Tournament.com, an innovator in skill-based gaming, announced at last night's pre-launch event that its service will be entering final beta on Wednesday, May 2, 2007. People showed up to play the new service and compete in matches of Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, and the evening's overall winner, Ariel Fradin, walked off with a cool $1,000 in cash.

"Last night's pre-launch celebration gave all the attendees the opportunity to play on Tournament.com and experience the thrill of competition," said Cofounder Richard Skelhorn. "Judging by their enthusiastic response, we know that gamers around the world will be just as excited to compete as the service launches later this month."

Tournament.com is the only place where gamers can compete online in licensed PC games for cash rewards. The service enters its final phase of testing on Wednesday, May 2; all players who sign up at www.tournament.com will receive $20 in credit to use toward online matches of Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source. The company is fully committed to providing a socially responsible service where gamers can compete against their peers in safe, secure matches. All users must verify that they are 18 years or older through the company's customized software, and the maximum monthly amount that can be deposited in users' accounts is $150.

The service is scheduled to go live in May. For more information and to sign up for an account, visit www.tournament.com