So here we are again, time for another one of these diaries, something that has become almost become de rigueur for these events. This one would be very different for me personally though as it would be the last one I would be writing on the hallowed pages of SourceJunky... Moving on to pastures new and leaving behind a lot of friends. The real question was just how I wanted to sign off.
You see whenever you do these sorts of things there is a bigger picture. My last i-series account was criticised by some for not being a representation of the positive side of event and instead focused on the seedy underbelly. Vinih was especially critical saying something along the lines of "if I was a parent, and I read that, I'd have doubts about sending my 15 year old kid to LAN". At the time I probably brushed it aside with a trademark joke about Vinih, parenthood, 15 year olds, or whatever. But of course he had a point, sort of. So in the interests of fairness I invited him to join in the diary fun and let him represent the wishy washy side, while I tell the tales of the LAN hardcore.
The thing is though, the bare bones reality, while as much as Vinih and myself might have NO agenda, there is always something that stays your hand and prevents you from dropping the kind of honesty that you would like to. It seems unfair to be critical of multiplay on any level when the continually provide me with a press pass at these things and look after me pretty well, even if I do think the i-series is overpriced for the average gamer. It seems not particularly decent to make reference to some of the specific things you see and maybe even partake in at LAN... I have never mentioned drugs as such, mainly opting to pretend they aren't there at an i-series, because mentioning their existence is a no win... You either get criticised for attempting to drench your material in outlaw cool for mentioning them, or you end up increasing security and searching at the event and everyone ends up hating you forever. I get accused of bias a lot of the time too, be it towards CGS or whatever team I'm affiliated at the time, not usually fair criticism, but it's there anyway. And yeah, I'm a small cog in the CGS machine, so does it actually affect what I right. I certainly ain't gonna bite the hand that feeds, that'd be fucking stupid.
All these considerations are there everytime you try and step up and give a definitive account of something, and I think I've come close in previous attempts. I want this final diary for SJ (and hopefully for a while in general) to be completely free of the bullshit, and the factors that usually prevent the 100% accurate and honest accounts these things should be. But enough of this drivel, you're not here to read such things, you're just here for the amusing tales of the epic fails and maybe a line or two about those who succeed.
Vinih and I agreed to meet up and travel down together, a fair idea, two press geeks on the road, both enthusiasts in the same field. I spent the first night at his place, few beers and pizza, kicked some ideas around, then went to bed vowing to be up at "no later than 10" so we could get a headstart and beat the traffic. Be there in 4 hours, 4 hours with Vinih. I've travelled with him before and as long as he sticks to the chatter a journey can go by quite quick, but if he starts cranking out his CD collection and treating his car radio like a karaoke booth it can become an excuciating experience. In limited space everyone can hear Vinih scream...
I couldn't sleep, a mixture of excitement and anxiety. This i-series is the most competitive, on paper, we've ever seen. I'm sure I've said this before, but the bar has been raised this time around. With the surprise inclusion of the CGS teams (bias kicking in early) there are about six teams with a chance of winning this thing. Sure, the hot favourites are fnatic - AGAIN - but their invincible veneer is starting to show a few cracks these days. Hopefully these new professinal contracts they have bagged will make them fat and lazy in a very short space of time and they will crash and burn in the groups, making way for a UK side to step up for a change, but I think this is a sbout as likely as a blow job from the pope. Mind you, the pope was in the Hitler youth, so who knows what kind of depraved shit he has got up to in the past...
Of course if fnatic were to eat their bowl of LANcrumble (that phrase probably being my sole contribution to gaming) Reason will be eyeing top spot. They may be without ritch who seems to have sabotaged himself before a LAN again, but they are still formidable. I find the whole ritch situation shocking in the sense that I'm actually starting to believe he doesn't give a fuck about gaming, not as much as someone with his talent should. I just don't know what to make of it. While all of this stuff is being bandied about "PC problems" and "temporary replacements" the fact is that those who run the inside track know a totally different story. Sure, there's an argument that ritch did have a PC malfunction before a game. The other is he blew off practice to get laid, the last straw for team-mates and management. ritch said he will never play with Reason again, and I suppose in a way - while I think it is a move that harms the chances of Reason winning the event - you have got to take your hats off to Dallow for showing he has a huge set of balls. To use a completely inaccurate and wild, sweeping comparison, it is like Alex Ferguson letting Cristiano Ronaldo go on a free transfer. Or something.
Fuck that anyway, rumours already going round that Zboard are gonna reform with fataL, ritch and ben0 +2. Good lord. If that is the case you'd have to conclude that some people never learn and that is probably applicable to all parties.
London Mint, the former 4kings, will also be hoping to remove the stain of defeat from their record, the i-series not having been kind to them when they come up against real opposition. All eyes on the boys for this then, most people making them second favourites, a decision that seems odd to me. I have a genuine fondness for these guys, even url who has the kind of public school boy looks that make most human beings want to hurt him, and hope they can do it. But one thing you have to say is the team has some players in who do not work well under pressure.
None more so than beta, bless him, who everytime I play with follows up almost every incredible shot or doorbang with "I wish I could do THAT at LAN" and a big depressed sigh. Indeed, people have labelled him an onliner for some time, myself included and I really, genuinely, truthfully and other words that mean pretty much the same thing hope that he can break his jinx.
The same for Hughsy, who is one of the nicest, most timid players you will ever meet. Players in Europe rate him as one of the UK's finest, yet it seems sometimes he doubts himself and plays a very watered down version of his game. In the words of Duke Leto Atreides "The Sleeper Must Awaken".
As for Salvo, they're gonna turn some heads at i-series for sure. They are the gaming equivalent of the Australian cricket team, experienced and well versed in the art of psychological warfare. How teams at i-series, which is a relatively quiet and friendly affair, more convention than competition if truth be told, are going to cope with being screamed at during a game and Harriman informing them at the top of their lungs "nice little slayer" is going to be interesting. The source community are finally starting to accept these former 1.6ers, and for my money I genuinely believe them to be a better LAN side than Mint, having witnessed with my own eyes the destruction they unleashed on teams at the CGS UK event. Losing only three games in total the entire time, against the best in the UK in Europe, is not a bad record for two weeks of solid play.
The anxiety - that will more than likely be caused by the numerous threats that come my way at such events... Nightmares about the slobbering hordes of anomaly coming to "smash" me at LAN. I think I ripped all of Vinih's sheets while I was sleeping, fighting off the hordes in a nightmarish fever. I will be wearing a T-Shirt with "Dr. Gonzo" emblazoned across the back. May as well be a fucking bullseye.
This morning we packed up the car with two crates of beer and two bottles of jaegarmeister, our night sorted. Vinih started singing within five minutes of the journey. It was going to be a long one.
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Posted by Penguin on
Thursday, 08 November 2007, 16:35
