CPL day 1

We are unpacked at the wonderful Hyatt Regency (thanks to Stoked!) and ready to go. At first, I gotta admit, we were a little dissappointed that the only thing on the agenda today was to get our badges and check in... then we realized it was a great idea. We got to get all kinds of kinks worked out (like there is no way to hook up the TVs in the rooms to the Xboxes!). Tunesha had made friends with some people when they were setting up the BYOC. She found someone who would let us practice on their screen! Yay for Tunesha being absolutely adorable. However, the best part of the day was getting to meet the other competitors and talk to some of our friends we had met online. We also got to meet up with our camera crew to plan out the rest of the week and do some interviews. Sorry this is just a glimpse into the day- but Id like to get some practice time in before manana :) Tunesha has a bunch of pics on her site !


Today started out kinda startling with a phone call at noon from Angel Munoz, the founder and president of the CPL www.thecpl.com/ , asking for a favor. Now you may be asking yourself, "why is that startling?" Well Tunesha and I had been treated to dinner at Riccardi's last night. We ate like Pincesses... really hungry ones with Tiramisu and Creme Brulee for dessert ^_^ After dinner, there was practicing until the wee hours of the morning. So we were beyond dead tired.

However, Angel asked me if I wouldn't mind playing at 2:00 even though I was not scheduled to play today. How could I tell him, "no". Little did I know at the time I would be put in a bracket with some of the top Halo players in the world! This is still rather new to me... first tournament, first game to play multi-player against real people and not bots, and first public kill. I gotta admit, I like it LOTS!

The clock chimed 2:00 way too fast but I was excited nonethless. The leader was Strongside www.mlgpro.com/archive followed by another awesome player Elamite Warrior gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/Op3LKQOwKrI.html, both of whom were exceptional in the match and just all around great guys. The 3rd guy in our 4 man match was Powell. Even though I didn't wipe the floor with these pros- I was able to score and ended up with quite a crowd of people cheering me on with each kill. So a big ol' Texan "THANKS Y'ALL for the McLovin!" ^_^

shameless product placement- but i can't help it- its good & I needed the energy!shameless product placement- but i can't help it- its good & I needed the energy!

After playing, Tunesha and I got to be the bearers of good greetings by handing out some Stoked Energy Drinks to the BYOC. We then interviewed Ogre, Girl Next door, and L337 Lauren www.myspace.com/L337Lauren with whom I had just played in Montreal in the Miss Video Game finals www.missvideogame.com/ .

Tomorrow Tunesha has her match at 1:00 so we will keep you posted on how that turns out. She should have a pretty decent turn out also because everyone who meets her just adores her.. but how could they not ?! So check back to hear about the match, the concerts, interviews with some developers and more pictures. Oh ya... we will also be posting some fun videos shortly too. Wish you were here!

Having been my first tournament not as a journalist or video host, I had never stayed until the finals. I was usually in the hustle and bustle of it.

Come to find out, people leave after they get kocked out of the competition. Makes sense. I just didn't get to meet as many people as I had wanted. I suppose I had most wanted to interview Lil Poison www.lilpoison.com/ who had started competing when he was 4 years old. In the unraveling of our days though, Tunesha *CHICKAMUNGUS* Davis and I were swamped with stuff to do and just didn't get around to it.

The top 16s were exciting and fun even though Tunesha and I didn't make it that far, we had gotten to know some of the people who were in it. In fact, all the guys I was cheering for made it to top 8s and 3 of them to the top 4.. maybe I should ask for a good luck charm tax- however, I think maybe the endless hours and magnificent skills had more to do with their scores :)

The final 4 finished : 1st Ogre 2, 2nd StrongSide (the guy in my 1st match!), 3rd neighbor and 4th was Activ. (real names were posted here www.xboxusersgroup.com/content/view/4072/151/ ). What made the finals so intriguing was that Activ was an unknown in that he was just an ordinary guy! How cool is that! Although going into the competition, I didn't know anyone, it didn't take long to spot the pros. It was also fun to see that some of the guys who had volunteered to help train me beforehand were some of the pros in the match! Like LEGEND FOR REAL. But knowing that ayone with the hours to put in and skill could rise out of nowhere and be in the top 4 made the event especially fun. I can't wait to get off this laptop & on my 360 to go play right now! so ttys!

oh wait! I also found out from the director of photogrpahy that we should be getting some footage this week. So keep your fingers crossed. I will also pull out some still from those tapes. Tunesha has some pictures too... so check back to see it in picture form. I was talked into being especially cutesy for the last day- I'll tell you why later. But the anime chicks had nuthin on me that day... though I don't know if that is a compliment or not. hmmmmmmmm.