DALLAS, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) today announced the launch of the CPL World Tour, the first-ever, year-long, competitive tour for the growing sport of video game competitions.

The CPL, which has produced 35 national and international live gaming events since 1997, is the owner and principal operator of the World Tour.

The head sponsor of the tour is Intel, the world's largest chip maker and a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communication products. In addition to their top sponsorship and local activities at all ten stops, Intel will provide the microprocessors inside every gaming PC used during the entire CPL World Tour.

Other tour sponsors include: NVIDIA (the world's leader in graphics and digital media processors) and CompUSA (the nation's largest computer superstore retailer).

Boasting the largest competitive purse, a Million-Dollar pool for a single computer game, the World Tour will debut in Istanbul, Turkey on February 10, 2005. Following are confirmed stops in Spain, Brazil, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, China and Chile. A $500,000 Grand Final is planned for late November 2005.
The landmark CPL World Tour represents:

The largest, first-ever, year-long competitive tour spotlighting the growing new sport of video game competitions. In addition to the primary game of the tour: Painkiller; event-specific competitions will be added to the stops based on local appeal.

The establishment of a February-to-November, sports season, complete with a unified, competitive points system and the crowning of year-end champions.

Massive, multi-platform marketing commitments, utilizing both internal and external resources in support of the competitors and the new tour. Marketing platforms will include various television, radio, print, online, and event marketing initiatives.

Read the entire press release at the new CPL World Tour website.