Guess what. It's finally happening. We're totally going to meet up in the wilds of the Midlands, and shoot each other in the face for two days straight. And we're so, so excited.
In the office, we're already gathering a great big pile of 'stuff' that we're going to give away (read that as: we're having an office clear-out of PC Gamer junk, and you're going home laden). We've had special t-shirts printed. We've seen the design of the stands, and the layout of the hall (the bar is open until midnight. Repeat, midnight). And we've been installing and patching like mad. This thing is going to be brill!
So, before you arrive, we thought we'd let you know some important information.
The venue will open to early start customers at 8pm tomorrow (Friday), and remain open until midnight. Some setup will still be going on. The PCG team will be around at this time too. Do come up and say hello. For those looking to use sat-navs to be directed from space, the venue post-code is CV8 2LZ. There are no cash machines on-site, and the nearest cash points are in the town of Kenilworth (just a few minutes walk). Please don't bring mini-fridges or kettles to plug into the power system - we don't want to take down both our power-system and Kenilworth because someone seriously needed a cold beverage or cuppa. Please, no knives, no guns, and no anything that could be mistaken for either. SWAT raids on the venue would be embarrassing. Save the violence for in-game. Eat plenty. Stay hydrated. Don't die. We will not, repeat not, be offering prizes to the first person who keels over from Deep Vein Thrombosis. In fact, we'll call you a twat, and set the St. John's Ambulance on you. If you're arriving on Saturday, you can enter from 8am. The tournaments will kick off from 10am, so get there early. Conga! Have a great time. Play loads of games. Meet loads of friends (I know a lot of you will be meeting internet chums for the first time irl. This is wicked. And do play all the games we've got on offer, which includes,
Left 4 Dead Dawn of War 2 Battleforge Far Cry 2 Mirror's Edge Dead Space Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway FIFA 09 Multiwinia
On Saturday evening, we'll run the finals for UT3, FIFA, and Warcraft 3 1v1, and that'll be followed by a panel quiz hosted by PC Gamer's editor, Ross Atherton. Joining him on stage will be Paul Barnett of EA Mythic (Warhammer Online) and Chet Faliszek of Valve, and PC Gamer writers Craig Pearson, Graham Smith, Kieron Gillen and John Walker. Other PCG staff will be on-site. So will our lanky, undernourished, and frankly, ugly chums from our sister mag, PC Zone. Don't say hello to them. They smell of wee. On Sunday, we'll conclude the Call of Duty 4, Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 tournaments. And we'll be £35,000 poorer, after all the e-sports teams walk away with our pocket money. Bastards. We can't take any more bookings for the LAN event, but if you want to bring friends to watch the tournaments, and play the games on offer, spectator tickets will be available on the door. We will meet again.
I am so gutted I cant make it. Had to have all my teeth taken out on Wednesday and due to laws about driving 48 hours after general anathstetic it is a bit of a problem getting there.
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