Cyberathlete Professional League

Cyberathlete Professional League

Current season, competition or edition: N/A
Sport	Electronic sports
Founded	1997
Most recent champion(s)	X3O (CS) Team XFX (CSS) Thomas "Ogre 2" Ryan (Halo 3)
Most titles	SK-Gaming (7 times)
Official website	Official website

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions. It was founded by Angel Munoz on June 27, 1997 in Dallas, Texas.^[1] The CPL is considered the pioneer^[2] in professional video game tournaments, which have been held worldwide. The CPL's tournaments are open to all registrants, but due to the ESRB content rating of some video games, CPL competitions are restricted to participants age 17 or older. The CPL has distributed more than US$3,000,000 in cash prizes. In 2005 the CPL moved to a World Tour format. The 2005 CPL World Tour focused on the one-on-one deathmatch game Painkiller and had a total prize purse of $1,000,000. The winner of the CPL Grand Finals event, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, went home with the grand prize of $150,000, while Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager took home the MVP trophy for having the most tournament wins.

In March 2008, the CPL ceased operations, citing a "crowded field of competing leagues".^[3] On August 25, 2008, the CPL announced that it had signed an acquisition agreement with an investment group based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.^[4] On August 23, 2010, the former parent company of the CPL, announced that the two-year acquisition process of the CPL was finalized, and that the sole owner of the CPL (and its subsidiaries) was now WoLong Ventures PTE of Singapore.^[5][6] Following this acquisition, the CPL has hosted annual competitions in China, in collaboration with the municipal government of Shenyang.^[7]

Events

2013

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Championship 2013[8]	StarCraft II: Hui Cao "Jim" Jin	StarCraft II: Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoo	$6,500	Shenyang

2012

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Championship 2012[9]	StarCraft II: Xiang "XY" Yao League of Legends: Invictus Gaming	StarCraft II: Xing Biao "Way" Zhu League of Legends: MVP White	$10,250	Shenyang

2011

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Invitational 2011[10]	StarCraft II: Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoo[11] Defense of the Ancients: Invictus Gaming.z[12] WC3: Huang "TH000" Xiang[13]	StarCraft II: Kim "SaSe" Hammar Defense of the Ancients: World Elite WC3: Wang "Infi" Xu Wen	$26,057	Shenyang

2007

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Winter 2007	CS: x3o-gaming CS:Source: Team XFX	CS: Mug N Mouse |CS: Dynamo CS:Source: carnage	$60,000	Dallas

2006

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Winter 2006	CS: fnatic Quake III: Paul "czm" Nelson	CS: MeetYourMakers Quake III: Fan "Jibo" Zhibo	$150,000	Dallas
CPL World Season 2006: Nordic	CS: Ninjas in Pyjamas Quake III: Fan "Jibo" Zhibo	CS: H2k Gaming Quake III: Sebastian "Spart1e" Siira	Qualifier	Jönköping
CPL World Season 2006: Italy	CS: aAa Quake III: Magnus "Fojji" Olsson	CS: a-Losers Quake III: Marcel "k1llsen" Paul	Qualifier + $50,000	Verona
CPL World Season 2006: Korea	CS: LAVEGA-GAMING	CS: project_kr	Qualifier	Seoul
CPL World Season 2006: China	CS: Star.ex	CS: Hacker Gaming	Qualifier	Chengdu
CPL World Season 2006: Brazil	CS: g3nerationX Quake III: Daniel "Ryu" Souza De Lima	CS: Made in Brazil Quake III: Diogo "met" Fressato	Qualifier	Sao Paulo
CPL World Season 2006: Singapore	CS: fnatic Quake III: Fan "Jibo" Zhibo	CS: SpeedLink Quake III: Brian "dkt" Flander	Qualifier + $30,000	Singapore

