Trademark Gamers

Returning back from yet another I-Series event, i still sit here pondering why i genuinely attended. If it wasn't for the people I’ve spent time with online attending the event I’d more than definitely had made myself scarce. There's some kind of alluring, unknown factor about the whole LAN which genuinely baffles me. As i arrive i receive greetings and hand out greetings to people I’d met before and promised that I’d meet - and then there's a stand still.

Regardless of how much i big up or even put down the i series, you have to experience it yourself. The overzealous managers, biting for their piece of the action - spending a ludicrous amount of cash on a team that if put in genuine perspective have no real chance of achieving anything worthwhile, and their players; having had a false sense of belief instilled into them by all of the money being spent on them, actually having the confidence to loudmouth better teams, until it proves to be their downfall.

After the depressing amount of "banter" and cheering in the group stages in the main hall, i decided to take a walk to the exhibition theatre, which if going on past events (i34), it could be the turn around for me. Boy was i wrong. Having the previous entry closed off, you have to walk through the bar area to get inside, perhaps this is some kind of ingenious plot to get people to use more money on food i thought to myself - but i digress. As you step in you are awe-struck by the 20-25 metres of shuffling space you have to roam around, and in front of you the giant, inconspicuous looking barriers that are encasing half of the hall.

KustomPC made a showing there again, as a friend enquired to the man wearing the strange coloured clothing, and his purple hair in a ponytail about a possible purchase of a keyboard mouse combo "Is there anyway i could have some price knocked off of this?", to which he was quickly, and may i add sarcastically replied to "We would love to, but unfortunately Multiplay charge us so much for this tiny piece of land, we have to keep prices the same as on the website". Oh, what a joyous occasion i thought to myself, as i was dragging my buddy away from the same mouse he already owns, and a different coloured keyboard to the one he already plays on. Even the people who are here purely to make business are depressed with the event.

I rotated three-sixty degrees on the spot, sighing to myself as i sent yet another text message asking "How long until you get here?" so i could be whisked away from the amalgamation of boredom, sweat and false hope. Tapping my feet on the floor, waiting for my free Rustlers burger and expecting a massage (which never came may i add) from a strangely out of proportion young woman - i saw the stage. Looking alot smaller than the one I’d originally seen at i34, with far less seating, and no wow factor of which it had at the other events. I phased out of time for a minute, reconstructing the process of the world of Warcraft player winning a seinnheiser headset; as i shuddered, i was prodded in the back - and had a slop of connective tissue handed to me on a bun by a woman trying to smile, but you could see in her eyes she had been ogled all day by people buying the burger simply to get a "Hello" or "I'm level 80 you know!" in.

The most amusing moment of the LAN was at the Fnatic stall, where random players got to use MSI laptops to play Carn, one of their renowned 1.6 players. As i trotted over for the second time, i saw yet another competitor walking away in shame with his head down, only to be replaced by a young boy - 8 years of age. He waddled over during the game, looking stunned and confused - only for this confusion to be quickly redempted by the knife of Carn, as the audience laughed; the message "Sorry :XX" was displayed on the game, as the boy looked down at his keyboard i saw a glimmer of pity in his eyes.