in September 1997.[2] The league was official unveiled at a press conference at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on November 3, 1997.[3] It was sponsored by Microsoft,[4] Nvidia,[5] and Levi Strauss & Co.[6] The organization raised over $1.2mil USD in sponsorship money.[7]

Nearly 1,400 players took part in the first Quake tournament, which took place online.[8] The first-ever Professional Gamers League Finals took place on January 30 and January 31, 1998, in Seattle, Washington at the Sega GameWorks super-arcade. Two games were played in this competition, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Quake. Both tournaments featured 1 on 1 play with David "DeepBlue" Magro winning the Red Alert tournament and Dennis "Thresh" Fong winning the Quake tournament. Both players won $7,500 and new AMD computers.[9]

Season 3 hosted the first ever Starcraft World Championship where 128 players from around the globe competed online from August 14 - September 6, 1998. The final 8 competitors played live in San Francisco, CA. Jay "Gadianton" Severson took first place playing random and going undefeated in the double-elimination bracket to win $8500 and a new AMD computer.[citation needed]

In 2000, Gamers.com acquired the PGL from Pogo.com, after PGL had been inactive for a year.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lee, Jonathan D. (July 23, 2015). "Thresh: How the World's First Pro Gamer is Still Changing Esports". 1337 Magazine. Aller Media. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "AMD(R) Professional Gamers League(TM) Crowns Season 2 Champions". June 1, 1997. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  3. ^ Miller, Greg (November 3, 1997). "Out of the Arcade". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  4. ^ LaPlante, Alice; Seidner, Rich (April 26, 1999). Playing for Profit: How Digital Entertainment is Making Big Business Out of Child's Play (First ed.). Wiley. p. 163.
  5. ^ "Professional Gamers League Chooses NVIDIA as Official 3D Graphics Technology". Nvidia. November 11, 1998. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  6. ^ Gamespot Staff (November 3, 1997). "Online Gamer League Comes Out". GameSpot. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Brown, Janelle (December 1, 1997). "Pixel Pros". Wired. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  8. ^ Miller, Greg (December 15, 1997). "In the Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  9. ^ "AMD(R) Professional Gamers League(TM) Announces Season 3 Plans". PR News wire. July 24, 1998. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  10. ^ "Gamers.com Acquires Professional Gamers' League and Announces Strategic Alliance with AltaVista Network". Los Angeles: Business Wire. May 11, 2000. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved November 3, 2015.


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