Stephen, John and myself headed down today for the Opening Ceremonies of the World Cyber Games 2007 Grand Final, held in Seattle, Washington. The event is being held at Qwest Field, home to the NFL team Seattle Seahawks.
This event was my first foray into the world of cyber-geekdom as I watched over 700 gamers from 74 different countries compete in individual and group events, playing video games. It was like watching the Olympics of Nerds for the flag ceremonies had a procession of bespectacled youths proudly bearing the flag of the nation they represented. I loved it
How great it would be to make a living playing video games, with cash and prizes totalling approximately $500,000!!!
I had no idea how big this particular sub-culture was prior to attending this grand event, seeing these youths run around in national team colours was astounding and certainly added a sense of great spirit and pride for these cyber-athletes. Indeed, this could almost be called a sport.
I will have more to post on my experiences tomorrow for Day 2. In the meantime, please enjoy the event photos. And yes, Stephen and I could not resist running off and playing some Halo 3
Posted on October 5th, 2007 by Leo
Filed under: Lucid Thoughts, Shooting Gallery

[...] World Cyber Games 2007 Grand Final Day 1 » This Summary is from an article posted at Leo Chiang DOT COM on Friday, October 05, 2007 [...]
Is Starcraft one of the games being played? Those South Koreans pwn that game…even though it’s 10 years old!
Yeah, Starcraft was one of the games. A Korean got whooped by a Russian kid though
damn WCG looks awesome, hope you have a great time!
Looks pretty cool, wish I could be there too
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