DeathWatch

DeathWatch is a sports event in which the participating contestants kill each other. Participants have different motivations for competing in DeathWatch. Some seek glory, some seek money, some just enjoy the violence and some - like the inhabitants of Jefferson Island - are forced to participate and fight to survive.

DeathWatch is being broadcast on ShockTV.

Origins
According to Agent XIII, the first DeathWatch games, or at least a precursor to them, took place about 2000 years ago in Mesopotamia. The idea was that instead of having armies fight expensive wars with lots of casualties, only a few selected champions fight to the death. To the winner went the right of law.

From then on, the games were held to settle conflicts, be it to determine the fate of a country or to settle a feud.

Today
At some point in time, the DeathWatch games have been commercialized and been held in regular intervals, but apparently still with the purpose of settling conflict, until the final official games of 2001.

But although there seemed to be no need for settling conflict, the people's thirst for blood was stronger than ever. Thus, there apparently were held "unofficial" DeathWatch games just for the sake of killing, and they proved to be extremely profitable. DeathWatch has become a sport with star players, sponsors and bets.

The latest installment of DeathWatch was planned by an organisation called "The DeathWatchers" under the command of Noa by using an apparent terrorist attack as a disguise. They shut off Jefferson Island from the outside world, released an lethal airborne virus and promised the cure to that virus to anyone who participates in the DeathWatch games. Thus, the latest installment of DeathWatch has begun.

Rules
The objective of the modern DeathWatch games is to kill the other contestants to earn points and increase one's DeathWatch ranking. The more brutal and creative the kills, and the tougher the enemies, the more points are awarded for a kill.

Occasionally, there are special events called Bloodbath Challenges that slightly change the rules and allow participants to gain bonus points.

The champion of DeathWatch does not only win the right to live, but also a cash price of 100,000,000 $.

Trivia

 * It is unknown how the ranking system in Deathwatch works, aside from the somewhat obvious implication of a higher success rate in Deathwatch Games earning a higher ranking for the fighter, and the fact that multiple fighters can apparently share the same spot on the list, as The Shamans and The Masters are ranked 49th and the 5th on the list.
 * The word DeathWatch is a letter off from the phrase "Death Match", which is fitting, considering that DeathWatch can be considered to be a massive free-for-all death match.