Киберспорт турнирлерінің тарихы: CPL ұйымы

Professional sports tournament organization

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) was a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions. It was established by Angel Munoz on June 27, 1997, hosting biannual tournaments in hotels. The CPL's World Tour in 2005 marked a global expansion of esports, but concerns arose about fan engagement and attracting new audiences. The post tour era saw increased competition from the WSVG, and the CPL faced financial troubles including the loss of its main sponsor, Intel, to WSVG in 2006. Shortly after, WSVG's Matt Ringel purchased the 2006 CPL Summer event, leading to a decline in the CPL's influence. The CPL attempted a "World Season" in late 2006, hosting fewer events with reduced prize money. Rumors circulated about the league's health, and in March 2008, the CPL ceased operations. Later that year, the CPL was acquired by an investment group in Abu Dhabi, later becoming solely owned by WoLong Ventures PTE of Singapore. The CPL continued hosting annual competitions in China in collaboration with the municipal government of Shenyang.

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) was launched on June 27, 1997, by gamer and former Dallas stockbroker Angel Munoz. The CPL began hosting twice yearly tournaments, Summer and Winter, in hotels such as the Gaylord Texan Resort on the outskirts of Dallas. The first event, called The FRAG, attracted 300 players competing for a prize pool of $4,000 in merchandise, as sponsors in computing found it easier to contribute spare graphics cards rather than cash. The second major event, aptly named "The CPL Event," was held in July 1998 at the Dallas Infomart, and the third event, named FRAG 2, occurred in October 1998 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas. The move to the Hyatt offered advantages such as increased space, a more suitable environment for LAN events, and the introduction of the CPL's first 24 hour "Bring Your Own Computer" (BYOC) event. The Hyatt Regency in Dallas would become the chosen site for 13 CPL events spanning from 1998 to 2003. The Grand Ballroom of the Westin Park Central Hotel hosted the next CPL event, "Extreme Annihilation," departing from the familiar Hyatt Regency. The event attracted sponsors such as Babbage's, Cisco Systems, and Dell Computer Corporation. Babbage's increased support, offering 600 free spectator passes and a $5,000 prize for the Quake II tournament. The next CPL event was the "Extreme Annihilation" in March 1999. Following "Extreme Annihilation", CPL collaborated with Interplay Entertainment for the 1999 Descent III Championship and Lanfest in Las Vegas. Despite offering the largest prize purse in professional gaming to date, $50,000, the event faced challenges, including slow registrations and venue concerns. Monte Fontenot, CPL Director of Events, emphasized that Las Vegas was not an ideal venue for gamers, and the game choice, Descent III, lacked broad appeal. The CPL then moved on to its sixth event, "Ground Zero," in New York City, which was preceded by the first ever esports qualifier in Springfield, Virginia. Ground Zero also was the introduction of the first official female gaming competition, the Female Frag Fest 99. Ground Zero marked CPL's emergence into mainstream media, attracting both positive and negative attention from outlets such as Rolling Stone, Wired Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Following Ground Zero, the CPL hosted its fourth event of 1999, FRAG 3, returning to Dallas. The Hyatt Regency hosted the event in its basement.

A total of seven CPL tournaments took place in 2000. In the early days of the CPL, death match free for all games, such as Quake, were the most popular titles. However, a Dallas pizzeria owner named Frank Nuccio eventually persuaded CPL event organizer Monte Fontenot to include Counter Strike in CPL events. CPL divisions were established in Europe and Asia, with negotiations underway for divisions in Australia, in 2000. While CPL Asia's first and only event in Singapore attracted players from overseas, organizational challenges and scheduling conflicts led to the discontinuation of CPL Asia. Plans for future events were repeatedly postponed until the CPL severed ties with the organizer in 2003. The CPL Denmark event in October 2000 marked the debut of the CPL Europe division, combining the CPL France and CPL Scandinavia events. Munoz attributed the problems to the Swedish organizers and plans were underway for CPL Europe under new management. After the setback in Denmark, the CPL found new European partners, leading to a second CPL Europe event in December 2000 in Cologne, Germany. The final event of 2000 was Babbage's CPL at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas. The event faced challenges from the outset, as a winter storm in Texas caused travel delays for participants. Only 240 of the expected 512 Quake III competitors checked in, leading to a delayed start for the tournament. In contrast, the Counter Strike tournament was at full capacity with 40 teams. In 2001, Nuccio became the commissioner of the CPL, and March of that year, he integrated his online Counter Strike league, Domain of Games, into CPL, forming the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL). Nuccio parted ways with the CPL in 2004 due to philosophical differences on the optimal approach to advancing the industry, as Nuccio advocated for reinvesting profits into a national league structured around geography. Munoz, however, chose to maintain the CPL's safe and profitable two a year tournament plan.

