I started watching 6s in season 17, very casually, meaning I was very vaguely aware of the idea that playoffs happened in 1 weekend on LAN for those final 2 seasons. With the resurgence of LAN playoffs for RGL I began to wonder, how do you even plan around that if you're a bubble team?
Like you only really know you're going to LAN once you see yourself in that top 4 spot, right? Flights get hella expensive the closer you book to the date of the flight - and if you're only booking your flight once you see yourself in that 4th seed did most of your prize money pretty much go to paying for your flight/hotel/etc?
All of my LAN experience is with the context that I can book a flight for like 300 dollars cheaper 2 months out from the event (my round-trip flights for Fullerton LAN literally went from 250CAD to 550CAD in a 2 week span) so the idea of booking a flight really close to a date seems wild to me.
Keep in mind that this was like 7 years ago, and again, I was a very casual observer so I don't really remember how long it was between the end of the season and LAN weekend.
ty for your wisdom if you have it
I started watching 6s in season 17, very casually, meaning I was very vaguely aware of the idea that playoffs happened in 1 weekend on LAN for those final 2 seasons. With the resurgence of LAN playoffs for RGL I began to wonder, how do you even plan around that if you're a bubble team?
Like you only really know you're going to LAN once you see yourself in that top 4 spot, right? Flights get hella expensive the closer you book to the date of the flight - and if you're only booking your flight once you see yourself in that 4th seed did most of your prize money pretty much go to paying for your flight/hotel/etc?
All of my LAN experience is with the context that I can book a flight for like 300 dollars cheaper 2 months out from the event (my round-trip flights for Fullerton LAN literally went from 250CAD to 550CAD in a 2 week span) so the idea of booking a flight really close to a date seems wild to me.
Keep in mind that this was like 7 years ago, and again, I was a very casual observer so I don't really remember how long it was between the end of the season and LAN weekend.
ty for your wisdom if you have it
GrapeJuiceIIIdid most of your prize money pretty much go to paying for your flight/hotel/etc?
Yes, so even though losing LAN was depressing at the time, it actually led to more money in the pocket of the players since they didn't need to spend their prize on the trip to Dallas.
Can't quite remember the season or breakdown exactly but somewhere around Season 12 or Season 13 I think Chess Club ended up with scraps remaining ($15?) after they got their Canadians to LAN.
@alfa since he was there. Most 4th place teams probably got screwed similarly though.
Edit: Fun fact, players like TLR always got to pretty much pocket their share since they lived in/near Dallas.
[quote=GrapeJuiceIII]did most of your prize money pretty much go to paying for your flight/hotel/etc?[/quote]
Yes, so even though losing LAN was depressing at the time, it actually led to more money in the pocket of the players since they didn't need to spend their prize on the trip to Dallas.
Can't quite remember the season or breakdown exactly but somewhere around [url=https://liquipedia.net/teamfortress/ESEA/Season_12/Invite/North_America]Season 12[/url] or [url=https://liquipedia.net/teamfortress/ESEA/Season_13/Invite/North_America]Season 13[/url] I think Chess Club ended up with scraps remaining ($15?) after they got their Canadians to LAN.
@alfa since he was there. Most 4th place teams probably got screwed similarly though.
Edit: Fun fact, players like TLR always got to pretty much pocket their share since they [i]lived[/i] in/near Dallas.
ESEA let every team use 4th place money and would book your flights, meaning they would deduct that from your final winnings. To be fair no one really cared for the money that much back then, everyone was just excited to compete on 5 ping and meet their friends IRL.
ESEA let every team use 4th place money and would book your flights, meaning they would deduct that from your final winnings. To be fair no one really cared for the money that much back then, everyone was just excited to compete on 5 ping and meet their friends IRL.
Hi,
During early seasons of ESEA, they weren't offering the 4th place money for people, but flights were also significantly less expensive back then than they are now. If you were first or second place during the regular season, you might solidify a LAN position 6-8 weeks prior to the LAN. ESEA was pretty good about scheduling the LAN a good 4-5 weeks after the final playoffs match, so even teams seeded third or fourth generally knew at least a month ahead of time.
If your team had a sponsor, generally they would cover most or all of the flights once you solidified your LAN qualifier position. Unfortunately, most teams didn't have sponsors. If you had no sponsor, you were going to be in the negatives unless you took first place, and even then you'd barely be money ahead, if at all. Like alfa said, it was all about the experience and the prize pool was just a way to lessen the overall cost of your trip. If one of your teammates happened to be local to Dallas, they would probably pocket a bit of money from the prize pool.
Some teams had cocaine-addicted sponsors who generally went by the name blackfoger who booked hotel rooms for 12 people at a La Kwinta (if you know, you know) motel in Dallas for an entire LAN weekend using a stolen credit card, then stopped answering their phone, swearing up and down that they were stuck in airport security, then accidentally answering their phone once, and upon realizing who had called them, used a blatantly fake voice and accent to say, "oh sorry James isn't here, this is his roommate."
