2005 is finally over!After getting slightly(heh) drunk on new years eve I had a day or so to recover and decided I would write a bit of a blog here!
My time in TsN started over a year ago now, and after turning 18 I was finally able to attend an event abroad and meet all the players for the first time.
Turns out that the first event after my 18th birthday was in the UK. It was a great event that saw Vo0 take the final, beating fat twice in a thrilling final!
Then came the EPIC three weeks. A week in each of Singapore, Italy and Chile was coming up. Everyone was excited about spending a full three weeks on the road without stopping for a even the slightest break.
The first stop was Singapore. After a 14 hour flight from London, i was thoroughly tired. As myself and Mashton decided to go for a walk around outside while Caemdare waited for the rest to show up, we were hit with the heat. MY GOD it was strange. Coming from Sheffield in the UK, im not totally used to the whole 100% humidity and 30 degrees. It was gonna be a sweaty week!
We got to the hotel, which was pretty damn impressive I have to say, and decided to take a shower and freshen up before checking out the event.
We walked the 5 or so minutes to the Padang and the CPL tent. The tent wasnt all ready when we got there so we decided to wait until later before setting up.
The first day of the Singapore stop was full of delays. The AC units had blown up in the night and the replacements were on their way. The players werent allowed to play in the blistering heat of the tent, it was simply too hot!
The tournament finally got underway and went off for the whole wekkend without hitches!
vo0 and fat once again met up in the final but this time fatal1ty got his own back and took the victory. fnatic won the Counterstrike tournament after some hard games. They took the final against wNv.
Italy! What a contrasting country to Singapore. Our hotel seemed to be at the other end of Milan to the event. We took a 40 minute or so (<3 Milan traffic) bus ride to the event each day.
We were once again broadcasting from the stage via the massive screen that the audience could see. We shared the big stage this time with Play.it|Devilmc and RotterDaM. They were playing some matches against members of the public that thought they were good enough. They werent.
The highlight away from the venue was the night out at the ABSOLUT ice bar. The walls, glasses and tables were all made of ice, which made the vodka taste really nice :)
It was a great night and everyone enjoyed themselves (some a little too much).
Our next stop on the marathon three weeks was Chile. We flew another 14 hours to the city of Santiago.
The "el Golfo" district we stayed in was very nice. Plenty of places to eat and drink for everyone!
The first few hours in Chile were spent looking for a place to change my travellers cheques into Pesos so I could actually buy something there.
I eventually found a place in a shopping centre but got ripped off with the exchange rate, but fair enough.
We then went to the event to setup. This is where my week in Chile got pretty interesting. My £300 armani jacket was taken from my chair, along with ALL my money and my mobile phone! I was slightly annoyed about this, but glad that I still had my passport so I could get back to England!
The event was really amazing with the fnatic team taking a 123. Ztrider and gellehsak battled out the first final of the World tour which didnt feature vo0!
The CS tournament was fierce once again with MiBr taking out U5 in the finals.
Chile ended with a few beers and food in a pirate bar!All good fun.
Next up was the Grand Finals of the World Tour in New York City. This was THE biggest E-Sports event ever!
The first two days saw us setup our equipment along with the MTV equipment and start broadcasting at the web2zone cyber centre. The games were fierce and some players were knocked out early. We eventually found the two that would battle for the $150,000. It was no suprise that vo0 would be taking on fatal1ty for the cash.
That night we rushed all our equipment out of the web2zone centre and took it back to the hotel. We then RAN to the MTV studios in times square where we were late for the script reading of the Game to Fame TV show that would be recorded the day after!
Being in the MTV studios was IMMENSE. Below us, TRL were giving away Xbox360s to members of the public who had lined the streets outside.
Our script reading went well and we got chance to meet the producers and directors that would lead us into the show the following day. Along with our co-presenters Jim Shearer and Amy Brady.
The following day we were at the Nokia Theatre bright and early so that we could do a rehersal of the show and get ready for the real thing to kick off.
At around 4:50pm the show started and the adrenaline started to pump. E-sports was FINALLY making its way into the main stream, and it would do so with a bang!
The games were once again epic, with vo0 missing out on the victory. fatal1ty pulled out his A-game and he managed to take home the $150,000.
The show went with no hitches (a big LOL for Warwitch, telling Jim that it was "your mum Jim" when asked what was coming next!!!!).
Being on MTV was very special, and it couldnt have come at a better time for me. Exactly 1 year after first working for TsN at an event in Denmark cast Battlefield 1942, I was working along with the greats on MTV!.
Coming next was Quake 4. A game which has been looked forward to by many.
I got Quake 4 (and a shiny new computer) when i arrived home from New York and instantly loved it! The game is one of the most fun ive played so far and its even more fun to cast!
The first Quake 4 event happened at the CPL Winter Championships at the Hyatt regency in Dallas.
This was the first event that I had chance of meeting the quake community. Everyone is super friendly and all a really cool bunch of people.
For the first time ever we broadcasted on two seperate streams from Dallas, giving a dedicated stream for both Quake 4 and Counterstrike. Something which everyone at home seemed to really appreciate!
Some great games ensued in Dallas, with some really suprising results. Cooller and Toxic battled out for the final and eventually the Russian quake powerhouse came out on top!
The winter championships finished off a superb year for me. Visiting four countries in under 5 months to do what I love doing is something that has been really awesome!
Of course I have to give some big thanks to everyone thats watched and supported us throughout the world tour and the other events over the year, youve been great!
Also a big thnx to all the players and teams for some great times away from gaming over the course of the year!
Heres to 2006! Its gonna be AWESOME STUFF!
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