European Gamers Prepare to do Battle in the Age of Empires II: The Conquerors International Tournament

An American and a Canadian conqueror are preparing to do battle in Redmond, Washington for the world finals on October 24. AzurePoet captured the Canadian championship and will be joined by the U.S. champion, Gx_Iron. The Age of Empires II: The Conquerors International Tournament, which will award $50,000 to the player who emerges victorious, continues today on the MSN Gaming Zone (http://www.zone.com). Players from the United Kingdom will hit the virtual battlefield at 12 p.m. PDT today. Registration for Belgium is now open, with that tournament beginning on Thursday, August 30.

Fifteen countries/regions are holding individual tournaments via the MSN Gaming Zone (http://www.zone.com), LAN events, or local partners in August and September 2001. Each country/region will crown a national champion who will receive prize money and will represent their home country or region in the world finals in Redmond, Washington on October 24, 2001. The world finals will be hosted by Ensemble Studios' legendary game designer Bruce Shelley, among others. The overall value of all cash prizes is over $100,000, with the winner of the competition taking home $50,000. The official rules and country-specific information are available on the official tournament page at http://zone.msn.com/conquerors/a2xpworldtourney.asp.

Age of Empires is one of the most successful strategy game franchises in history, having sold over eight million units worldwide. The series, developed by Ensemble Studios, has received numerous awards including AIAS Strategy Game of the Year awards for Age of Empires, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, and The Conquerors Expansion; as well as the prestigious AIAS PC Game of the Year for Age of Empires II: Age of Kings. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion challenges gamers to wage war on an epic scale with all-new civilizations, unique units and technologies, and campaigns based on infamous conquerors such as Attila the Hun, El Cid and Montezuma.

More information about the Conquerors Expansion is available on the game's official site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/conquerors/, or on the Ensemble Studios site at http://www.ensemblestudios.com/.* * *