With the initial Championship Gaming Series (CGS) qualifier recently completed at the Buy.com LAN in Anaheim, the league is now set to move into its primary qualifier phase, consisting of online qualifying tournaments in each of the games for which CGS is holding competitions. Registration for the online qualifiers opened on April 12th for Region 1 (North America). The tournaments themselves will run from April 28th to May 25th, in 4 separate events:

National Online Qualifier: April 28th - May 4th
Eastern Online Qualifier: May 5th - May 11th
Central Online Qualifier: May 12th - May 18th
Western Online Qualifier: May 19th - May 25th

The winners of the qualifiers for each game -- Counter-Strike: Source, Project Gotham Racing 3, FIFA 07 and Dead or Alive 4 -- will advance to the Region 1 Combine later this year, at which gamers will compete for the chance to be drafted into one of CGS' franchises. They will also receive travel stipends to attend the Combine. Space is limited, so it is advisable that interested gamers register as soon as possible.

Aside from the online qualifiers, CGS has been holding other events that also lead to the Combine. A college tour began March 27th and finishes up the day before the online qualifiers begin, on April 27th; it will cover 20 campuses during the 31 days of its duration. In addition to the Buy.com LAN live qualifier, another will be held at a yet-undisclosed location and date. Finally, there will be a last-chance Open Qualifier for any team or gamer who did not yet advance to the Combine.

As for the Combine itself, it will be held in June and will culminate with the first-ever CGS Draft. General Managers for six franchises will build their teams from the pool of players, after watching the Combine, and then the league will progress into the regular season, to be held in Los Angeles during the month of July.

The first season of the CGS will end with the World Championships later in the year. The winner of the Region 1 regular season will receive an automatic bid to that event, while the runner-up will compete for a wild-card spot at the Grand Slam.

For more information, visit Championship Gaming Series.