Feeling a Need for Speed, Dignitas hits the autobahn then invades England

Part of our obligation as members of Dignitas is that we support the work of our sponsors. They are the pillars upon which our organisation rests, supplying equipment to aid our training and the resources to get us to events. Under these circumstances, it seems only right that we sacrifice a little of our own time to return the favour. Our support can take many forms, ranging from providing advice on websites, products and promotions, right through to promoting our sponsors directly to the general public.

It was the latter idea that recently led me to Germany for the legendary tradeshow, CeBIT. Two of our sponsors, Abit and Razer, had asked Dignitas to help raise their profiles at the event by putting on some entertainment -- and nothing draws a crowd quite like the opportunity to play games for prizes… or what we call ‘Show Matches'!

Fresh from CPL success, I had been asked to play Need for Speed Pro-Street in front of the vociferous German masses! Having twice been the UK's World Cyber Games Champion (with previous NFS instalments) it seemed like a logical decision, but I hadn't yet played Pro-Street and public humiliation on an epic scale was an ominous possibility. Fortunately I dodged the bullet. After a somewhat inauspicious first day (losing two of eight races), I kept an immaculate record (and with it my reputation) intact for the rest of the week.

Returning home, having done my promotional bit for the team, I was eagerly awaiting I33, the UK's largest LAN event. A World in Conflict competition had been announced but no European teams would compete because of the small prize. This meant we were destined to win and sure enough, the four simultaneous nuclear weapons we deployed against our opponents in the final dispelled any notions they might have had of sneaking a victory.

Even if our World in Conflict victory had not been a foregone conclusion, the competition would still have been a minor component of the I33 experience. The event is incredibly well organised, but, more importantly, attracts large numbers of people who simply want to have a good time and are easy to get along with. Sure, you will find the odd obstreperous individual here and there - and it can be a little nerdy at times - but I would rate it as one of the best LANs in Europe.

I34 should be even better, since the event is moving to a new and bigger location - Stoneleigh Park. There will even be paintball at the new location and thoughts have already turned to a fight to the death with 4 Kings!

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Digg

Changing of the guard?

World in Conflict was the focus of each day leading to the CPL World Final. Just prior to the event I could even have sworn that the sights and sounds of World War III had been entering my dreams! Our success in the final dispelled these memories and gave way to the realisation that our achievement was thoroughly deserved after a ‘roller coaster' year of hard work. In the aftermath of victory, however, a price had to be paid for these efforts.

Low-life and me, the sole survivors from the original line-up of April 2007, felt drained by the trials and tribulations of a year of intense gaming and have decided to take a break. While we both felt sanguine about our chances of dominating the online WiC scene after our thrilling CPL victory, our overwhelming desire is to pay greater attention to that little thing called ‘RL'… real life!

In the same way that an athlete may ‘up sticks' and train on a mountain top for X number of months, I think a few of my friends had reconciled themselves to the fact that, due to my own training routine, I had become relegated to an MSN or phone contact. I also have the trifling matter of securing a new job, having stopped work just before the final in an additional bid to ensure victory. Until these factors are resolved, I simply can't commit to a renewed practice schedule in a suitable frame of mind.

I believe I have made the right decision and, as I have alluded to before, it is vital to strike a balance between competitive gaming and your wider personal interests. Having competed at a professional level in E-sports for nigh on 8 years, I dare not suggest, quite yet, that my competitive days are over. If, however, that does prove to be the case, then CPL success will be a fitting and abiding finale to my e-sports career.

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Digg

Dignitas attack CPL world tour London stop

The team arrived in London two days early for the big event; Energetic, Cleric and Low-life flying in from Stockholm, Pureball travelling by train from Sunderland. Unlike the American leg of the World Tour, when we stayed in the Hilton hotel, our accommodation this time was to be an inner-city youth hostel. To say we had our doubts would be an understatement. A moment seldom passed that first night without someone speculating on the odds of being attacked.

The next morning, finding that we had, apparently, come through the long night unscathed, we headed to the venue. Situated inside the famous London Trocadero, Gamerbase wasn't hard to find. What made the task even easier was spotting major rivals Reason and D/C patiently waiting outside. A day of preparations, strategising, and media interviews ensued, with only a smattering of Warcraft 3 and Call of Duty 4 to keep us sane.

We spent the first hour of the following day setting up with the invaluable support of Massive Community Leader Emma Jones (Mir). Our first opponents, Lowerstroft, fell quickly. Having brushed them aside, the stage was set for a clash with D/C. It was a hard fought battle for Farmland but we emerged victors, securing a tight but reasonable points victory (approx 120 – 80). The real shock was the revelation that Inferno eSports had beaten Reason Gaming. The result meant D/C and Reason would be paired against one another in the loser's bracket, which was a dream scenario for us.

Focus shifted to our next game, which would be a match against Inferno eSports. These guys had been one of our prime practice partners in the weeks leading up to the tournament and we knew it would be difficult to surprise them. As it turned out, they surprised us. Fortunately, well-drilled routines ensured our victory.

Several hours passed before we discovered that D/C would be our opponents in the final. We eliminated Farmland from the map pool and, after a few more eliminations, Hometown was the map settled upon. Playing as the USSR, we recorded a victory within the opening six minutes, which startled everyone, I think, ourselves included. And having produced such a quick victory, it was almost impossible to go into the turn-around thinking we could lose. For that to happen, D/C would have to defeat us in even less time.

However, our confidence was almost undone when our opponents mounted a very aggressive push which briefly threatened to achieve that almost impossible goal. Nevertheless, we managed to check their momentum and, while we went on to lose the map, we won by a considerable distance on time.

Our victory is the perfect tonic for a team that has experienced its fair share of knocks over recent months. The challenge now is to avoid becoming lackadaisical in our grand final preparations; it would be criminal to lurch from confidence to over-confidence at this point.

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Digg