12:48 AM - May 12, 2012 by baprecure
2K Sports Crowns Champion of Major League Baseball® 2K12’s $1 Million Perfect Game Challenge
Winner displayed skill, poise in live, eight-person tournament at MLB Fan Cave in New York City
New York, NY – May 11, 2012 – 2K Sports announced today that they have crowned a champion in the Major League Baseball® 2K12 Perfect Game Challenge. The winner, 21-year-old Christopher Gilmore of Melbourne, Fla., will be featured in a 30-minute special on Spike TV on May 24, 2012 at 11:30 PM ET/PT, and awarded $1 million for winning a live, single-elimination tournament at the MLB Fan Cave in New York City.
Gilmore prevailed in the head-to-head tournament by defeating 25-year-old Charles Bates of Conway, Ark. in the tournament final, 10-1. The tournament field was made up of the top-eight ranked individuals from a massive qualifying phase that included more than 900 verified perfect games and nearly 1,000,000 attempts.
“Winning this year’s Perfect Game Challenge is an amazing achievement that required great skill and composure in an intense tournament atmosphere,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “Chris is incredibly deserving of the $1 million prize; he certainly earned it by beating some really stiff competition.”
Fans can relive the Perfect Game Challenge during the Spike TV’s special, which will be hosted by Geoff Keighley of GTTV and feature special appearances by MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover model Kate Upton. The segment will include interviews with the eight finalists, as well as highlights from the tournament that culminate with the $1 million check presentation.
The eight finalists were determined by a dynamic leaderboard ranking the “most perfect” games thrown. 2K Sports used an algorithm to rank individual perfect games based on degree of difficulty (such as the opposing team’s offensive prowess and selected pitcher’s skill) and degree of perfection (number of strikeouts, pitching efficiency).