Unfortunately, due to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.quakelive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54295">Quake Live patching</a> in preparation for QuakeCon that will take 24 hours to complete, the staff here at ESL has decided to cancel the Open Cup that was to happen tonight.

A new check-in system didn't stop the 2nd ESL Open Cup from being the most competitive Cup to date. As the Administrators scrambled to set the seeds to the 16th position, the stage was being set for early round matches sure to please!

<i>Get DETONATED is a new series in which we'll be interviewing some of the top players in their respective games.</i> After announcing its expansion into North America, Shashi "DetonatoR" Singh was able to sit down with professional Quake Live dueler Chance Lacina from Evil Geniuses to find out what his thoughts are on the announcement and other issues in the Quake scene.

Already there was the the Opening Cup #1, but now its time to heat up the action. Tonight we will have 32 players fighting for 3 spots which will guarantee them a spot in the top 16 group stage, which will be held during September 4th and 5th weekend. Also there will be cup points at stake today, where at the end of the qualification period, the winner will receive a bonus of $400.

National ESL opens today with the first Tournament for Quake Live. The Open Cup will feature 32 players looking start their run towards a win in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esl-america.net/us/news/128710/">July Cup Standings</a>. Each player will win points for their place in the standings and a chance at $500 prize. The seeding is completely random for the Open Cups so brackets will be extremely important. Don't forget to change your timezone <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esl-america.net/us/quakelive/1on1/open_cup_1//timezone/">here</a> on the ESL site.

The IEM American Championship Regular Season will be your starting point, with several Cups and a LAN event at the International Video Games Hall Of Fame. Once the Regular Season has been completed, 15 of the top QuakeLive duelers will have been qualified for the American Championship Playoffs. This 2 day “World Cup” style event leads directly to the IEM American Championship Finals in NYC, where a few of the the best N. American duelers will win spots in the ultimate event of them all, the IEM World Championship.

The first two qualifier cups are finished and we only have two more to go until all participants for the Intel Extreme Masters American Championship are decided. The next qualifier Cup will be played on Sunday and starts at 6pm EDT and there are still a couple slots available.

The first Intel Extreme Masters Quake Live Qualifier is over and after five exciting rounds and many interesting matches the winner is Vo0. The former Painkiller player from the Netherlands is now living in Texas and won the final match against swooped. Both players are qualified for the Intel Extreme Masters American Championship.

We are looking for eight more participants who will fight in the Intel Extreme Masters American Championship. The top two of our four qualification cups will be joined by eight invited players to fight for a slot in the finals. Prize money awaits everyone who reaches the American Championship.

Finally the Quake Live Playoffs of the Opening Cup are available; we decided to advance the most active players of the groupstage to a double elimination 32 player bracket. We will have 24 players in the playoffs, while a couple of them will have a bye in the frist round, the other players will have to fight for their win. Each round will be best of three and while each player can choose a map, the final map will be decided by eliminating maps.

The groups for the opening cup are generated and the tournament can kick off with the first games. In the first groupstage there are eleven groups of four players and one group of five players. The first two of each group will advance to the next groupstage. The second groupstage will feature four groups of six players and also the top two will advance to the final playoffs, which will be top eight and single elimination, all matches will be best of three.

A new section is going live on ESL America: Welcome Quake Live! Quake Live is growing rapidly and we're happy to start a section on ESL America. We will start the section with a 1on1 Ladder and a 1on1 Opening Cup, but more will follow soon. So friends of Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Clan Arena, just have some patience, you won't be disappointed.