Columbus was a rough tournament. We were not prepared as a team. We were shaky throughout the event. The series we would win were still hectic. We couldn't get on the same page. After Dallas's placing I was extremely confident in everyone. We took a break but I don't think we officially came back. Life got in the way and our schedules were conflicting. This brings me to the team change. After Columbus I knew we had to practice a lot more to get on the same page again.We started practicing when we got back and it felt like we all had something else in mind to do. After a couple days PJ(snake bite) and I felt it would be best for all of us to start something fresh. We talked it over and all agreed. PJ and I officially left Warriors and were looking for two. We ran games with a few people and ultimately decided that Dersky and Twylight would be a great addition to the team. Robbie and Kyle(elamite) then decided to split which gave myself and PJ the Warriors name and seed. Good luck to you both and your teams you decide to go with.
A bunch of us had planned a trip to Cedar Point after the Cbus event. We arrived there Monday night and headed out all day Tuesday to ride some rides! This year we got to ride the Top Thrill Dragster! haha The park was almost empty so we were walking on every ride. sooo sick.
Warriors!
The little guy just wanted a friend.
Chris Angel magic.
Taking a picture with my biggest fan.
The Spartans preparing for battle. Watch video further down!
Millenium Force. The first drop is sick!
If you look on the left of the picture Brandon is about to get owned. haha
The frogs kept taunting us.haha We couldn't beat the game!
Wes got the closest with the diving jump! haha
Man vs. Bird
The new Warriors consist of Snake Bite, Dersky, Twylight, and myself. We've been practicing a lot and I'm stoked for the RedBull lan coming up this weekend! June 24th-26th. You will be able to watch the lan streaming from ---> http://win.gs/rblan Those of you that live in the NYC area come out and join us at the Red Bull arrival party at the Times Square Dave and Busters on June 23rd 8pm-11pm.
After the RedBull Lan I'll be heading out to Chicago for the Pros vs Joes 4! I am pumped to be attending my second PvJ and bring home the gold this time. The first one I attended was sick! I got to meet a bunch of cool dudes and game my mind out! We have a few spots left for the one coming up June 30-July 2nd. For more info visit http://thelannetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?3611-Fantasy-Camp-4 and message "Mr P" on the site or Anthony Pennachio on Facebook to sign up. Attending the PvJ as of now is Lunchbox, Ninja, Totz, Fear, Victoy, and myself. I heard we have some solid players attending as of now. It is going to be a great one!
Summer time is here but it keeps storming! I want to get out and wakeboard but the weather keeps denying me.haha I usually drive up to a place in Cincinnati, Ohio called Wake Nation. If any of you wakeboard out there and live near by hit me up on Facebook and we'll make a trip out!
The duo grinding hard!
Old Warriors team at TLN Lan.
Anaheim is going to be sick!!!
Good luck to all the new teams and players out there!
A BIG thanks to TheBurntSide for helping me upload the videos! Thanks a bunch man.
At Dallas we placed 4th but I wanted first. We played amazing when it came down to the game 5's against every team. We fell short against BTH with a 3-0. We know what we have to do know and that is practice. As of now our team hasn't played to much and I think that it will hurt us going into Columbus unless we start playing a bunch. I had my first PvJ the other week and it was a blast! The amount of gaming everyone put in was insane. The first day we had a chance to scope out the players and prepare ourselves for the draft later that night. After we put our teams together, it was time to game! I had a solid squad and we were working well together in our first series. The next couple days we played a few more series and I went over stuff with the guys and showed them some new tactics and things to work on. They learned fast. It was the last day and we had the tournament! We were playing solid but fell short against T2's team and ended up placing 4th. I think it could of been the lack of sleep throughout the weekend. haha. my guys were exhausted. To end the lan off strong, the last night of the PvJ all the serious gamers stayed up and we gamed till 8 in morning. We ran indiana jones, dodge ball, MLG, and btb. It was the first time I did btb with 16 people sitting next to each other on lan haha. After the games we said our good-byes and I got in my recovery sleep.