2005

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Winter 2005	CS: SK-Gaming Quake 4: Anton "Cooller" Singov F.E.A.R: Neal "cleaner" Sisbarro	CS: Lunatic Hai Quake 4: Johan "Toxjq" Quick F.E.A.R: Steven "BlueWolf" Anderson	$100,000	Dallas
CPL World Tour 2005: Finals	Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	$500,000	New York
CPL World Tour 2005: Chile	CS: Made in Brazil Painkiller: Alexander "ztrider" Ingarv WC3: Rodolfo "Virus" Ehrhorn	CS: United 5 Painkiller: Andrew "Gelleshak" Ryder WC3: Bernardo "PaTo" Rodrigues	Qualifier + $60,000	Santiago de Chile
CPL World Tour 2005: Italy	Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	Qualifier + $50,000	Milan
CPL World Tour 2005: Singapore	CS: fnatic Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	CS: Team XCN Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	Qualifier + $70,000	Singapore
CPL World Tour 2005: United Kingdom	CS: Team9 Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	CS: Ninjas in Pyjamas Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	Qualifier + $60,000	Sheffield
CPL Summer 2005	CS: SK-Gaming Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel CS:Source: PowersGaming WC3: Yoan "ToD" Merlo Halo 2: Final Boss Day of Defeat: Check Six	CS: Evil Geniuses Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager CS:Source: upper WC3: Dimitar "DIDI8" Aleksandrov Halo 2: h2o Day of Defeat: compLexity	$200,000	Dallas
CPL World Tour 2005: Sweden	Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	Qualifier + $50,000	Jönköping
CPL World Tour 2005: Brazil	CS: Made in Brazil Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	CS: SSV Lehnitz(fnatic) Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel	Qualifier + $70,000	Rio de Janeiro
CPL World Tour 2005: Spain	CS: mousesports Painkiller: Stephan "SteLam" Lammert	CS: compLexity Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager	Qualifier + $70,000	Barcelona
CPL World Tour 2005: Turkey	CS: Catch Gamer Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager WC3: Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen	CS: M19 Painkiller: Benjamin "zyz" Bohrmann WC3: Mykhaylo "HoT" Novopashyn	Qualifier + $70,000	Istanbul

2004

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Prizes	Venue
CPL Winter 2004	CS: Team NoA Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager Day of Defeat: Highball Doom 3: Yang "RocketBoy" Meng	CS: EYEBALLERS Painkiller: Benjamin "zyz" Bohrmann Day of Defeat: Check Six Doom 3: Stefan "dragon" Schott	$150,000	Dallas
CPL UK Qualifier 2004	CS: 4Kings	CS: GoodGame	Qualifier	London
CPL Greece Qualifier 2004	CS: The Titans	CS: TeG	Qualifier	Athens
CPL Brazil Qualifier 2004	CS: g3nerationX	CS: Made in Brazil	Qualifier	Sao Paulo
CPL Japan Qualifier 2004	CS: Epiphyllum Oxpetalum	CS: Dynamic	Qualifier	Tokyo
CPL Turkey Qualifier 2004	CS: mousesports	CS: Team Quash	Qualifier	Istanbul
CPL Romania Qualifier 2004	CS: SK-Gaming	CS: AMD Cyber Team	Qualifier	Timişoara
CPL Summer 2004	CS: EYEBALLERS Painkiller: Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager UT2K4: SK-Gaming Call Of Duty: United 5 Halo: Team Wat?	CS: SK-Gaming Painkiller: Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel UT2K4: Xtreme(fnatic) Call Of Duty: Team 3D Halo: cooked_Gamers	$250,000	Dallas

Cyberathlete Amateur League

The CPL also owned and operated an online video game league for amateur players and teams, named the Cyberathlete Amateur League or CAL. CAL operated year-round, with regular eight-week seasons, one or two matches per week, and a single-elimination postseason (playoffs).

On November 14, 2008, the newly formed CPL Holding Group, LLC from United Arab Emirates announced that it had acquired the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL).^[14]

On February 22, 2009, CAL ceased online operations. At its peak CAL was one of the largest online gaming leagues in North America with 20,000 teams and over 600,000 registered players. The CAL website was located at www.caleague.com

The CAL is based mainly on online game play. It hosts more than 600,000 online gamers.^[15] A 2003 competition hosted by CAL was played in a Hyatt Regency Ballroom. Several tables were placed together where 10 computers were set up for the professional gamers. The game was Half-Life: Counterstrike.^[16] The CAL ceased operating in 2009.

Past CPL World Champions

Individual competitions

• 2006 - Paul "czm" Nelson - (Quake III)^[17]
• 2005 - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - (Painkiller)^[18]
• 2004 - Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager - (Painkiller)
• 2003 - Chris "kJer" Lujan - (Painkiller)
• 2002 - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - (Unreal Tournament 2003)
• 2001 - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - (Alien versus Predator 2)
• 2000 - Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - (Quake III)
• 1999 - Mark "wombat" Larsen - (Quake III)
• 1998 - Dan "Rix" Hammans - (Quake II)
• 1997 - Tom "gollum" Dawson - (Quake)

Team competitions

• 2007 - ORG: Team: Pandemic - (Counter-Strike Source)
• 2006 - ORG: Team: fnatic - (Counter-Strike)^[19]
• 2005 - ORG: Team: SK Gaming - (Counter-Strike)^[20]
• 2004 - ORG: Team: Team NoA - (Counter-Strike)
• 2003 - ORG: Team: SK Gaming - (Counter-Strike)
• 2002 - ORG: Team: Team3D - (Counter-Strike)
• 2001 - ORG: Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas - (Counter-Strike)
• 2000 - ORG: Team: e9 - (Counter-Strike)
• 2000 - ORG: Team: DATA mngt - (Counter-Strike)

Past CPL Event Winners

2000 - ORG: Philippines Team: Philippines DATA mngt - (Counter-Strike)

