I attended this event for various reasons. Most importantly because it was vVv Gaming’s 5 year anniversary and I haven’t attended an event since Meadowlands 2009. On short notice I signed up to be a volunteer for this event. I was unsure if I could even fulfill the obligations, but wasn’t going to turn this opportunity down. I knew it was a way to my foot in the door, network with like minded people, and experience a different perspective on the event.

Leading up to tournament, I worked at my sister’s bar for tips during St. Pattys Day to pay for my travel. This was a very fun, but interesting experience. I used some clever marketing to get people in the door such as drawing arrows, writing CHEAP BEER and $2 PBR on the sidewalks. All I could think about was MLG Columbus, all the hard work and putting up with the drunks was worth it when I was picked up by vVv Brock, his brother, and Plattypus Thursday night. We were off to Columbus, Ohio with a stop in NY to pick up Rapture. The 12 hour drive had begun, and I was sitting bitch the entire trip. I didn’t sleep. How could I with all of the thoughts running through my head? We arrived at Columbus at about 1pm. I was glad to meet more of the vVv Community and watch them attempt to play Halo with a guitar on a 40 inch screen. Good times.

I was scheduled to start working at 5:30, but entered the venue at 4 after eating some delicious Sushi for the first time with Jerry, Doom, and Blazek. I was intrigued when I saw what goes on behind the scenes at events when I was handed my Staff pass. Working as a volunteer, even though it was a small position definitely made me appreciate the work that all eSports event organizers put into this. I was overwhelmed by the size of the event, like I mentioned before my last event was 2009. It was breathtaking to see the thousands of fans, stations, and chairs. (MLG events didn’t have any seating in 2009 ) After getting my pass I did a walk through of the event and saw Compact Killer, and Betty sitting down. This was definitely one of the most awkward moments in my life because they didn’t recognize me at first, and I was overly excited to see them. I told them I was working the Uncharted FFA event, and they decided to play in it because the prizes were very good. My job at the Uncharted event was a referee. I had to write down the scores, make sure the settings were right, and keep the tournament running smoothly with Brian who is an experienced MLG Referee and Carlos who is the Playstation 3 Community Tournament Manager. Volunteering for this event also made me realize just how passionate I was for eSports, I was engaged so deep in the atmosphere and experience that I didn’t notice that I hadn’t slept in 30 hours until after I got back to the hotel. I really enjoyed the work, and hope to attend Anaheim as staff member as well.

After getting a solid 6 hours of sleep I was ready to start working again. Today was a full today, 10am-8pm, and man I was excited to work. Once again I was reminded how happiness inspires productivity. When I wasn’t writing scores down, checking settings, and teaching people the controls, I was trying to get people to come play. I explained the tournament and game hundreds of times to people who seemed interested in spectating the games. It appeared that many people who I explained the tournament to were quick to jump on a station. Many were actually overwhelmed that it was free to enter. Although this may sound boring, doing it while around thousands of gamers who love eSports and video games made it enjoyable.

I think that Columbus was the best MLG event to date. The stories, hype, and history are what made it so special. There was a lot of controversy leading up to the event with last minute announcements in fighting games, rules, and of course the Winter Arena pricing. As for history, halo is what started MLG, and without it, MLG wouldn’t be where it is today. I was a skeptic at first to see if the Halo community would show up, but was very happy to see and hear the Halo community at the event. You couldn’t ask for better stories in all of the titles featured. vVv CDjr and his brothers all making it into the top 8, and having to team kill vVv REO for 1st. MKP showing that he has left his 2nd place curse in the past by taking 1st at two major tournaments in a row, and defeating the most recent GSL champion in DRG. Finally, halo going to a game 11 coming down to the final kills in team slayer. Fucking amazing.

This event was also very special to me personally. It was vVv Gaming’s 5 year anniversary, and I have been apart of this amazing community since the very beginning. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today if I didn’t stumble across vVv Woody56292 in a public game with the website in his motto. The lessons and experience I’ve gained both as a player and person are invaluable to me. Growing up with eSports and vVv in my life has been such an educational and life-changing ride. When talking to Jerry at Columbus it made me realize how much I’ve learned throughout these years from a forum troll, vVv Applicant, Player, MMO Closet nerd, and now Staff member. Thank You.

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