With the PvJ ending it was the beginning of another trip. Ellen was driving to pick me up and we were heading to Minnesota to see her family. Before leaving we made a pit stop at a go karting place in Chicago! Hahn, Fearitself, and Flamesword came along. We did three races and out of all of them the one person who was the hardest to pass was Ellen! She is ridiculous at cutting you off and keeping you stuck behind her. I ended up getting lucky and making it past her in the third race but Flamesword and Hahn were no match for her. She made them look like nubcakes. Now we were ready to set off to Minnesota! It had been almost seven months since we seen the Yang family, so Ellen was super excited to see her family and so was I. We stayed there for seven days and had something planned everyday before we arrived! It was going to be an awesome trip. I love being around her family because she has such a big family and they are always together. There is never a dull moment. Also, the Hmong food was delicious! I have become so obsessed with white rice now that we picked up a rice cooker while we were there…yummy. We went to a local restaurant to have pho at least five times. it is so good! Ellen and I went to Mall of America and we cleared out PacSun! haha. We went to the Aquarium at MOA and it was awesome. The Jellyfish showing was sick. The tunnel walk through was awesome. The fish are gigantic!
They made us dress up like lunch ladies..while we were getting prepped for the go-kart course.haha
Leeeegooooooo!
The Sea Life
We couldn't get the fish to crack a smile.
Birthday shots.
Hlub.
Ellen's brother and his wife are having their first baby so both families threw them their first baby shower. Let me tell you, I have never seen SO MUCH candy in my life! The baby shower theme was as Candy Land. There were dumb dumb trees and handmade cake treats. Also, every candy you can think of. Then we headed back to her brothers place later on and played a bunch of card games while having a few beers. I'm a beast at card games now! haha
We also went rock climbing at Vertical Endeavors and tore up the walls there! Ellen and I are truly monkeys!It's the best rock climbing place we've been to yet. They had so many belaying walls and bouldering walls all over. If your into rock climbing hit this place up! I've heard one of the best places to rock climb is at the Red River Gorge. So this summer sometime were planning a trip there. I'll be sure to blog about it! The last day we were there we played flag football with the family and friends at the park. The game's were intense. I scored 2 touchdowns and made some sick blocks. We had a great time seeing her family and had fun doing so much while we were there but it was time to head home and get back on the sticks to get ready for Columbus.
Our performance in Dallas was great. We all showed up and played our hearts out. We were working as a team and making so many clutch plays. I have never played so many game 5's at a tournament before. We are the game 5 champs! I'm not disappointed in how we placed just ready to start gaming and prepare for Columbus!
We took our breaks and are getting back to practice now. During MLG Dallas I learned a lot. I know our weaknesses and strengths. I know what I have to work on and I will be gaming hard and watching films. We have a lan set up at the lan network house the week before the event. Tune in to see the games at www.thelannetwork.com As of now BTH, FB, Instinct, Darkest Hour, and Warriors will be at the lan. So its going to be some solid practice.
I'm also heading out to thelannetwork house for the Pros vs Joes on May 6-8. Check it out its going to be sick. If you like it sign-up for the next one in the summer! Message "Mr P" on TLN for more info.
Here are all the answered questions from everyone. Enjoy.
What is your favorite video game of all time bedsides Halo?
NBA Jam because it will always be a classic. Charles Barkley is so sick!
What is your favorite moment from an MLG event?
Winning Halo2 Nationals in 2007 and not dropping a game.
What do you get at Chipotle? Down to the sauces and mix of add-ons.
Burrito: Chicken, EXTRA Chicken, rice, a little bit of black beans, corn salsa, medium salsa, sour cream, chess and lettuce.
But then my Chipotle burrito varies a bit from day to day, this is my most common mood!
What trials and tribulations did you encounter on the way to become a pro gamer? How did you overcome the challenges and how have they helped you grow as a person?
I dealt with many ups and downs to the game, but I would try my best to figure out every little detail about the game and my opponents to give me the edge on them. I had to work hard and be strong. Its helped me become the player/person I am today.
Why do you care about your fans so much?
