‘Championship Gaming Series’ aims for young male demographic with hopes of following the TV path of poker and extreme sports.

The Los Angeles Complexity couldn’t overcome an opening 5-0 loss in the men’s “Dead or Alive” competition Monday night in “Championship Gaming Series” play and ended up losing 24-17 to archrival New York 3D.Huh?

DirecTV’s inaugural broadcast of a made-for-television e-gaming league at times seemed to be as much game show as athletic event. Stagehands called for applause after commercial breaks, and “ring girls” came onstage carrying the appropriate sports symbol — a soccer ball, boxing gloves or a starter’s flag — to signal the upcoming video game to be played.

More than 200 fans — most of them clutching thundersticks like those found at a baseball game — sat in bleachers inside a Manhattan Beach soundstage. Most clearly got into it, loudly encouraging their favorite team, which not surprisingly was Complexity. That was particularly true during the “Counter-Strike: Source” segment that L.A. won in overtime.