(GotFrag) - The CGS has announced its online Pro-Am division featuring CS 1.6 and TF2 as the official games. The following press release from the CGS outlines details for the division including $50,000 in prizes. The press release states the division hopes to finally bring together the two versions of CS and allow the best teams in the world to play the game they want to play.

The Counter-Strike 1.6 community has largely been at odds with the CGS since its conception over the choice of CS:Source as its team based game first person shooter. The rift and separation of the community deepened over rulesets and more importantly, the drafting of the top CS 1.6 teams in the U.S. to play Source. A decision not to allow the franchise teams to play CS 1.6 in the first season continued to isolate the players from the original fans and community surrounding Counter-Strike.

The league now seems to have offered the peace pipe to the CS 1.6 community and thrown in some Team Fortress to boot. The following is the official press release announcing the launch of the online CGS Pro-Am Division.

New Division will Feature Online Competitions for CS 1.6 and TF 2; More Pro-Am Game Announcements to Follow.

LOS ANGELES – May 19, 2008 – Championship Gaming Series™ (CGS), the only worldwide gaming league, today announced the launch of the CGS Pro-Am Division, which will include the addition of two new Pro-Am games for online competition, Valve’s Counter-Strike® 1.6 and Team Fortress® 2. The new CGS Pro-Am Division dramatically expands the opportunities for amateur and professional gamers to participate in CGS competitions.

CGS Pro-Am will launch in North America and Europe in August 2008, with players competing on CGS game servers, online. The top two CGS Pro-Am finishers in those two games in each region will receive top seeding and travel packages to compete in the Counter-Strike® 1.6 and Team Fortress® 2 showdown during the CGS 2009 North America Combine. The CGS 2009 North America Combine will showcase Counter-Strike® 1.6 and Team Fortress® 2 tournaments with North American and European players competing for a total prize purse of more than $50,000, plus additional prizes.

“The CGS Pro-Am Division is a critical step in the league’s continuing evolution and the growth of our worldwide audience,” said CGS Commissioner and CEO Andy Reif, “Now amateur players are going to have a chance to step up and play against the very best pros in the world. We are also going to keep expanding the opportunities for gamers to play in CGS by adding more Pro-Am games and more competitions with our partners.”

“Every gamer wants to see the dream match-ups between their favorite teams,” said Marcus “DJ Wheat” Graham, CGS Senior Producer, Online and internationally-recognized eSports broadcaster. “The CGS Pro-Am Division is going to help make those matches a reality. From a programming perspective, it’ll be fantastic to see CGS pros going head-to-head with other teams showcasing their talent. We’ll also finally see a unification of Counter-Strike players, as CGS pros will have an opportunity to play Counter-Strike 1.6.”

More information, details, and rules will be available soon at thecgs.com. Registration for the CGS Pro-Am Division commences in July, 2008.

About Championship Gaming Series

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series™ (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture among BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 400 million viewers worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, Eurosport in Europe, and STAR in Asia and Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Dell XPS, Xbox 360 and Creative.

Stay tuned to GotFrag for more information on this story and how the community reacts to the announcement of CS 1.6 as an official game in the CGS Pro-Am division. Would you like to have your opinion heard loud and clear on this subject? Send us an email at soapbox@gotfrag.com

Source: www.thecgs.com