I enjoy giving back because my fans give me the support I need at tournaments. They've helped me come this far and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have any. I try to write back to everyone on facebook/twitter but it can become overwhelming when a tournament draws closer, so I apologize if I haven't written back or it's taking awhile. I love my fans and my fans love me! haha
Does online to LAN change Reach more or less then Halo 3?
Hard question, both games are much different online than to lan. But, I'm going to say they are the same when it comes to online to lan. The big difference online is the host. If someone across the country is hosting it will be worse than someone hosting in your state or a nearby state. On lan it doesn't matter too much who's hosting, its just a matter of how to use host to your advantage.
What do you think about reach so far, compared to halo3?
GREAT. Absolutely love playing it. It has its individual aspects and team aspects just as the past halos. Its nice to have something new as the bloom shot, it takes much more individual skill than a 3 shot burst.
You helped shape Status Quo into what it has become? what do you think of their victory?
I helped Flamesword and Ace, not assault and enable. I'm glad they pulled off their first win because they deserved it. They are all great players.
How was the 07 FB so good at beavercreek?
Haha nice question. We knew the spawns, routes people took and how to break other teams set ups. We knew the best positions to set up in and had such great teamwork our setup couldn't be broken. It took a lot of work from all of us and it paid off well.
Skyline chili or Goldstar chili?
DIXIE CHILI..the Alligator. Try it out if your in the greater Cincinnati area!
How can you improve your teamwork? Other than taking criticism and communication.
Always listen to callouts and use them to make your move. Try to work off other people don't depend on people working off you all the time. You will be surprised how well you play if you make plays off of what your teammates do.
Do you ever talk trash to random kids online that you meet in MM?
Not really, the most would be a pistol whip to the body, but its all in good fun.
What are your gaming routines, rituals, and pet peeves?
I don't really have any routines or rituals. I guess you could say when I'm playing with my team, we talk about what to do on each game type. Other then that, I don't personally have anything. As far as pet peeves go, playing with people who don't call out. I'm not trying to take it so serious, but it's not enjoyable if no one calls out.
Are you going to set up a stream anytime soon ?
I don't think so. Getting a stream set up is a bit too much for me to handle right now with all the networking and gear I would have to get. I don't see it happening in the near future. Unless I had the help from someone that knew what they were doing.
With all the team changes that have been going on, what team do you think is "the team to beat?"
Every team. Its only the second event and the game is still evolving. Game types may be different for Columbus. We have to be prepared for what they throw at us. Every top team is putting in the practice and gaming hard. We have to show up as a team.
do you actually enjoy halo reach compared to the legendary halo 3?
I don't know if I'd call Halo 3 legendary…haha. I love Reach, it's so much better than Halo 3. I like having sprint, bloom shot and especially the new aspects it has brought into competitive Halo.
How were you first introduced into the game halo?
My buddies always came over to my place to lan Halo 1 and once Halo 2 came out we played online a lot. Then a friend from high school came over and told me about MLG and competing for tournament winnings.
You got your start in Halo 2, and that game allowed for individual skill and team skill. Halo 3 removed most of the individual skill from the game. How do you feel reach compares to Halo 2 in terms of allowing for individuals as well as a team to shine?
It is a much quicker pace game than Halo 3 which brings in a lot of individual skill and team skill to the game. You always have to be on your feet and know what's going on. People are always saying that communication is key, but another aspect is taking the time to actually listen to your teammates to get that important kill.
do you ever still play any previous halos? if your bored etc?
I do not. I wish i did. I really only play Halo for the competitiveness. I enjoy playing other game types on Reach such as Tremors and dodgeball. I just bought stagecraft, we'll see how it goes haha
What's it like teaming with Elamite after all of these years? Was it meant to be? (Nohomo)
Haha. We've been buddies for a long time so it makes it easy to work with each other. Its great that we live so close to each other that we have the ability to play side-by-side to work on our duo-teamwork.
Do you miss being on final boss?
No, we had a great run. Now it is Warriors time.
If I send you my MLG tee shirt will you autograph it :)?
Haha, I'm not sure about that. Giving out my personal address? hmmm. Yes. PM me on Facebook we'll talk.
Flamesword: Is it true you hustled Flamesword and Ace in 2v2's at the Winter LAN with Walshy?
haha. The rematch is open anytime.
