Recently it became apparent to me that there is still some confusion and frustration regarding the disappointment of the Episode III event. I thought I'd share my story to hopefully shed some light on it.

From the outset, Wade (of Rewind fame) offered to put me in touch with a venue in Long Beach who might be open to putting on a TF2 event. Shortly after I agreed, I was asked not to contact Thunder Gaming, and instead Brian (therat) from Matcherino was going to be in charge of the project and handle all the logistics and communications. It was also around this time that we spoke to Esports Arena, and one of the staff remaining did agree that it was extremely unlikely they would ever hold a TF2 event there again (due to internal politics and not actually our fault).

While we were very excited for the opportunity to create a new event, the process of releasing the teaser video at i63 made it immediately clear to me that I was going to have no direct control of the event or its planning in any way; I was only there to get the community to agree to whatever Matcherino wanted to do. I wasn't allowed to see or speak with the venue, review their contract (if there ever was one no one knows) or make any decision that directly impacted the event. Every detail was to go through Brian and therefore Matcherino. In exchange, there were a lot of financial promises made. I was highly skeptical about the financial promises, as well as the ability for an outside group to run a successful TF2 event without any experience or interest in TF2. I didn't want to sabotage the event by coming out against it, because it could still be a good opportunity for us if it was done well- but given how things were set up I literally wasn't allowed to help. So less than a month into planning, for the good of my career and conscious, I took a step back on principle and officially ended my involvement with the project.

I don't know who to blame for how everything turned out. I can say that we spent most of the Thanksgiving holiday on the phone with another venue who had also made financial promises after the Thunder Gaming joke finally revealed itself.... and they ended up trying to shake us down for about $20k after being told repeatedly there would be no money exchanged. Maybe none of this was avoidable- but that's the thing, I'll never know. Given the attitude they took about the whole thing I was bitter about the situation for a very long time. I hope this helps bring a bit of closure, and just know I'll never give up trying to make something happen for TF2 in California. Stay tuned.