World Tour 2005

At the 2004 Cyberathlete Extreme Summer Championships, the CPL announced details on its largest event ever, the CPL World Tour. This event took place throughout 2005, with a total of 10 international stops and a finals event held in New York City, televised by MTV. ^[21]

World Season 2006

The 2006 CPL World Season was a series of electronic sports competitions organized by the CPL in the fall of 2006. It was a follow up of the 2005 CPL World Tour and was announced by the CPL on July 31, 2006.^[22]

The tour featured two games, Counter-Strike and Quake 3. After a total of 7 qualifier events, the finals were held on 16–20 December 2006 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dallas, Texas. The championship finals had a total prize purse of $150,000 and were won by ORG: Team: fnatic (Counter-Strike) and Paul "czm" Nelson (Quake 3).

CPL Divisions

In mid-2006, the CPL together with its international partners announced a series of licensed divisions to bring worldwide the experience of the CPL events.

CPL Singapore

• Strategic Partner: Edge of Reality
• Official site: http://www.cplsingapore.com/

CPL China

• Strategic Partner: Media Gaming Live Pte Ltd
• Official site: http://cn.thecpl.com/

CPL Australia

• Strategic Partner: Ping Events Australia EH? (James Duffy's "Puffing Duffy's Pro's")

CPL Chile

• Strategic Partner: ALM Ingenieria (LAN-Z) S.A.

CPL Brazil

• Strategic Partner: Made in Brazil Esportes Eletrônicos (MiBR) Ltda
• Official site: http://www.cplbrasil.com/

CPL Korea

• Strategic Partner: International e-Sports Group, Inc (IEG)
• Official site: http://www.thecpl.co.kr/

CPL Nordic

• Strategic Partner: E-Sport Entertainment Group AB (EEG)
• Official site: http://www.cplnordic.com/

CPL Romania

• Strategic Partner: E-Sport Entertainment, Inc (OSIM)
• Official site: http://www.thecpl.ro/

CPL Italy

• Strategic Partner: A.S. Play.it (ASPI)

Possible fraud leak

On April 2, 2010, a former CGS employee Tonya Welch, released information^[23] about an alleged "fraud scheme" by which the new buyers of the CPL had made fictitious statements to the general public and to the previous owner of the CPL. She claimed that the investors were not from Abu Dhabi, as had been announced, but that the purchase was actually conducted by a private group of US investors. Despite the allegations the acquisition was ultimately completed by WoLong Ventures of Singapore.

External links

• Cyberathlete Professional League
• Cyberathlete Amateur League
• Angel Munoz' Bio

References

1. John Gaudiosi (2013-04-09). "CPL Founder Angel Munoz Explains Why He Left ESports And Launched Mass Luminosity". Forbes.com. Retrieved 1 Jul 2013.
2. "Club FORUM Beograd | PROJECTS |". Clubforum.org. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
3. "Cyberathlete professional league (CPL) is no More!". GameGuru. 17 Mar 2008. Retrieved 15 Aug 2013.
4. Adrenaline Vault (2008-08-25). "Investment Group Acquires CPL". avault.com. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
5. NewWorld.com (2010-08-23). "NewWorld and WoLong Ventures Announce Completion of CPL Acquisition". newworld.com. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
6. "and WoLong Ventures Announce Completion of CPL and CAL Acquisition". NewWorld. 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
7. "China- Shenyang CPL Championship is Back!!!". theCPL.com. 6 Jul 2013. Retrieved 30 Aug 2013.
8. "CPL Championship 2013". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
9. "CPL Championship 2012". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
10. "CPL Invitational 2011". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
11. "MarineKing wins CPL Invitational 2011". Retrieved 2014-01-28.
12. "CPL 2011: group-stage details specified". Retrieved 2014-01-17.
13. "沈阳CPL2011国际电子竞技明星邀请赛圆满落幕" (in Chinese). Retrieved 2014-01-17.
14. GotFrag (2008-11-14). "CPL Holdings Group Acquires CAL". thecpl.com. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
15. "The CPL Heritage".
16. "Are video games a sport?". csmonitor.com. 2003-08-08. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
17. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-12-21). "Championship Finals Winners!". thecpl.com. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
18. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-09-15). "The CPL Announces Past 1v1 Champions". thecpl.com. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
19. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-12-21). "Championship Finals Winners!". thecpl.com. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
20. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-10-19). "CPL Announces Counter-Strike World Champions". The CPL Romania 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
21. "MTV TO AIR CPL FINALS". gotfrag.com. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
22. Cyberathlete Professional League (2006-07-31). "The CPL Announces 2006 World Season". thecpl.com. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
23. Don't Be Fooled (2010-04-02). "New CPL: Don't be fooled". Complexitygaming.com. Retrieved 2012-08-29.