Do you think sprint is good for gameplay? why or why not?
Yes, it is good for gameplay along with everything else that Reach has. With the right combination of things, you can become pretty lethal. Example: rockets and evade.
How does warriors compare to the other teams you have been on?
With this line up, I feel that each of our playing styles compliment each other thus making our team work.
If video games wasn't your life what would you want it to be and why
I would want to do something competitive. I'm a very competitive person in everything I do. Maybe the next Michael Phelps or Kobe Bryant? :) haha. If it's not something in sports, I would want to go into business. Go to college, earn a degree and take over the business world.
Gameplay agaisnt old instinct.
4 man charge to win the game 50-49. They never expected it.
Playing Tremors and was super kicked by the masterchief...
I just got back from the 7 team lan at the Lan Network house. It was a lot of fun and we learned a ton from it. Interesting enough, our worst game types became our best. Our overall placing at the lan was 5th, but that's just practice guys…that's not tournament placings! I wanted to be at the gaming house a few days before so I could get comfortable and not have to rush into gaming come Thursday. Ellen and I drove up last Tuesday to hang out for the night but she ended up practicing with her team for Dallas. The guys at the house voted on a team name for them and we ended up with "Kitchen Warriors" so make to sure check them out. Thursday was a slow start for everyone but it got going once everyone arrived. Every team got at least one series in before crashing for the night. The rest of the weekend went really well. It took us a few games to get warmed up and back into the mind set of Reach. After that we were playing amazing and clicking really well together. If we had a bad game, we'd go over it and talk about it. Having a discussion about what happened during the game is more important than venting it all out. I know it's tough but Reach is about teamwork and that's what we've got. On our down time we'd play Mr. P's old school arcade games. The crowd favorite was "Samurai Kirby," a simple yet notoriously fun game. We had a tournament going on between all the guys. Lunchbox and I were in the finals, but my clutchness pulled through and I went home with the gold medal. After the lan, Robbie came back to NKY with Kyle and I. We've gotten in two extra days of gaming next to each other, even though Snakebite went home. We're all flying out tomorrow so tonight was the last official practice. We've been gaming hard and working on what needs to improve, so we'll see how it all turns out this weekend.
I cannot express how excited I am to be on Warriors. Elamite and I have been childhood friends and Snake Bite and Robbie have grown on me. I've got a great bunch of guys on the team and I can't wait to play at Dallas. It's been a long and peaceful break but I'm ready to get back on the sticks and compete. I'm looking forward to the 2011 season, new game, new teams…new opportunities.
CALLING ALL WARRIORS FANS….and SOON TO BE Warriors fans- we're doing something special at Dallas, make sure to come find us in the venue and get in on the action!! Don't miss out.
The Lan Network's third Pros vs. Joes is coming May 6th-8th…please sign up guys! It's going to be a blast and an unforgettable opportunity. Everyone should make it out to the Lan Network house at least once in their life time!
I've enclosed two videos of scrims against Status Quo so enjoy guys! See all at Dallas!
I spent most of February in Chicago at the gaming house. I have to say, it was absolutely amazing. I loved being there and hanging out with everyone. The house is sick and definitely full of gamers. I arrived February 5th and stayed till the 6 team lan, February 17th-21st. Before the lan, Fear held the top score for Donkey Kong with Mr. P in second place. While I was there I took Fear's DK throne, we battled back and forth but he regained the throne right before I left but I will be back and be "The King of Kong!" There was another arcade hit called Hoop Jones. VS Ninja held the top score but little did he know I played this game before many years ago. I played 3 games and beat all of his records. I currently hold the top 3 spots in Hoop Jones. StrongSide's hoop jones skills > Ninja's hoop jones skills…haha!
At the time I was on Legendz and we were invited to the lan along with Victorious Secret, Instinct, Final Boss, Carbon and Reality Check. Most of the people arrived Thursday so we got a series in. Once everyone was at the gaming house that Friday, we all started to warm up and get ready for the weekend to come. I was pumped to finally play Reach on lan against other top players and see how I'd match up. Reach feels amazing on lan, shots and melees register like none other although as we all know the forge maps have lag problems. The V3 setting are good, I like sprint in Reach. I'm feeling uneasy about the forge map, Nexus in team slayer. I haven't played it too much but the few times that I have, it felt like a lot of random spawns. Other than that, I'm enjoying them so far.