Players from both "blight gaming sponsored teams" were locked out of their hotel rooms on the second day, with hotel staff refusing to let anyone back in to get their things until another credit card was presented.
That was ESEA season 6, with a prize pool of something like $4200. First place received $2000 and last place was $400 I think. Two people to a room, roughly $90 per room per night brought hotel costs to $100ish per person for the weekend, plus flights which were generally $150-200 per person. Even the first place team would only end up putting around $50 in each player's pocket, and you'd likely spend at least that on food and drinks over the weekend.
Hi,
During early seasons of ESEA, they weren't offering the 4th place money for people, but flights were also significantly less expensive back then than they are now. If you were first or second place during the regular season, you might solidify a LAN position 6-8 weeks prior to the LAN. ESEA was pretty good about scheduling the LAN a good 4-5 weeks after the final playoffs match, so even teams seeded third or fourth generally knew at least a month ahead of time.
If your team had a sponsor, generally they would cover most or all of the flights once you solidified your LAN qualifier position. Unfortunately, most teams didn't have sponsors. If you had no sponsor, you were going to be in the negatives unless you took first place, and even then you'd barely be money ahead, if at all. Like alfa said, it was all about the experience and the prize pool was just a way to lessen the overall cost of your trip. If one of your teammates happened to be local to Dallas, they would probably pocket a bit of money from the prize pool.
Some teams had cocaine-addicted sponsors who generally went by the name blackfoger who booked hotel rooms for 12 people at a La Kwinta (if you know, you know) motel in Dallas for an entire LAN weekend using a stolen credit card, then stopped answering their phone, swearing up and down that they were stuck in airport security, then accidentally answering their phone once, and upon realizing who had called them, used a blatantly fake voice and accent to say, "oh sorry James isn't here, this is his roommate."
Players from both "blight gaming sponsored teams" were locked out of their hotel rooms on the second day, with hotel staff refusing to let anyone back in to get their things until another credit card was presented.
That was ESEA season 6, with a prize pool of something like $4200. First place received $2000 and last place was $400 I think. Two people to a room, roughly $90 per room per night brought hotel costs to $100ish per person for the weekend, plus flights which were generally $150-200 per person. Even the first place team would only end up putting around $50 in each player's pocket, and you'd likely spend at least that on food and drinks over the weekend.
(You can tell who still hasn't been paid back.)
(You can tell who still hasn't been paid back.)
smakersHi,
Some teams had cocaine-addicted sponsors who generally went by the name blackfoger who booked hotel rooms for 12 people at a La Kwinta (if you know, you know) motel in Dallas for an entire LAN weekend using a stolen credit card, then stopped answering their phone, swearing up and down that they were stuck in airport security, then accidentally answering their phone once, and upon realizing who had called them, used a blatantly fake voice and accent to say, "oh sorry James isn't here, this is his roommate."
Players from both "blight gaming sponsored teams" were locked out of their hotel rooms on the second day, with hotel staff refusing to let anyone back in to get their things until another credit card was presented.
Damn, Stories like these are wild, pain of small tf2 comp scene :(
[quote=smakers]Hi,
Some teams had cocaine-addicted sponsors who generally went by the name blackfoger who booked hotel rooms for 12 people at a La Kwinta (if you know, you know) motel in Dallas for an entire LAN weekend using a stolen credit card, then stopped answering their phone, swearing up and down that they were stuck in airport security, then accidentally answering their phone once, and upon realizing who had called them, used a blatantly fake voice and accent to say, "oh sorry James isn't here, this is his roommate."
Players from both "blight gaming sponsored teams" were locked out of their hotel rooms on the second day, with hotel staff refusing to let anyone back in to get their things until another credit card was presented.
[/quote]
Damn, Stories like these are wild, pain of small tf2 comp scene :(
TBH that's less TF2 being small, and more just esports in the early 2010's being extremely slimy... Shit like that was happening all over the place at that time, and it still does to some extent.
TBH that's less TF2 being small, and more just esports in the early 2010's being extremely slimy... Shit like that was happening all over the place at that time, and it still does to some extent.
went to lan with AG, i don't think we knew if we were going to make lan until the end of the season, but we had a great sponsor who covered our stuff IIRC. we came fourth and our canadian players netted a few hundred dollars.
next lan, went with mixup, knew we were going to lan from the start of the season, we ended up winning, net loss of money thanks to the canadian flight prices and gratuitous in-n-out dining
went to lan with AG, i don't think we knew if we were going to make lan until the end of the season, but we had a great sponsor who covered our stuff IIRC. we came fourth and our canadian players netted a few hundred dollars.
next lan, went with mixup, knew we were going to lan from the start of the season, we ended up winning, net loss of money thanks to the canadian flight prices and gratuitous in-n-out dining