MLB 2K13 Perfect Game Challenge finalists named

2K Sports has already whittled down the pool of MLB 2K13 Perfect Game Challenge qualifiers to four, and each of those lucky individuals will get to play for a $250,000 grand prize at July’s T-Mobile All-Star FanFest in NYC.

Each of the contenders have earned a trip to NYC and will be competing in a live, sudden death, single-elimination tournament to determine the winner. Exciting stuff!

Read on for 2K’s announcement with even more details.

2K Sports today announced the top four qualifiers for MLB 2K13?s Perfect Game Challenge Tournament. The four finalists have earned a trip to New York City to compete in a live, single-elimination tournament at the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest on July 15-16 to determine who walks away with the $250,000 grand prize and membership in the Perfect Club.

Thanks in part to a new contest format allowing more contestants to share a piece of the $1 million prize, this year?s MLB 2K13 Perfect Game Challenge was the most competitive in 2K Sports? history. More than 785,000 perfect game attempts were logged, with more than 2,500 verified perfect games thrown. Individual turnout also shattered last year?s Perfect Game records, with an increase of 23% in unique winners (1,191) and 84% in verified perfect games year-over-year from MLB 2K12.

Additionally, this year?s contest saw familiar faces return, as seven of eight finalists from last year?s MLB 2K12 competition threw a combined 52 verified perfect games, and Wade McGilberry, winner of the MLB 2K10 Perfect Game Challenge achieved 3 verified perfect games. In turn, 2K Sports awarded 30 $25,000 prize pools, one per MLB team, for a total of $750,000 in prize money.

?It?s been a pleasure to see the overwhelming turnout for this year?s competition, especially following the high level of engagement last year,? said Jason Argent, senior vice president of 2K Sports. ?Our goal from the start was to create the most exciting, yet accessible, Perfect Game Challenge to date, and we can?t wait to crown one more skilled gamer as the newest member of the Perfect Club.?

?Wow, I?m so excited to reach the tournament,? said Tyson Sanders of Oregon City, OR. ?I can?t wait to get to New York and compete for $250,000!?

The four finalists that will compete for the $250,000 grand prize are:

Name	Hometown	Team	Perfect Game Score
Robert Romanowski	Lanoka Harbor, NJ	Miami Marlins	830
Tyson Sanders	Oregon City, OR	Miami Marlins	828
Justin Chavarria	Eugene, OR	Miami Marlins	822
Brad Holland	Garland, TX	Pittsburgh Pirates	817

The four finalists were determined by a dynamic leaderboard ranking the ?most perfect? 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).

Winners of the 30 MLB team prize pools and $25,000 each will be announced in the coming days.

MLB 2K13 and the NBA 2K13/MLB 2K13 Combo Pack are rated E for everyone by the ESRB and are now available at leading retailers.

For more information on 2K Sports, visit www.2KSports.com. 2K Sports is a division of 2K, a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).