Yesterday the Championship Gaming Series announced that it will no
longer be in business. The league who was owned by BSkyB, STAR and
DIRECTV has been a major part of e-sports in the last few years and
it’s a shame to see another one go. Professional Gaming has been a big
part of the industry since the 90’s and over the last few years has
escalated into huge international events.
Sadly, this is not the first league to call it quits. Many similar
leagues have also shared similar fates in the last few years. the
World Series of Video Games closed up shop mid-season in 2007 and The
Cyberathlete Professional League soon followed this past February. With
the constant fall of professional gaming leagues, is this a good or bad
thing for the industry? How professional gaming lost it’s touch? What
does this mean for casual gamers? With so many questions coming to
mind, only one thing can be known for certain – another great league
has been lost.
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Today BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series® (CGS) business.
While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of
what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious
project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to
sustain operations in the interim.
Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and we
conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in
the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the
economics just didn’t add up for us at this time.
Our only regret is that we will lose a team of creative and talented
individuals who invested their hearts and souls into Championship
Gaming Series. We recognize their achievements and thank them for their
hard work and passion.
BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV continue to be committed to the video games
sector, which is an important part of many of our customers’ lives and
a great source of entertainment.
Sincerely,
The CGS team”