thank you guys for doing this, it feels more like a celebration as we look towards the next chapter :)

we missed u bb

shit tier bait

shout out to zahid who followed through on all the promised improvements over last year in a BIG way.
shout out to mia and crew who worked BOTH CS AND TF2 ALL WEEK so that we could get the stage for the gf. that was the highest level production we've had, and for once it felt like tf2 got the respect and hype it deserved.
shout out to heny and dcs mad respect
tom and potato for being top bros
shout out to jlebs for that thing with the cigarette, that was once in a lifetime and you survived it
to fm + lego boys for always being the family that puts up with me at these things
ya boy danish mark who i never got to make out with [*]
everyone who didnt take blackmail photos

best lan of my life cannot wait til next year. if you're deciding between cpg or iseries personally i think cpg is the clear winner.

in his DREAMS

there's not enough liquidity in a paid league to have evenly matched teams. since half na is ugc and half is esea it's a self fulfilling prophecy that playerbase will continue to decay with no incentive and increasingly wider skill gaps.

edit: also, yes it did.

season 26: https://play.esea.net/index.php?s=league&d=standings&division_id=3001
season 27: https://play.esea.net/index.php?s=league&d=standings&division_id=3059

i laughed until i cried, and then i just cried

also i recall being told in a recent season that if we got enough signups in open they'd bring it back, so we doubled signups and instead they cut down our prizepool so i'm not putting a ton of hope there.

.

i always heard it as scout, and bitch scout ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

this is so relatable and i think you hit the point for me- i live thousands of miles from my best friends. i love los angeles but it's really difficult for me to not get immediately bored with the people i meet there unless they're VERY invested in gaming/esports. ive been so incredibly spoiled online/lan to be around these great personalities who love the same things that i do, and after a while people irl ("normies") seem really boring, to the point where it's heavily effected my dating life and i just straight don't bother. lonliness is looming there every day, waiting for me to wake up alone again, waiting for me to leave mumble when everyone goes to bed (timezones amirite). in a weird way it is comforting to know im not the only one living with these problems.

man if this wasnt in teXas

literally all the time

i have nothing else

thinking of getting a dog.

even once they announce the 6s prizepool (soon/hopefully this week), you guys would be surprised how difficult it would be to get 8 teams committed to an event where it's all opt-in/teams pay for themselves.

maybe there are 8 top teams of similar skill level (id be shocked if this were the case but let's pretend), good luck having their final roster and all travel sorted in time to announce and promote in any meaningful way. i actually think 4 is the smartest move here.

edit: to clarify they do specify playoffs are open + invite, so 4 open and 4 invite for double elim- plenty chance for good enough teams to make it to playoffs.

iirc it was cpg security checking in/out but you're right, especially with more recent security concerns developing it's likely they aren't as free as they were last year. altogether though, if we're going to be there for 14 hours it is a huge plus to have affordable (not to mention edible) food on site, and it is a very welcome change.

edit: sorry just did the math on updated schedule

last year they were very chill about not checking bags people brought in. stop at a netto and grab some liqour and you're all set. this solution also helps this issue: