Here it comes!

It’s that time of year again!

The time to start cleaning the disgusting amounts of hair and crumbs out of your keyboard, have a shower, get a haircut, and most importantly brush up your skills to show off at what will probably be the main LAN event of the year. The Adroits ET Masters LAN in Enschede, The Netherlands which is happening on the 2nd and 3rd of June. Some of you here will have been to a LAN, most of you sadly will not.

LAN is a weird place to show up to, as you are a voice to many people there. This is mirrored, as they are just a voice to you. The anonymity side of the spectrum still remains to some more than others, and I think that most people are aware of what I look much more than the regular LAN-goers. This still however creates awkward moments, as you are definitely unsure of who is who until they sit down at their computers to play. Remembering names is also a hard part, so many faces to match to names in so little time!

There are many reasons why somebody would not want to attend a LAN, and these reasons vary majorly between each individual. Be it financial, moral, or priorities taking over (exam victims), people throughout the community will not be attending this LAN. I love the idea of sitting around with a few ET players talking about the game though, and always will do.

Firstly there’s the game. LAN forces out a different game of ET. Nobody can hide behind a limited connection, or a limited PC. Those that can play well do play well. The same can be said for teams, and we see teams that simply have not got the team spirit or the ability to play together crumble. Winfakt! and Spot16 at SAGE and zP! at CPC2 are key examples of this, where they failed compared to their expectations from the community as well as themselves. Due to it being such a different game, we also see people coming out of the blue to surprise. CiC7 saw tmoe take a game off Dignitas in one of the closest games I’ve ever seen, and CPC5 saw SNB somehow clinch a 3rd place even though they were on paper not supposed to do that well and everyone had doubts. LAN is highly about teamwork, intensity, and skill with a little seasoning of luck thrown in (think Dignitas, CIC7, Matias sniper).

But this is not a history lesson, and I’ll get back to it. All of these together make LAN an exciting experience for ET players and spectators alike, and should be a good reason for anyone that can easily make it (ie, isn’t spending a silly amount of money on travel or on living expenses)try their best to attend. Dutchies I expect to have the highest turn out there possible, especially when I now know that students can travel there on the Friday for free. Hotel floors should not be too hard to find either. I understand that Germans can get to NL for very cheaply too, and it’s hardly a bad drive if you are able and live in Western Germany.

Personally, I have attended CiC7 and SAGE LAN. Both of which were simply hilarious and incredible times, where you get to meet people that I simply would not be able to meet otherwise. These people are from all over Europe, and are usually enthusiastic about getting a beer from the Wzzrd bar and - regardless of its simply extortionate price - sit and have a giggle with you all. The hardened LAN attenders will know that this is a bad way to spend your evening if you are a poor ET player (like myself), and usually try to venture to other areas to resume their social enjoyment. These areas are usually the hotels that we pretty much take over for the weekend. Logica, Eden and the (big bad) Boekelo have become accustom to us fitting as many people into one room as possible, and pretty much trashing the place or keeping people up until 7 in the morning. Some of us have had threats: beck and his bros got told to keep it down or risk getting thrown out in the Boekelo at SAGE as they were making far too much noise, the staff seemingly oblivious to nevo and g2p amongst others being the loudest next door. I also have great times there with the Winkfakt! ring of fire game, and the resulting sneaking around in R0SS’s room in an attempt to claim some pillows for my make shift floor bed, as TwizZt had claimed SnoOp’s bed after he fled in embarrassment.

I for one am excited for LAN, and hope to see as many people there as possible. If you are still thinking about going to LAN and are unsure if it’s really worth your weekend, it is. This could potentially be the last one for ET and the commute is well worth it to be a part of it and make it more enjoyable for everyone already attending.