EDISON, NJ (TIP): At a game show like set of the MoneyGram Cricket Bee on Saturday,May 7th, Bharat Jayakumar of Sunnyvale, California bagged the title of Champion and $10,000 prize money.

Jayakumar answered Australia as the winners of the first U-19 title the right option of his championship question to become the first ever Champion of the MoneyGram Cricket Bee.

The second runner up, Auroshish Mishra of Belmont, California was the runner up having missed the right answer to his question and took home the $2,000 prize money.

The MoneyGram Cricket Bee was launched earlier this year and is a game of Cricket Trivia that is conducted in a bee format, which is the miss and out basis. Over 800 people registered to play the contest and to qualify through the rounds and secure one of the 9 slots at the Finals.

“We are pleased to be able to call the first annual MoneyGram Cricket Bee a success,” said Ivy Wisco, MoneyGram’s marketing director. “Congratulations to the winners and all of the contestants. It is an honor to support community events like the Cricket Bee that unite friends and loved ones around the world.”

Contests were held in Edison, NJ, Hayward, CA and Toronto, Canada from where the top three were invited to the finals. Cash prizes of $500, $300 and $200 were given out at the regional levels as well.

MoneyGram, along with its marketing agency, AAAZA, commissioned the idea for the Cricket Bee from leading multicultural agency Touchdown Media in an effort to engage and connect with the more than 10 million cricket fans in North America.

“To watch the Finals yesterday were no less gripping than the last few overs of a hotly contested One day Cricket match; it was nail biting and intense. So very happy and proud of the Bee to have been able to provide a great platform for Cricket Enthusiasts,” said Rahul Walia, Founder.

Malaysian based Food conglomerate Kawan Foods, served as the powered by sponsor while the exclusive broadcast rights were bagged by TV ASIA, which is going to telecast a packaged programming later this summer.

“We were very happy to have associated with the first ever MoneyGram Cricket bee and watching the finalist battle out was legendary. Very impressed by the knowledge of the finalists and our heartiest congratulations to the winners, said Tim Tan, MD Kawan Foods.

“As the oldest broadcast medium for the community, it was definitely an honor to be the exclusive broadcaster for the first ever MoneyGram Cricket Bee. We pride ourselves with connecting with our community and this initiative is in line with our continued commitment to the diaspora in North America,” said HR Shah, chairman and CEO of TV Asia and an avid cricketer himself.