The first day of the lan, Legendz was doing great. We were all playing amazing and working well together. After that we fell apart, it was tough to get everyone on the same page. We're all great players but we just didn't work well together as a team. The overall lan with Legendz didn't go as good as I had hoped and we all knew something needed to change. I left the gaming house on the 22nd of February but not before getting some fun time in Chicago!
Trampoline dodgeball…man that was fun. After the lan, there were a few people who stayed till Tuesday so I wanted to get us to go out and do something fun. Ellen drove up from Kentucky to pick me up but we were going to leave the next day. Totz told me about trampoline dodgeball and I was instantly intrigued. We were debating between dodgeball or go-carts but to our luck go-carts wasn't open that day, so trampoline dodgeball it was. As soon as you walk in, you can't wait to get in and play. It's pretty much a warehouse sized room with multiple trampolines hooked up together. There was more then just dodgeball going on, there was a foam pit and a simple jump and play area but you know we all wanted to get in on the dodgeball! We played some games versus another group of people and played a few against each other. After the a couple games I was beat. It's a lot of fun but it gets tiring because you're jumping and hopping around dodging balls. Fear and I wanted to race on the dodgeball court, we were neck to neck but..you just have to watch the attached video below haha. Times were great in Chicago, I'm excited to go back.
Getting into the end of February, it was tough to think what I was going to do with the roster lock coming up. After the lan not going as planned I thought about all the possibilities of what I could do. I ran games with Chig, Solider and Elamite. But when Elamite informed me of Warriors, I wanted to make a jump for it. So now, officially it's myself, Elamite, Robbie B and Snakebite as Warriors. I'm happy to be with this team, I'm happy to finally be teaming with Elamite. Warriors to do big things in 2011!!
Coming up in March the gaming house will be hosting 2 lan's before Dallas, March 17th-20th and March 24th-28th. We hope to be attending the March 24th lan. It's unclear as to who will be attending the other lan's so make sure to check out The Lan Network website for updates! We have plans for Robbie B to come out to Kentucky and stay at Elamite's house a week before. Then make the drive to the gaming house, lan and drive back and fly out together to Dallas. We have an outstanding team here, I'm confident in each and every one of them. We have 4 great individual players that are all dedicated to winning.
On another note, the gaming house will be hosting it's third Fantasy Camp Pros vs Joes May 6th-8th. I, myself will be there as one of the pro's so everyone needs to sign up and come out to the gaming house! You will honestly love it guys. Mr. P has made some change to the Pros vs. Joes so you have to check it out! I really want this to be a success since it'll be my first Fantasy Camp. I made it easy for you guys, here's the link: The LanNetwork - Pros vs. Joes
The opener is coming up fast! Get your passes and get your gaming on! See you all at Dallas!
I couldn't get the video embed to work so here are the links:
Legendz, myself, Cpt. Anarchy, Defy and Aries made it to the top 6 in the Dr. Pepper Halo Reach 10k tournament. It was unfortunate for how we ended up there, but there wasn't much else we could do. The games against Instinct were tough but both teams played well. The lag outs were what costed us the series. The Countdown bomb games were intense, for those of you who don't know what happened we tied three times and on the fourth time, Defy lagged out giving Instinct the win. I started laughing by the end of the third bomb game because I couldn't believe how we tied three games in a row. In all my halo years, this was the first ever.
I'm heading up to Chicago this weekend to hang out at the Gaming House for the first time. I've seen photos from what Mr. P showed me but I'm excited to get out there and check it out. I'll be gaming nonstop so make sure to check out the Lan Network and maybe you'll catch my pov. Ellen and I will be driving up together and we're going to check out all fun stuff around the city, go-carting, whirly ball, trampoline dodge ball..etc. We're spending Super Bowl Sunday in Chicago and hanging out with everyone there. The February Lan is going down on Feb. 17-20, expect Legendz to be there so you guys can't miss out on all the gaming. There won't be any lag outs this time…haha. A Legendz vs. TD Lan is currently in the works and will be held at ElamiteWarrior's house….dates TBD. It won't be streamed, but stats will be updated via twitter/facebook.
Snowboarding has become my new obsession. I've only gotten to go to the slopes a few times this month but I've gotten a lot better since my first time. I'm trying to plan a trip to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia or Aspen Colorado. Maybe hit up the Beaver Creek Resort in memory of Halo 2…haha. Yesterday, the 29th Kyle and I got a few of our buddies to go to Perfect North Slopes in Indiana. It's about a 30min drive from where I live so it wasn't too far away. Most of us were snowboarding but Kyle decided to stick to skiing since he's never snowboard before. By mid-day I was comfortable enough to hit up small ramps down the runs and do a surface 180 without falling. I posted a vid of me doing the surface 180 and my buddy Dave trying to do one, but a guy cut in front of him…haha. We were there all day and all night. After the slopes we went to a new pizza joint that just opened up called Mello Mushroom. The place was really chill and had great pizza, we hung out there for the rest of the night. I recommend checking it out if you have one near you.
There are two game play vids, one is a team scrim against Warriors and the other is a sick overkill clip. I hope you guys enjoyed my blog and the attached vids. Come back in February to catch another blog and vids.
Surface 180
Countdown Bomb
Overkill on Zealot
**We were searching 5 in mlg and Cpt. Anarchy got the short end of the stick haha.
December was definitely an interesting month. Right after Thanksgiving, I thought it would be awesome to get a seasonal job for the holidays; it was my first official job. I was doing warehouse work, boxing and packaging. My hours were 6am-4:30pm everyday for seven days a week. I was excited about it at first but as time went on I was getting exhausted and worn out. I was recently let go because the holiday season is over so now I'm back to full time gaming!
My current team is Cpt. Anarchy, Defy and Aries. I feel extremely comfortable with this team and I thought it would be appropriate to bring back Legendz. We currently hold the 22nd spot on the Game Battles Fall 2010 season for the Dr. Pepper tournament. I have been gaming a lot since I stopped working and as a team we've been trying to get together as much as we can so no one falls behind. I'm excited for the 2011 season, new game, new season, and new teams. I love Reach, I think it's an amazing game and plays very well although I would like to see more competitive maps. Sanctuary Territories is my favorite game type. I know there are a lot of people out there who don't like the new addition of territories but I love it. Once you know what to do, your team will follow.
Christmas passed not too long ago, I hope everyone was able to spend it with loved ones. I had an amazing Christmas this year. With Ellen and I living together now, we spent our first Christmas together in Kentucky. We were debating whether or not to go back to Minnesota to be with her family for Christmas, but ultimately we decided to stay. On Christmas eve, my whole family get together to have dinner and be together. Ellen had to work so she wasn't able to come till later that night. My family and I drove out to my grandparent's house for the family party. It was great seeing everyone again and meeting the newest member, Kristen who's only five months old. We had dinner and played games. I brought over Balderdash, a board game of bluffing and trivia. It's so much fun; I always have a good time playing it. For those who haven't heard of Balderdash, its pretty much about making something up and trying to get people to guess your answer. The more people you get to guess your answer, the more points you get and move closer to winning. My cousins and I weren't able to finish the game because it was getting late so we all agreed to end the game with a dice roll, whoever rolled the highest won and of course Ellen, who came late into the game ends up winning by rolling a six.
New Years was this last weekend, I hope everyone had a fun and safe new year. I called a few of my friends to come over and hang out for a bit. We were waiting for Ellen to get home from work so we could head out for the night. The first place we went to was a friend from high school, he was living with friends and shared a house. It was awesome seeing old friends and seeing what they were all up too now a days. We spent some time there before heading out to downtown Cincinnati. It was extremely crowded everywhere we went but overall it was a good time.
I have some game play here for you guys. I hope you enjoyed my blog! Be sure to check back for my next blog coming out in January! I'll have more game play and updates.
