The best Counterstrike team and the best Warcraft 3 player from each of the 26 participating countries of the Electronic Sports League (ESL) ProSeries will compete for total prize money of ¬160 000.

Some matches of the Core 2 Extreme Masters will be played in public at the Intel Friday Night Games in Hamburg, Paris, Stockholm and London. The Core 2 Extreme Masters will be kicked off at Games Convention 2006, which takes place in Leipzig from August 24 to 27.

 The Core 2 Extreme Masters is claimed to be the highest class of eSport within the ESL. Only the best gamers of the ESL ProSeries qualify for the Core 2 Extreme Masters. During the main round they will compete against each other, both online, and at the Intel Friday Night Games. The goal is to find the best European Gamers at the final of the Core 2 Extreme Masters at CeBIT 2007, in Hanover.

In Germany, the Intel Friday Night Games already have in excess of 40 000 spectators locally and by liveStream on GIGA TV. On a European level the Core 2 Extreme Masters aims to build on that success and offer a close-up view of professional gaming, with Intel Friday Night Games in Hamburg, Stockholm, Paris and London. Intel Friday Night Games will be broadcast by GIGA TV via satellite and via IPTV.

Participating countries:

Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine.