Championship Gaming Series
CGS Logo
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| Sport | Electronic sports |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ceased | 2008 |
| Commissioner |
Andy Reif (2007) Dale Hopkins (2008) |
| No. of teams | 18 |
| Countries | 12 |
| Last champion(s) |
 Birmingham Salvo (European Champion) Carolina Core (US Champion) |
| TV partner(s) | DirecTV, British Sky Broadcasting, STAR TV (Asia) |
Birmingham Salvo (World Champion)
The Championship Gaming Series was an international esports league based in the United States, with teams from several other countries. The CGS was preceded by the 2006 Championship Gaming Invitational, a television pilot featuring several future CGS players. The league was founded in 2007 and was owned and operated by DirecTV in association with British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) and STAR TV. It folded in 2008 after two seasons.
Although professional video game contests had been going on for several years, organizers recognized the need for it to gain greater exposure, preferably through regular telecasts. The World Series of Gaming was shown on MTV in a 30-minute special in 2005, but there were complaints about the quality of the production.
Meanwhile, the World Series of Poker had become a popular program on ESPN and had turned no-limit Texas hold 'em poker into a spectator sport. Influenced by its success, David Hill, an executive at Fox Sports and DirecTV (and himself an avid video gamer) pitched the idea of a TV program based on video gaming. Craig "Torbull" Levine, manager of Team 3D played a key role in negotiations.
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Wikipedia