Memento had already written a very compelling summary of the event, but I still feel the need to add my two cents to the story. An effort this succesful deserves every bit of praise it can get therefore I decided to write this journal hoping to give a little feedback and entice people to participate in the following editions. Which I'm very sure are coming. Sorry for the wall of text and no pictures (here's my gallery though http://esreality.com/post/2483786/shitty-prag...om-koziol/ ).

I never expected Prague TDM LAN to be such an amazing experience. I anticipated it being fun, but the reality spat in the face of my expectations and mumbled "this is quake... bitch" right before kicking them in the nuts. Five seconds after me and Noobakilla arrived in the cafe on thursday evening we were drinking beers with Tony, Fargold, Deotrip, Legie and many many more. We relaxed for a bit and went to greet the already practicing Deliberate Murder and Vertigo. Meeting Cooller was first of many surreal experiences in line, but he was very cordial so i got over it fast. As I usually do. There was still some check in formalities to attend to so the hotel was the next destination, altough we didn't forget to buy some beers and taste other local delicacies on our way to Sunshine Hostel where for better or worse I decided to stay.

Suddenly! An unknown number appears on my phone screen. I proceed to answer and it is... Ins shouting at me to get my ass to the cafe. Slenderman and a Child with a beard have arrived. We fucked around for a while and back to Sunshine it was. We spent that night in mine, Zoot's and Ins' room drinking and chatting with dudes like Wision, Lam and Lester. Talking Quake and shiet. And even though the lan server wasn't up, dem0n's car broke in Germany (300! were worried he won't be able to make it) and there was work to do the next day we were hopeful and already having fun. Lester btw is an awesome guy doing lots of behind the scenes work during the event and mad props go to him.

The first day of the lan greeted me with a solid hangover and a crapton of overlays to create, but everything was running pretty smoothly apart from shitty streaming pc in the casting booth. It crippled Zoot's ability to utilise many interesting production possibilities that the District Cafe provided. And there was an hour delay right at the beginning of the stream debacle, but in the grand scheme of things all of those issues shrank into small details. The tournament had already started and the people were AMAZING.

This is what will differentiate this event from an experience like for example Dreamhack: the accessibility and a sense of community and belonging. Just a bunch of nice people having fun together by shooting rockets into each other's faces. Pleasant day stretched into a fantastic night in our hostel room again this time with Purri, Tony, dem0n (who made it), Memento_mori, Zoot, Ins, Noobakilla, Deotrip and me. Purri explained Q2 to us, Ins was drinking ("Drink Ins! Drink like the wind!") and the now famous phrase "For the community" was created. At first as a joke, but when the weekend was passing we all started treating it more and more seriously. Even the cynical bastards like me couldn't ignore the overwhelming sense of natural comradery.

Day two. Hangover again. After a couple of group games in the morning the playoffs were about to start so the stakes were high. Teams were focused and me and Liefje must have drunk about a billion beers in the bar. As the matches went on the audience started to react in more and more lively fashion and in the late afternoon the atmosphere reached it's peak that it managed to hold to the very end of the event. Fully Loaded vc CZE was a coronation of the day. A game that nearly gave half of the people there a heart attack. Me included.

After the last frag was made we were ready to party, but unfortunately the receptionist of Sunshine had a different idea hehe. The crew at hand with too many people to mention ended up on the street in front of Hotel Carol. It didn't affect our spirits in any way so the meeting turned out special in it's own way. Guerilla style ftw. Around 4 am Wision joined us for an early morning cigarette after which we split up to have some rest before the finals day.

The last day was bittersweet. People were extremely excited to see the finals, but there was already a subtle feeling of closure dawning on us. Nevertheless we proceeded with the fun times. And the fun times they were. Good games in great company. The awards ceremony followed by a group picture delivered the widest smiles I have seen in a while. Crazy FFA later was just an icing on a cake.

It was hard to say goodbye. Luckily Wision's words about the future helped cheering everyone up. On monday after the whole day of traveling and at the very end of our journey Noobakilla summarised my thoughts perfectly with one sentence: "FUCK! Let's go next month." I wholeheartedly agree.

Big thanks to every person that was there either making this event happen, playing in the tournament or just spectating and spending time with people. Especially to Wision who pulled it off like a champ. I mean: what a fucking win. See ya next year 100 fucking percent.