AUCKLAND 06 July 2009 - New Zealand's eblack Mason Maddox has defended his title as the best in Asia.
Mason Maddox's took out the gold medal at the World Cyber Games Asian Championship in Singapore this past weekend.
Mason "massi4h" Maddox won gold competing on the Xbox 360 game, Guitar Hero: World Tour, beating competitors from countries such as Korea and Singapore and winning SGD$1000 in prize money.
"To be named the best player in the tournament once again is fantastic - especially as we were competing in Asia where professional gaming leagues have operated for years. Mason has done New Zealand proud. This is New Zealand's 2nd gold medal for video gaming, and bodes well for 2009," says World Cyber Games New Zealand Strategic Partner, xLAN's Susan Baikie.
The top 114 gamers from 14 countries in Asia Pacific competed at the World Cyber Games (WCG) Asian Championship on video game titles such as Guitar Hero World Tour (Xbox 360) and FIFA 2009 (PC).
The eblacks will go on to compete at the New Zealand World Cyber Games National Final in Auckland this weekend.
Susan Baikie says the popularity of gaming increases every year. More than NZ$51.5bn was spent on video games worldwide last year. In New Zealand last year more than NZ$100m was spent, up 20 per cent over the past five years.
For more details: http://www.eblacks.co.nz and http://www.xlan.co.nz
About the 2009 eblacks team
The eblacks competed in a mix of console and PC games at the 2009 World Cyber Games Asian Championship in Singapore: Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360), DOTA All-Stars (PC), and FIFA 2009 (PC). The team comprises seven members:
· Mason "massi4h" Maddox Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360)
· Lorance "Escobar" Taylor DOTA - All Stars (PC)
· Samuel "sam.la" Wang DOTA - All Stars (PC)
· Sharon "shazZ" Yeow DOTA - All Stars (PC)
· Minhae "minhae" Kim DOTA - All Stars (PC)
· Simon "ShymoN" Chow DOTA - All Stars (PC)
· Shahn "Fobski" Harris FIFA 2009 (PC)
