Finns Teamfight Tactics adventure
Within our fine team we have many gamers, one of whom stands out head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to Teamfight Tactics. Finn even made it as far as getting to play the World Cup in Vegas. Naturally, we as Greater embraced this and made this trip possible for Finn. What he experienced you can read below!
Last year I started playing Teamfight Tactics on a competitive level.
I had to reach a certain rank within Europe, namely the top 200 in order to get tickets to the World Cup in Vegas at all. With that, I had coaching in order to place myself within the top 200. In the end, I ended up in the top 30 in Europe and managed to get a ticket to the World Championship in Vegas.
I flew to Las Vegas from Amsterdam on Tuesday, along with 2 other Dutch people who were also competing in the tournament. We arrived at 3 o'clock in the afternoon local time. I unfortunately didn't get to sleep on the plane, so had a nice jet lag. Arriving on location, I started exploring the strip like a zombie together with the others. While exploring, we went to get something to eat at the in-n-out. Unfortunately the tray contained more salt than fries, good for salt levels but a little less for cholesterol. At 8 in the evening we walked back towards the hotel, despite my attempts to fall asleep on the way (long live jet lag) luckily we were able to find the hotel bed to get a good night's sleep.
On Wednesday, we took it easy. We enjoyed the nice warm weather and started practicing Teamfight Tactics against each other. Later in the evening we met people who were also going to the event and whom we got to know through gaming. Together with them we went out for a nice and bite to eat. This time to the Rainforest Cafe, here I ate the most dry piece of chicken ever in my life, but fortunately less salty than the fries the night before. The atmosphere was good and we were all really looking forward to the tournament.
Thursday we discovered Chinatown at lunch. After eating some delicious ramen/noodles we decided to always eat here from now on. After lunch, I checked in at the event itself. In doing so, I received my player card and everything was ready to go for the event itself. In the evening, we went to the pre party of the tournament. That was in the HyperX Arena of the Luxor hotel. There were several PCs set up there so we could play a little warm up. I played some games against several other players. Early in the evening there was a showmatch by various developers and content creators from Teamfight Tactics itself. After the showmatch from Teamfight Tactics there were 2 DJs who kept the party going. Everyone was in a great mood! Since I am not 21 yet I was not allowed to have a drink (unfortunately). The advantage of this is that I started the tournament without a hangover.
Friday (matchday)
The venue opened at 09:00, fortunately I didn't have to play until 15:00. I was there at the opening to immerse myself in the atmosphere of the tournament. After the opening ceremony, the tournament really took off. Since I had to wait anyway, I went to cheer on the other Dutch players who were already playing. Unfortunately one of them dropped out quickly. Then it was my turn for my first playing round. My first round I played against the German, Kevin. Kevin is a seasoned veteran when it comes to Teamfight Tactics. So I was getting ready for a couple of solid and tough games. During the first game I took some higher risks (it's Vegas baby!) unfortunately that didn't quite work out as I had hoped. In the first game I unfortunately dropped out quickly. Now the pressure was on for the 2nd match against Kevin. Since the 1st match did not go well I decided to increase the game tempo in the 2nd. I had prepared myself to put down a good composition. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side (it's still Vegas baby!) and I didn't get the right units I needed to beat Kevin. It was a frustrating game considering I had to change my playing style to one that was not up my alley. This unfortunately resulted in another win for Kevin. And this prevented me from advancing to the next round.
After the tournament was unfortunately over for me I went to cheer the other Dutch player. Because his first 2 pots did not go perfectly, he had to take first place in the 3rd pot to have a chance to continue. After a nerve-racking match he had come first, but due to the placement of others it was unfortunately not enough to continue.
Saturday (crying out day)
Unfortunately we were all already out but that didn't spoil the fun. We went to cheer on some famous English players we met at the Pre-party.
Both of them still got through the first rounds but unfortunately they were also defeated after that.
To celebrate that we didn't finish last we all went to China Town and treated ourselves to a good portion of Korean BBQ. Other than the octopus, it was very tasty. Then we went out onto the strip and enjoyed all the beauty that Vegas has to offer.
Sunday (finals day)
On this day the finals were played. Kevin (yes the German who beat me) played in the final with 7 other players. It was a very exciting and nerve-wracking final. In the end, an American player won. After the finals we went back to China Town with the same nice group to have another delicious dinner (and maybe a drink)
On Tuesday it was time to head for the cold Netherlands again. After a prosperous flight, we arrived at Schiphol Airport at 11:00. It was a beautiful adventure! Many beautiful things experienced and lived. I will continue practicing to be able to finish higher next time!
