Photos: The Wii Tennis Virtual Open Has Crowned Their Champion

It all came down to these two gentlemen today at the Wii Tennis Virtual Open - Benjamin "Smelonzhay" Melinger (left), a player who had initially signed up for the tournament by chance while visiting a friend at Rockefeller Center, and Peter Reyes (right), who after winning his semi-final match, attempted to job-search the crowd by asking "Are there any principals here? I'm a fully qualified Special Ed Teacher!"

The final match was intense, and was decided only after several deuces. Hit that jump for total coverage and to see who won tickets to the Men's Final of the US Open and a 1-Year Lease on a Lexus IS F...

Melinger takes the gold! Ah, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Don't feel too sorry for Peter, whose smile never wavered throughout the heat of battle. He won tickets to the US Open Semi-Finals, although he admitted, "The car would have been nice." You said it, brother!

As corporate PR events go, this was a pretty sweet setup. The playing field was reportedly a scaled down replica of the actual US Open Tennis Court. Some fair sized crowds formed around the event, although the miniature stands on either side of the court never quite filled to capacity.


Upon first glance, it looked like the players might actually compete on separate sides of the court, but sadly game technology has not yet reached that level of realism - both players in a match faced the same screen, as per the usual.

Color commentary was provided by former professional tennis player Luke Jensen. At first he seemed to be a bit at a loss on how seriously to take the proceedings, but by the time the final four matches rolled around, he seemed comfortable using Wii tennis terms such as "fire serve" and "unreturnable return". In the above photo, Jensen confers with Nintendo's touring Wii Tennis Pro, El Diablo (not there to formally compete, just to showboat).



"How did the Virtual Open compare to Wiimbledon?", loyal G-Nerd fans may be asking. The biggest difference I could see, other than the considerable bankroll behind the Lexus-Sponsored Open, was the pageantry of Wiimbledon versus the more business casual attitude of the Open. No bear costumes or country club attire here. And no, the Rockefeller Center Guard uniform doesn't count as a costume.

It should be noted, however, that grand prize winner Melinger was wearing appropriate tennis attire, which may have given him just the edge he needed.


Here's a handful of other photos from the event, if you just can't get enough.

I still believe Albo could have won this car...

A rare example of physical enthusiasm

Fan Favorite Peter Reyes wins his semi-final match

Dude just won a car - you can't "fault" him for being excited (*dodges brick*)

And finally, what's a PR stunt without a wacky photo op?

Related: Geekanerd's Coverage of The Virtual Open
Geekanerd's Coverage of Wiimbledon (including video)

Today in Rockefeller Center: The Virtual Open Finals

For the past two days in Rockefeller Center, the Lexus Sponsored Wii Tennis "Virtual Open" has been bringing out the Tri-State gamers with dreams of victory, a sort of nerd doppelganger of the US Open. I'll be checking out the championship match later today, expect analysis and hot pics this evening.

Unlike the excellent and independently produced Wiimbledon, The Virtual Open Finals have not been decided by simple bracket competition, but by a qualifying round where you play the "Returning Balls" mini-game. WHAT?! If I had known that, I woulda gone! I can return serves till the wiimote runs out of batteries, it's that goddamn SERVE that eludes me. But enough about my personal failures.

Geekanerd is admittedly a bit biased against this very corporate event, since we all had such a "ball" at Wiimbledon. It's worth mentioning that the Wiimbledon Champion, Russ Yagoda AKA Luigi, seems to be absent from the Virtual Open finalist board. But the real tragedy is that Geekanerd's own Wii Tennis Prodigy Albo (1st Runner Up at Wiimbledon) was unable to compete, due to a top secret training exercise in the swampland of the southern United States. The unfortunate timing of this excursion has cost the Geekanerd crew our chance at winning an Lexus IS F (what's that? - Ed.) which we would have tricked out to look like the Batmobile. So you'll forgive us if our coverage of this event seems reserved. I already had the decals all ready to go.

Related: Geekanerd's Coverage of The Virtual Open
Geekanerd's Coverage of Wiimbledon (including video)

Play Wii Tennis for a Lexus!

Now I don't know if you're aware, but I'm something of a Wii Tennis demi-champ, which is why I'm very sad the Lexus Virtual Open is going down while I'm out of town. The winner of this three day tournament will walk away with a one-year lease on a Lexus and Luxury Suite tickets for the US Open finals. I'm not sure if the one-year lease is that great of a win (gas is expensive, parking in NYC is expensive, you don't need a car in NYC, you don't own the car so you can't sell it, etc etc) but it's still worth a shot for anybody that is any good at all in Wii Tennis.

Read the full statement from Lexus after the jump.

Lexus brings Virtual Open to Rockefeller Center New Yorkers can participate in ultimate tennis experience for chance to win a one-year lease on a new Lexus IS F NEW YORK --As the world's professional tennis players vie for greatness at the US Open, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to share the experience at the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center during the second week of the tournament. Participants can compete on a scaled down version of a tennis court for the chance to win a one-year lease on a new Lexus IS F and tickets to the US Open finals.

Tennis and gaming enthusiasts will take to the virtual courts at Rockefeller Center, in the heart of New York City, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sept. 4-6. Professional tennis player and ESPN on-court analyst Luke Jensen will instruct participants and provide commentary as they compete on Nintendo's Wii console. For each serve hit during the virtual tournament, Lexus will donate $1 to the Andy Roddick Foundation (up to $30,000).

"As a sponsor of the US Open we created this event to bring the excitement of Flushing Meadows to Manhattan," said Steve Jett, Lexus national marketing communications manager. "There's nothing like the thrill of competing in the US Open, and while tennis enthusiasts may never experience the roar of the crowd and feel the courts beneath their feet, the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center gives them the opportunity to get a taste of it--and win a one-year lease on a new IS F performance sedan, the same vehicle Lexus is awarding to the Men's Singles Champion."

The top two scorers will compete on Sept. 6 for the chance to win the grand prize, a one- year lease on a Lexus IS F and two tickets to watch the US Open finals in the Lexus Luxury Suite on Sunday, Sept. 9. The runner up will receive two tickets to watch the US Open semi-finals on Sept. 8 in the Lexus Luxury Suite.
The event is open to the public. For more information about the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center, participants can log on to myownpursuit.com.

Via Kotaku.