Halo Reach: October ...uh .... 10th (2010 of course). Yea, that's right, the tournament on the 10th.
One Question before we begin: Were you there?
- Oh yea? Cool. You're awesome.
- Oh no? UnCool. You're still alright, but definitely NOT awesome. (hint hint)
Well if you were or weren't, let me just recall what I remember...(Cue dream-like waviness and clouds and stuff)...
.....It was a very nice day. The sun was out early, but not earlier than some of our gamers."Up practicing they were" (In my best Yoda voice). Im not totally sure what each one of them did in the hours leading up to registration time up at Net Heads, but when they showed up it was undeniable--they were ready.
We wasted no time getting all of the players signed-in and already taking a squat at one of the open game stations for warm ups. Some came focused. Some came energetic. Some came...well...unprepared (No really. If you showed up without practicing on the maps that we specifically identified on the website 1 month before the event date, you were quite unprepared).
Anyways, I digress...
Game play kicked off just after 12 pm with the first 6 teams playing 2v2. The Maps available to be played were Countdown, Reflection, Asylum and Zealot. And of course all of our game types and maps were to MLG standards. We started off with 'Team Slayer' for the first match. The bracket was best of three, so teams who lose the first match still have a chance in the next one for redemption.
A little 'Team Slayer' and a bunch of 'Capture the Flag' later, we have ourselves a 2v2 winning team. The teammate winners were Ben and Jalen, aka 'Team 3'. (Ok, next tourney we'll let you guys choose team NAMES...the numbers just aren't cuttin' it). Their Halo gaming regiment at home consists of about 3 hours of gernade-tossing and gun-butting every other day during the week, and a little more on the weekends. What do these 2v2 champs offer up as advice for prospective gamers?:
"Flank, stick together and stay on the same page"
&
"Bring more people, so we can win more money :)"
We thanked those gents who kindly recommended their friends all join them next time, and dished out the $150 COLD HARD CASH they were promised. Ahhhh, Victory.
With just a few ticks of the clock past our scheduled marker, it was time for the 4v4 bracket. By game time we only had 5 teams registered. Seriously, do you know the odds of winning with only 5 teams!? Its crazy right? We only have 5 teams in competition for $250!! At an entry fee of $15 for pre-registered players, the winners really made some spending money on this one.
You just HAD to be there...
The atmosphere was so....HALO. All of the gamers were focused on the task. After witnessing the carniage these guys unleashed on each other, it became hard to watch. I would almost become dizzy trying to keep up with the quick movements of any player's monitor. These guys knew what they wanted and most knew how to get it. Oh it was on. We heard cheers and laughs along with shouts of frustration. We have learned to expect it all by now.
Since there was on odd number of teams we did what we do best and presented a couple of options to the gamers of how we would make the bracket fair. It was voted on and the outcome was genius. We simply had a one match 'Free for All' between team captains. The winner's team gets the 'by'. With that settled, gameplay resumed and we ended up with a 2-team showdown... The last battle was of epic proportions. I'm not sure if we'd ever seen this close of a scrap before. The magic of it lay in the fact that it came right down to the last point in the 3rd and final match. But victory was granted to none other than 'Team 2', which consisted of Ben, Jalen, and two others who's names we fail to bring to you due to a glitch in the sign-in process. (Bad Elite Gaming...very BAD Elite Gaming!). Either way, these guys earned every penny they took home. After dishing out the mulah (or moolah...or mooluh...or...cash!), I asked Team 2 the secret to their success. You wouldn't believe it. Their answer, in almost perfect syncopated harmony, was...
"TEAMWORK"
....what an age-old, but apparently still effective concept. Teamwork. I witnessed it myself. After the verbal commands, confirmations and precise execution of objectives, you could not deny their team effort. Good Job Team 2.
And to round third and head home...Its 'Free for All' time. Once again, the man of the day, Jalen took home the cash! $80 to be exact, in a multiple round firefight where the bottom two players drop off. A few rounds of that and you have your winner. I think it is safe to say that Jalen went to work that day..and came back home with the bacon!
What a day, what a day! A few hours, a couple orders of breadsticks and a ton of cash exchanges later, we concluded the day's events with a fairwell and happy gaming to everyone in attendance. Elite Gaming is always thankful to Net Heads for working closely and happily with us for many of our events. Also, a big thanks to all the gamers for joining in the competition...Now what you do is get ready for the Call of Duty: Black Ops event along with NBA 2k11 and Madden '11 on Dec. 19!!!!!!! Stay tuned for details and that super value link. Til next time, Game Game!!! ... It makes the world a better place!
Do enjoy the video shot and edited by the one and only...Dale.
I'll keep this short and sweet. The video linked here is from You Tube. Using the classic Pokemon theme song as the back drop, you are about to view some of the best tv shows of the 90s! Doesn't it just give you a big feeling of...15 years ago!?
