Does your guild have what it takes to be the Guild Wars Champion of the World? Guild Wars fans will soon get their chance to find out just how skilled they really are as they battle their way to the top of the 2006 World Guild Wars Tournament.

Earlier this week, NCsoft and ArenaNet announced that the tournament season for the developers’ popular MMORPG, Guild Wars Factions, will kick off in March. The tournament will take place over a period of three qualifying seasons, during which successful guilds can earn points which qualify them for entry into the championship round.

Each season runs for four weeks, during which guilds from all over the world will battle it out for domination. At the end of each season, seasonal playoffs will be held among the guilds and both in-game and real life prizes will be awarded to the top 16 ranking guilds. In addition, each of the top 16 guilds will be awarded Guild Wars World Championship Points based on their final ranking at the end of each season. The first and second place guild in each region will receive bonus championship points. Once the final qualifying season has ended, the five guilds that have accumulated the most championship points will be invited to compete live at the Guild Wars World Championship in August. Invited guilds will be competing for a $100,000 cash purse and a ton of valuable prizes.

The first qualifying season starts on March 7th, just a week and a half away, so gamers who are interested in competing in the tournament will want to begin mobilizing their fellow guild members to action. The three qualifying seasons are broken down as follows:
- Season 1: March 7 – April 3
- Season 2: April 18 – May 15
- Season 3: May 30 – June 26

Just a few days ago, the first ever Guild Wars World Championship concluded in Taiwan, where the Korean guild The Last Pride (also known as EVIL) was declared the world champion. The Last Pride battled five other guild teams from the United, Europe, and Korea to win the top prize - $50,000. Fellow countrymen, War Machine, finished in second place, making Korea the country to beat in the 2006 world championship series.

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