Xbox Live Halo 2 Virtual Winners' Circle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 14, 2005 -- Xbox Live Halo 2 Virtual Winners' Circle

After hard-fought battles online and thousands of rounds of virtual ammunition, the final stages of the world's first global Xbox Live "Halo 2" tournament are fast approaching. Finalists from Xbox Live's 24 regions can get details about bracketing as well as information about their opponents via http://www.xbox.com/halo2/tournament.htm, a newly launched web site which will function as a clearinghouse for tournament specifics and match-ups throughout the final rounds of play. The Xbox Live "Halo 2" World finals will be played entirely online via Xbox Live.
The global championship rounds will be played today, Friday, 10th June in double elimination rounds. The 24 regional winners will be sectioned into four pools of six players each. The top three will move on to the next round, while the bottom three from each group will move into a elimination bracket; once a regional champion loses twice, they are eliminated. Each round will last 10 minutes. The final matches will be played on the new "Halo 2" map, Warlock. Local start times for the final rounds will be based on Greenwich Mean Time.

"Halo 2" is one of the highest rated and top selling video games of all time, with more than 6.7 million copies sold worldwide since November 2004. As Xbox Live continues to redefine online gaming, "Halo 2" features superior online multiplayer capabilities, evidenced by the fact that Xbox Live gamers have logged a record-breaking 240 million hours playing "Halo 2" since its launch. To date, more than two million unique users have played "Halo 2" online on Xbox Live.