Throughout our planning, QLTV had assumed that the pro tournament coverage in 2010 would again be handled by LiveOnThree/QuadV. We had discussions with them periodically during the year signaling as much and we structured our end of the coverage around what they would do. Our plans looked like this: They would cover pro duel and CTF. Anything they covered would be broadcast live. QLTV would forego streaming anything live and instead record all of its footage and have it broadcast later. That way, the viewers get the best experience possible: video stream bitrates don't have to be split between two crews, and no one has to choose between 2 simultaneous streams.

QLTV would be poised to cover any pro CTF or duel that QuadV/Lo3 couldn't cover due to another equally-important match being aired. Outside of that, QLTV would focus on Open Duel and BYOC coverage. That was our plan, anyway.

On July 30, 2010, I received an email from Ash, Assistant Executive Director for QuakeCon and Programmer at id Software. It was titled, "Quake Live TV as primary QuakeCon casting team?" HOLY SHITBALLS. My first response was to fire off a tweet to Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham: "Why is Ash asking QLTV to do QCon primary coverage...?" I knew QuakeCon was a highlight of Marcus's year and didn't want to be stepping on toes. In my view, both djWHEAT and TosspoT are pioneers in their craft. The passion, time and effort they've each put into various forms of Quake broadcasting demands our respect and thanks.

"Long story I guess. Maybe you guys have time to chat tomorrow?", Marcus replied. It's now public knowledge that djWHEAT and TosspoT decided to decline doing QuakeCon. For further info on that, check out LiveOnThree's show detailing their reasons.

With plans to board a plane in 11 days, my eyes raced through the email Ash had sent me. Up to this point, QLTV's discussions with the QuakeCon staff had been focused on filling a completely secondary role. We had been trying to get answers to questions like, "How much stream time do you think we'll have once Lo3/QuadV is done?" or, "Can you verify we are allowed to cover Masters matches that wouldn't be covered by the contracted broadcast team?" They all seemed ridiculous now considering the new questions that were flooding my brain.

Partnering at the 11th Hour