Vida, LLC, announced today the Association of Gaming Professionals (AGP) and the AGP Tour™ on their official site.
The AGP Tour will be presenting First Person Shooter (FPS) 1v1 action in ways never before seen. The prime focus of each production will be on the professional player and the action of the game in a made for TV environment, with the ability to stream each match online via the official site. Each match will have full in game statistics available to the viewer, player interviews, live commentating, and “…many surprises”, says Jarod Reisin, President and founder of the AGP Tour. “FPS 1v1 has all of the action, skill, and excitement of a true sport. We are going to celebrate it and its players with their established celebrity and fan bases by presenting their long and diverse histories and the intense drama and amazing skill these games provide. Finally the time has come where all of the communities can unite and FPS 1v1 fans around the world can watch their favorite games and players fight it out at the highest level of competition”.
Beginning in 2009, the AGP Tour will be hosting four international tournaments, called the AGP Majors. Held every three months, each Major will feature one FPS 1v1 game. Following each Major, a new game season will begin based on another 1v1 FPS title. The games chosen for the 2009 seasons are as follows (in no particular order):
Quake 4
Quake 3 or potentially Quake Live
Warsow
Unreal Tournament 3
In working through the Association, the players will be able to vote in new FPS 1v1 games to the Tour to replace another, allowing evolution and continual growth as this sport ever changes with new game releases.
Subsequently, the AGP Tour is working with other organizers to house the AGP Elitist Series. These tournaments will take place within each game’s seasons and are second in prize purse and ranking points to the Majors. The AGP Tour is hoping to have as many as two tournaments per season in addition to the four Majors, for a combined total of twelve professional tournaments each year.
The AGP Rankings are based around accumulated points throughout the season.
Players will qualify to attend tournaments based on their rankings and point totals throughout the season. Amateur tournaments will be available as well, called the AGP Circuits.
The AGP Circuits will be for all players with a certain rank or lower. Each tournament will have a prize purse and give ranking points for the player that is chasing the dream of becoming a pro level player and participating in the Majors and Elitist Series.
With the growing limitations of professional E-Sports, the AGP Tour is hoping to give the gaming communities what they have always wanted in a very professional, pre-existing sport that has thrived for over ten years.
Reisin adds, “In light of the more recent decisions of other leagues and tournaments, I heavily feel that the gaming communities deserve what has recently been ignored, the FPS 1v1 genre. Through their support we will thrive and take pro gaming to that next level through a structured skill hierarchy, top notch presentation of every match, and heavy focus on each player. We plan on showcasing everything a professional sport needs to survive and succeed, for the players, for the communities and for the viewers. I am very excited and hope everyone is ready for FPS 1v1 to station itself as the premiere E-Sport”.
The Association of Gaming Professionals itself will be announcing details concerning its cause and goals shortly.
Vida LLC is based out of Kansas City, MO. The company’s goal in the video gaming world is to give the serious sport of professional gaming the proper attention and treatment it deserves for the fans and players alike. Beginning with the AGP and the AGP Tour, Vida LLC is hoping to become your primary source of professional gaming entertainment and representation worldwide.