Big Time

Thank you Event Sponsors!

This event simply could not have happened without the tremendous generosity of our sponsors, Biostar so famous for their quality motherboards, ATI Technology and Sapphire Technology who are responsible for some of the fastest and quietest DX9 video cards ever and last but first in our hearts, a mighty boost from Antec, makers of quality power supplies and cases everywhere.

The Tournament

After 6 months of continuous international play in 10 countries, the highly anticipated finals were at last upon us! You know tournaments are getting huge once you start importing players from around the world to fight it out in the finals - and that's exactly the situation the Gamers Open Medal of Honor: Allied Assault competition faced. With teams from Europe (specifically, the Netherlands and Belgium), as well as Brazil, Taiwan and the good old USA fresh from their E3 experience and dealing with the new-found pleasures of American immigration authorities, we were finally ready to finish the MOHAA tournament.

There's Dan, bright and early with the prizes

One of the two Medal of Honor rooms

Some of our sponsors

All the teams came to the show just happy to compete, the MOHAA tourney will probably go down as the friendliest international competition in recent history. It also proved to be an interesting contrast of cultures - with the Americans being the token wacky crowd (represented by Team Fusion and featuring Tyson, who never faced a stick of butter he couldn't chow down), the Brazilians seeming sane and normal until competition started, the Taiwanese calm, quiet and precise, and the Europeans coming in extremely young and organized.

Nowhere were these differences more evident than on the battlefield. The Americans quit the joking and hunkered down for two solid efforts against the Europeans in Bizerte, sadly losing both against the more organized Euros, 76-49 as Axis, and 88-63 when the home team played as the GIs.

Christine Goutaland, Corporate Marketing Manager for Antec displays their latest and greatest products

Team Fusion - AKA Team America

Our Belgian and Dutch friends

The next match provided the most startling difference in cultures, with the Taiwanese playing a careful, ranged rifle game on Monte Battaglia, communicating quietly just as the Brazilians exploded onto the scene. Previously seeming rather shy and friendly, the Brazilians burst out from the word go, yelling at each other, to each other and with each other in their native Portuguese. Their high-energy, high-tempo, hyper aggressive tactics and fantastically entertaining play style drew even the hardcore CS players from a nearby CS tournament to the scene. Yet, the Taiwanese were almost able to hold their own, losing by a close three frags - 88-85, with the Brazilians as Axis on the first round. The second round proved equally undecisive, with Taiwan taking 99 frags to 96 for the Brazilians. It was a clear disappointment for all spectators, since this was the most fantastic and interesting match of the series thus far, and we were all sure nothing could top the experience.