PREMIERE

"DUEL," A NEW TOURNAMENT-STYLE GAME SHOW BASED ON SMARTS, SKILL AND STRATEGY, TO AIR DECEMBER 17-23 ON ABC

1 of 24 Contestants Will Win Potentially More Than $1.5 Million

"Duel" -- A one-hour, high-stakes tournament-style game show to air over six nights with a guaranteed final winner taking home potentially more than $1.5 million, will premiere MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on ABC. The show will air at the same time every night during the week (except Saturday), with the finale on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 (also 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT). Mike Greenberg (ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" radio show) is host.

"Duel" will feature head-to-head matches with nerve rattling game play rewarding contestants who embrace shrewdness and manipulation to win. If contestants can react quickly under pressure and outsmart their opponents using strategy and deception, intellect and skill, they could walk away with a life-changing prize. One of the 24 contestants is guaranteed to win the jackpot.

In a cutting edge format � combining trivia challenges like those on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with the strategy played in the "World Series of Poker" -- 24 contestants are given the chance to duel against one another in a mental and intellectual showdown that combines nail-biting trivia fun with the unfortunate reality that, if someone gets one question wrong � just one question � that player loses the match. The top four contestants qualify to �duel' for the guaranteed jackpot. Contestants have been chosen for their confidence and charisma, a love of trivia and an obsession for competition. These 24 people will become characters to root for (or against) during the six nights. Examples of contestants include The Ex-Marine Alligator Wrestler, The Lunch Lady, The Rocker, The Used Car Salesman, The Funeral Home Director, The Cab Driver and The Belly Dancer � the key being that not everything is revealed about contestants' backgrounds before they choose their opponents.

An online game of "Duel" will also launch on December 17 at ABC.com. Online gamers can choose either to play against the computer or challenge other players' duels from around the country.

Diet Pepsi Max is a key sponsor of the television show and the online game.

"Duel" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.

Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producers for BermanBraun; Chris Cowan, Jean Michel Michenaud and Charles Duncombe are executive producers, R.A. Clark is co-executive producer for Rocket Science Laboratories; and David Rosconval and Francis Vacher are executive producers for French TV.