ESFI World

Sean 'Day9' Plott, arguably the world's most succesful and popular Starcraft 2 commentator has announced his latest project - the After Hours Gaming League. Unlike other competitions that are in the market place, the AHGL will pit eight teams from eight of the world's richest and most famous tech-companies against each other. Do you want to know whether the developers at Zynga can play games aswell as make them? The After Hours Gaming League is the place to find out.

The comeptition is being held to serve two purposes, raise awareness for electronic sports in North America and to raise awareness for a whole host of charities. Plott, PC Gamers "Gamer of the Year 2010", will donate $5000 to the winning team - each of which has choosen their own charity to represent.

“We are talking about one of the hardest computer games in the world being played by some of the smartest people in the world,” said Plott in the official press release. “I can’t think of a more exciting combination to watch.”

Over the course of nine consecutive weeks teams from Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yelp and Zynga will duke it out in an attempt to qualify for the grand finals that are scheduled to be held at the Facebook campus in Palo Alto, California on August 19th. Each team consists of twelve employees from each respective company, many of which were chosen through internal competitions.

Broadcasts of the comeptition are due to take place via Day9tv and Facebook Live, the official livestreaming channel from Facebook's Palo Alto campus.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Tech Giants Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yelp and Zynga, enlisted for upcoming gaming battle.

Los Angeles, CA – July 5, 2011 – Taking their battles off the technology platform, the most prestigious high tech companies in the world have been recruited to compete in the ultimate gamer showdown, the After Hours Gaming League.

The After Hours Gaming League will feature top tech talent duking it out on the virtual battlefields of the real time strategy game, StarCraft 2. The event, which starts on Thursday June 30th and runs for 9 consecutive weeks, is predicted to attract hundreds of thousands of viewers globally.

Each week, the corporate teams will present their named employees to battle against the contending technology firms. The tournament will culminate in an exciting final playoff round to be broadcast live on August 19 from the Facebook campus in Palo Alto, CA.

Organized and hosted by Sean “Day[9]” Plott, co-founder of Day9.TV, popular internet television host and PC Gamer’s “2010 Gamer of the Year,” this event is part of a push to introduce “eSports” or competitive gaming into mainstream culture. “We are talking about one of the hardest computer games in the world being played by some of the smartest people in the world,” said Plott. “I can’t think of a more exciting combination to watch.”

“We are excited to participate,” said Robyn Reiss, a spokesperson for Facebook. “This is a fun alternative to traditional company sports, and I expect that a lot of our engineers are already training for the tournament.”

Steven Bartel, a software engineer at Dropbox and its team captain explains: “StarCraft 2 requires dedication, critical thinking, and split-second decision making. That is why it has become so popular in the tech community. We can’t wait to see some of the best competition the community has to offer tested in battle.”

Plott, who has built a fan base of hundreds of thousands of viewers by hosting a weekly internet show about StarCraft gaming and strategy, is part of a growing interest in eSports in North America and Europe. “ESports is in its infancy in North America,” says Plott, “compared to Asia, where eSports has had a fanatical following for years. In South Korea, StarCraft is a national obsession like baseball or football. Gamers are celebrities and professional matches are shown on prime time television.”

According to Plott, eSports hasn’t taken off as quickly in the West, partly because there has been a stigma that video games are bad for your brain. He points out that there are games, like StarCraft, that are highly strategic and complex and that are played by the most educated, intellectual people.

Says Plott: “We believe the After Hours Gaming League, featuring top tech talent, will showcase some of the country’s best and brightest gamers, illustrate the potential of gaming, and ultimately build respect for eSports.”

Fans can catch all the action on the After Hours Gaming League, with play by play analysis by Plott, at www.day9.tv or afterhoursgaming.tv every Thursday starting June 30. Previously aired shows will be available on demand at day9tv.blip.tv.

ABOUT DAY[9]TV
Day9.TV was founded in 2009 by Sean Plott and Eric Burkhart, two university graduates of Harvey Mudd College who have become evangelists for gaming, eSports and the gamer lifestyle. Capitalizing on innovations in video streaming technology, Eric and Sean offer fresh, smart internet television content to a global audience demographic ranging from age 15 to 30 years of age. Their Day[9]Daily, which focuses on content for PC computer gamers has a devoted following and is currently viewed more than 5 million times a month. Plott’s autobiographical television special, “My Life of StarCraft” has been widely acclaimed as an articulate and entertaining defense of gaming and became a YouTube sensation, with more than 2 million views to date. In 2010, Plott was named PC Gamer’s “Gamer of the Year.” Day[9]TV has been featured in publications as diverse as PCWorld, GamaSutra, Business Insider and The Economist as well as on Chicago Public Radio, and NPR’s All Things Considered.