Organizers of The World Cyber Games (WCG) and Samsung Electronics America (SEA) announced today that the electronics company will for the fifth straight year sponsor the US leg of the global gaming tournament and festival. The agreement makes SEA one of the longest-standing sponsors of e-Sports tournaments in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, SEA will sponsor all WCG USA events including the WCG USA online preliminaries, WCG US Open, WCG USA Regional Tournaments and the WCG USA Championship National Finals. Samsung will be the exclusive provider of HDTV displays for the Xbox 360 matches and top-rated monitors for the PC matches. Additional exclusive sponsorship categories include Cellular Handsets, MP3 Music Players and Computer Printers. “Samsung encourages competition, fair play and the digital entertainment lifestyle embodied by the World Cyber Games.” said Mr. SW Hong, SEA senior vice president. “As a leader in high definition visual display technology, Samsung continues to provide gamers with the most realistic and high speed experience in gaming.” “We're extremely pleased that Samsung continues to support the growth of e-Sports from a niche market to a mainstream entertainment platform,” said Michael Arzt, general manager and senior vice-president for ICM USA, organizers of the World Cyber Games USA Championships. “It’s a natural fit for the world’s best electronics brand to partner with the premiere e-Sports tournament competition. With their support, the WCG USA Championship has grown into a true series and reached an unprecedented level in 2006.” The US competition is already taking place, with the recently completed WCG US Open in Hollywood, CA and upcoming WCG Regional Tournaments scheduled for Irvine, CA (August 5-6), Austin, TX (July 15-16), Indianapolis, IN (July 29-30), and New York, NY (August 12-13). The US tournament culminates with the WCG USA Championship Final September 15-17 at a soon-to-be announced location, where 175 of the nation’s best gamers will face-off for $76,000 in prizes and the chance to represent America as a member of Team USA at the Grand Final in Monza, Italy.