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. On April 2, 2010, former CPL employee Tonya Welch shared concerns about the CPL's new management. She argued that the claim of the CPL being bought by a middle eastern investment group from Abu Dhabi was untrue and fabricated to deceive previous owners, potential investors, the gaming community, and the public. According to Welch, the actual purchase was orchestrated by a private group of US investors. 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. Following this acquisition, the CPL has hosted annual competitions in China, in collaboration with the municipal government of Shenyang. The new company also was renamed to Cyberathlete Pte Ltd.

Year Event Date(s) Location Game Winner Ref. 1997 The FRAG October 31 – November 2 Dallas, Texas Quake Tom "Gollum" Dawson 1998 The CPL Event July 23–26 Dallas, Texas Quake Dan "RiX" Hammans FRAG 2 October 30 – November 1 Dallas, Texas Quake 2 Dan "RiX" Hammans 1999 Extreme Annihilation March 12–14 Dallas, Texas Quake 3 Kurt "Immortal" Shimada Descent 3 World Championships August 26–29 Las Vegas, Nevada Descent 3 Chris "Fatal" Bond GroundZero September 9–12 New York City, New York Quake 3 Mark "Wombat" Larsen Quake 3 – Female Anne "Lilith" Chang FRAG 3 October 29–31 Dallas, Texas Quake 3 Amir "Hakeem" Haleem 2000 Razer CPL Event April 13–16 Dallas, Texas Quake 3 Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel FRAG 4 September 28 – October 1 Dallas, Texas Quake 3 – Team Clan Kapitol Quake 3 – Female Cary "Succubus" Szeto Gateway Country Challenge November 4–12 Gateway Country Stores Midtown Madness 2 John Michael Benedict Babbage's CPL Event December 14–17 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Team e9 Quake 3 John "ZeRo4" Hill Quake 3 – Female Cary "Succubus" Szeto 2001 Speakeasy CPL Event April 12–17 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Team X3 CPL Pentium 4 Invitational May 22–24 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Team X3 CPL 4 Year Anniversary Event June 28 – July 1 Dallas, Texas Quakeworld Harley "HarlsoM" Gray CPL World Championship Event December 5–9 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Ninjas in Pyjamas Aliens Versus Predator 2 Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel 2002 Nostromo Exhibition Tournament May 22–24 Los Angeles, California Quake 3 John "ZeRo4" Hill CPL Pentium 4 Summer Championship 2002 July 20–24 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Schroet Kommando CPL Pentium 4 Winter Event 2002 December 18–22 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Team 3D Unreal Tournament 2003 Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel Team Fortress Classic Vindicate 2003 CPL Pentium 4 Summer 2003 Championship July 30 – August 3 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Schroet Kommando CPL Pentium 4 Winter 2003 Championship December 16–20 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike Schroet Kommando Halo PC [Xeno] 2004 Cyberathlete Extreme Summer Championships July 28 – August 1 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike EYE Halo Team Wat? Call of Duty United 5 Unreal Tournament 2004 Schroet Kommando Painkiller Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager Cyberathlete Extreme Winter Championships December 15–19 Dallas, Texas Counter Strike NoA Painkiller Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager Doom 3 Yang "RocketBoy" Meng Day of Defeat Highball

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). The CAL was based mainly on online game play. 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. The CAL ceased operating in 2009. By 2004, CAL had over 200,000 players competing in its league. 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.