July 31^st, 2006 (1:18pm) - Netamin Communication Corp. today announced that its Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 Summer Classic will begin Aug. 7. This double-elimination tournament, which will continue through Aug. 15, will be open to 16 six-man teams. Five players from each team will take the virtual field at once, with the sixth player available for substitutions-a brand-new Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 (UBO 2006) feature. The UBO Summer Classic will actually include two separate 16-team tournaments, allowing lower-level players to compete for prizes as well. Players can sign up for the UBO Summer Classic at http://www.ultimatebaseballonline.com

UBO 2006 has drawn a great deal attention for its new format: MMORPG meets sports game. Ryan McCaffery of Games Radar said, "Ultimate Baseball Online’s initial steps give hope that every fan’s dream could become reality," and Randie Kilgore of Daily Game said UBO 2006 is "shaping up to be a baseball fan’s field of dreams."

The event cost is $6.95 per player, and real-world prizes will be awarded to each player on the top three teams. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

Upper Division (Level 30 and above)
1st: $100 toward game tickets/merchandise to any MLB, Minor League, or other professional baseball game
2nd: $50 gift certificate to shop.mlb.com
3rd: Custom UBO T-shirt

Lower Division (Levels 1-40)
1st: $75 gift certificate to shop.mlb.com
2nd: Custom-fitted UBO hat
3rd: Custom UBO T-shirt

The UBO Summer Classic comes just weeks after each player on Storm was awarded a brand-new PSPTM (PlayStation® Portable) system in the Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 PSP Invitational Tournament. Storm beat Gearheads to finish the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record.