the idea for the show came from victor g. borachuk and michael burg who was the executive producer for the teen choice awards. this is referenced in the original press release drafted by pmk bnc as well as several email conversations. he got the idea while discussing live video game events with a friend who was a promoter in the industry. victor g. borachuk and his company jupiterreturn left the project prior to the show's airing, due to unfulfilled obligations on burg's side. several elements developed by borachuk were used by burg without permission in the final version of the show. this is referenced in numerous preproduction emails and documents shared with burg's camp during preproduction. burg at one point even asked borachuk to share his complete treatment for the show with a producer burg had hired, to which borachuk declined.