Hey Everyone!

It's been quite a while since I've put time into a blog.

This season was a roller coaster for so many players and teams, and my experience was no exception.

Toronto's Final Boss was by far the best team I've ever had a chance to be a part of. After Game 3 with Str8, it seemed like we lost both the fire and the confidence we had developed while LAN'ing. Placing 3rd became a huge disappointment, but at the same time, was a step in the right direction for the team. It was a building tournament, and we understood that things weren't going to click right away.

The FB of Dallas came into the event even more confident. We fought through a tough round 1 with Carbon, and didn't focus whatsoever during the first two games against Triggers Down. In the next two we played with the most energy I had ever seen, everyone was talking and yelling. Game 5 of that series was Amp TS - Probably the best game I’ve ever coached, we kept them spawning the entire game, and Tom and Mason were the loudest I have ever heard them. Although we came together so well at the end of that series, we couldn't pull together against Str8 or tD for the second time. Once again, everyone noticed that we lost the energy by the end of the event. Looking back, I'm glad I was able to help the team step it up when it mattered. Had we not picked up our game in that winners round 2 match, we would have been looking at another top 6 or top 8 finish.

Vegas is always an awesome event. Before I talk about FB, Mazsik took me to see Dane Cook on Friday Night. He's the man. In Vegas, we couldn't have asked for a better bracket. We did some serious work on Ambush, and I remember I didn't miss a single weapon or powerup to the second. The team was playing well, but we (like many other teams) weren’t ready for Carbon to catch such fire like they did. Even after that lost, we felt like we could beat Instinct because of our experience at the LAN. In game 1 we were destroying, and Mason killed their entire team about 8 times from top middle, and we dropped the flag off the map. OGRE 2 came up huge in game 2, but we had once again lost the fire we needed to win the series and the event.

FB disbanding is something that you have to look at from different perspectives. The team disbanding is sad, and they have thousands of fans, some from as early as 2003 and 2004. After some thinking, I realized I wouldn't want to coach a mediocre Final Boss next season - the guys wouldn't want to play on a medi-ogre Final Boss next season - and the fans wouldn't want to cheer on a mediocre Final Boss. It's best that the StK - 3D - FB dynasty be remembered as the best team ever in Halo CE and Halo 2, and a top contender in Halo 3. Thanks to everyone who supported us through the thick and thin, both at live events and on the forums.

Now onto the WinterLAN. I almost didn't go - and I'm so glad I did. It was quite possibly the best time of my life, and I probably only slept for a total of ten hours over the course of 4 days. Joe Sr., totz's and joe's dad, is probably one of the coolest guys I've ever met. I won't even try to explain the house - I'll include some pictures. The tournaments each night were so fun, and everyone was always having a great time. At all hours of the day - and night - people were either playing h3, h1, air hockey, nba jam, bubble hockey, left 4 dead, or some crazy other arcade game. Everyone was really nice, the coverage was awesome, and I promise we'll have a live stream or two up during the SummerLAN, which will "top the WinterLAN."

Some pics:

Obi, Flamesword, Elamite, and myself during the first 4v4

Side and Walsh during the 2v2's 

Everyone gathering around for the 4v4 announcements

Those kinda give you an idea of what the place was like, and I just uploaded a few pictures of my own, with descriptions:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34159923@N03/ - I'll also try to post new photos after every event on this flickr account.

There’s also a gameplay in the gameroom, and it is an extremely passive game of Pit Slayer. I'll say it again, it's quite a slow game. It was during the 3rd 4v4 tournament, held on Tuesday night I believe. It’s the only game I put up big numbers in, and one of the few that was saved from the tournament. You can find it here: http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/iT4rkKdv2fhsals4.html

Next season is sure to be epic. First and foremost, I'm looking forward to all of the new coverage MLG will receive. T2's Dr Pepper bottle is seriously amazing, and I'm so glad I've been around to watch MLG grow as much as it has. I'm currently talking to several teams, but I’m not yet sure who I’ll be with for the first event. I’ll post an update as soon as any decisions are made. I'm looking forward to everything, and I know Meadowlands will come pretty quick, like it always does.

Lastly, I’ve been getting a lot of messages about helping people with understanding professional Halo 3, spawn systems, advanced strategies, and helping out teams with different maps, gametypes, etc. I’ve got some time in the off season, and I’d actually love to help out as many people / teams that I can. If you’d like effective, inexpensive team or individual lessons, email me at and we can discuss details.

See you guys in a few months!