Field is Set for Inaugural Call of Duty World League Pro Division Stage One

After intense days of regional competitions worldwide, 30 teams from around the globe have successfully secured a coveted spot in the first ever Call of Duty™ World League (CWL) Pro Division presented by PlayStation®4. More than 800 professional Call of Duty™ eSports teams across North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand competed last week for the chance to join the premier Call of Duty eSports circuit. These teams will spend the coming year competing for more than $3 million in cash prizes playing Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, culminating with the Call of Duty Championship Presented by PlayStation 4 in the fall of 2016.

In the North American LAN qualifier, sixteen competed live for eight spots in the CWL Pro Division. The teams were seeded into four groups, with the top two performing teams from each group qualifying into the CWL Pro Division. Team EnVyUs was the only team worldwide to sweep every match, finishing with a perfect 6-0 record to lock in its Pro Division spot. Other North American CWL Pro Division qualifying teams include: OpTic Gaming, Apotheon Esports, Rise Nation, Team eLevate, Team Kaliber, FaZe Clan and compLexity Gaming.

Once the LAN qualifiers were complete, players from all over North America fought it out online in a week long tournament that included more than 460 teams. After hard fought matches, Counter Logic Gaming, Luminosity Gaming, Dream Team, and Question Mark all secured their spots as part of the first stage of the inaugural season.

Of the eight European CWL Pro Division teams that competed in the regional finals, the team that finished with the best record hailed from the UK and Ireland, Millenium, who closed with an impressive 6-1 series overall event. Other European Call of Duty World League Pro Division qualifying teams include: Epsilon eSports (UK), Team Infused (UK) and Splyce (UK).

In European online competition more than 350 teams across 19 countries battled for the six open spots in the CWL Pro Division. Three French teams, Team Vitality, Team Spartan and PuLse Gaming, UK teams of excel and NGZB, and Giants Gaming from Spain each played at least six matches against top European teams to secure their spots in the CWL Pro Division.

The action continued in Sydney as teams from the Australia/New Zealand region faced off on LAN. Fan favorites were bested in some early drama in the Australia/New Zealand CWL Pro Division. Newcomer Skyfire topped perennial Call of Duty Championship top placer Mindfreak in an early 3-2 victory with both teams eventually qualifying based on final standings. Other Australia/New Zealand CWL Pro Division qualifying teams include: Tainted Minds and Team Immunity.

Four spots were still available in the ANZ online qualifier. Fighting through four rounds of matches, Nv, Fast as boii, OrbitGG, and newcomer Pure N3gs all qualified to move on and go for a share of the Stage 1 prize pool.

With incredible Call of Duty: Black Ops III action taking center stage during the qualifying events and online qualifiers, it is creating a great foundation leading into the CWL Pro Division which will be begin on January 5.

For the more information about the Call of Duty World League Pro Division Presented by PlayStation 4, to see live matches, and meet all the teams check out CallofDuty.com/esports, and follow @CODWorldLeague on Twitter for the latest coverage and news.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WORLD LEAGUE, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151222005150/en/