Donkey Kong World Championship Event Kicks Off in Denver Today

With the preliminary qualifications complete, the field for The Kong Off 3 Donkey Kong world championship has been set. Taking place November 15-17 at The 1up - LoDo in Denver, the event brings together the world’s best players of the arcade classic Donkey Kong to compete for the title and $4,500 purse provided by Coors Light and Red Bull.

There were two ways for competitors to qualify for The Kong Off 3. The first was to be among the world's top 12 Donkey Kong scorers as certified by Twin Galaxies as of October 25, 2013. The other was to enter through one of three Wild Card Division Online Qualifier tournaments.

The battle to be among the top 12 scorers was intense. In the final four weeks of qualifications, three players, Ross Benzinger, Jeff Wolfe and Robbie Lakeman scored their way in. Lakeman scored his way in just two days before the cutoff date.

World record holder and winner of The Kong Off 1, Dr. Hank Chien is the first qualifier. A plastic surgeon from New York, New York, Chien has held the world record since 2012 and will be competing in his third Kong Off.