Halo 2 Tourney

Not sure if everyone saw this press release that went out earlier today.

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Xbox Live ?oHalo 2? Tournament Website Presents Virtual Winners’ Circle
Newly Launched Website Features Match-Up Brackets and Introduces Finalists

After hard-fought battles online and thousands of rounds of virtual ammunition, the final stages of the world’s first global Xbox Live ?oHalo 2? tournament are fast approaching. Finalists from Xbox Live’s 24 regions can get details about bracketing as well as information about their opponents via http://www.xbox.com/halo2/tournament.htm, a newly launched web site which will function as a clearinghouse for tournament specifics and match-ups throughout the final rounds of play. The Xbox Live ?oHalo 2? World finals will be played entirely online via Xbox Live.

U.S. winner, Terry Lindle of Harrisburg, IL (Gamertag: L terry15 L), is thrilled to have made it this far. The 20-year old pharmacology student attributes his ?oHalo 2? skills to a firm grasp of the weapons and powerups. ?oKnowing the respawn times for all the weapons is critical. Get used to using the in-game clock to know exactly when they will be up,? he advises. Lindle adds that he hasn’t touched another video game since the launch of ?oHalo 2?, and that the head-to-head and rumble pit modes made him the player he is today.

The winner from Japan, a mysterious player known only as ?oaimitux?, rounds out the final 24 winners from around the world.

The global championship rounds will be played on Friday, June 10 in double elimination rounds. The 24 regional winners will be sectioned into four pools of six players each. The top three will move on to the next round, while the bottom three from each group will move into a elimination bracket; once a regional champion loses twice, they are eliminated. Each round will last 10 minutes. The final matches will be played on the new ?oHalo 2? map, Warlock. Local start times for the final rounds will be based on Greenwich Mean Time.

?oHalo 2? is one of the highest rated and top selling video games of all time, with more than 6.7 million copies sold worldwide since November 2004. As Xbox Live continues to redefine online gaming, ?oHalo 2? features superior online multiplayer capabilities, evidenced by the fact that Xbox Live gamers have logged a record-breaking 240 million hours playing ?oHalo 2? since its launch. To date, more than two million unique users have played ?oHalo 2? online on Xbox Live.

Now in its third generation of transforming and uniting Xbox game communities, with more than 300 games planned by end of holiday 2005 and now with presence in 24 countries worldwide, Xbox Live has set the bar for online games entertainment. As the first global, unified online console games service, Xbox Live continues to take online gameplay and entertainment to unprecedented heights. With a rapidly growing global community, Xbox Live offers best-in-class games, intelligent matchmaking, tournaments, unique programming and integration with Xbox.com ?” there is simply nothing else like it. The service continues to provide more and more ways for members to meet, interact and stay engaged with each other.

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America, Japan, Europe and Australia.