December 20^th, 2002 (12:00am) - The best student Xbox gamer in Great Britain was crowned last night at the nail-biting final of the Xbox Play More Challenge 2002. Dan Thain, a 19 year old business and politics student at Liverpool University, triumphed over thousands of other students to claim the title and the grand prize of £10,000.

The final, hosted by Emily Newton Dunn (presenter of the Sci-fi Channel’s games show ’SFG’), tested the finalists’ gaming skills to the limit. They competed over six Xbox games - Quantum Redshift, Colin McRae Rally 3, Blinx The Timesweeper, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer, Halo and Moto GP, with the finalists narrowed down to first ten and then just four competitors, who faced each other in an intense winner-takes-all race on Quantum Redshift.

Ironically, Dan nearly didn’t make the final at all. He was beaten in his local Liverpool heat, and only earned his place in the final after travelling to compete in the Lancaster heat. He quickly showed his form during the final, however, consistently gaining top scores on each of the games and remaining calm under immense pressure.

After he had received his prize, Dan said "I’d dreamt up plans for the cash, but I can’t believe I’m going to get to carry them out! I’m going to give £1,000 to charity and then take my mates on a fantastic holiday in the New Year."

Michele Marchand, Brand Experience Manager from Microsoft said: "The standard of the contestants was amazing, but what was most enjoyable to see was the sportsmanship and positive attitude of the finalists. Xbox gaming is intense but extremely enjoyable and the Xbox Play More Challenge mirrored this by being fierce, but with everyone entering into the fun spirit of the event."

About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers never before seen gameplay experiences. With more than three times the graphics performance of other game consoles, top-quality DVD playback, Dolby 5.1 surround sound to make games and movies come alive, and a hard disc that opens up new kinds of gameplay, Xbox is the video game system that delivers more of what gamers want. Xbox is now available for an estimated street price of £159.99.