AMD PGL Names Finalists, Location, Dates for Spring ’99 Championships

AMD PGL Names Finalists, Location, Dates for Spring ’99 Championships is the story today, and it is the kind of late-April 1999 news blast that makes the pre-E3 season feel like someone kicked the hornet nest. The AMD Professional Gamers’ League (PGL) today revealed that the live championships of its Spring ’99 season will be held at XS new York, a popular interactive gaming arena in Manhattan’s Times Square, May 21 – 22. The two-day event will feature the top 16 gamers in two game categories, with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes being awarded. The first pro sports league for computer game enthusiasts, the PGL has attracted more than $3 million in sponsor funding, and has given more than $250,000 in cash and prizes to the top gamers in its three previous seasons. More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the live competition, with an estimated 50,000 following the action via live Webcast.

It may not be the same thrill as a fresh demo, but this stuff shapes what actually reaches players. Boring paperwork today can turn into games on shelves tomorrow.