ATXVI: First Weekend

My Kronos safely back in Jita

After months and months of preparation and practice, doubts and rumors, layoffs and prizes, the first weekend of Alliance Tournament 16 is finally in the can. Not that long ago we weren't even sure that we would have another AT, or that there would be prizes, or that... well we just didn't know. But all of that is behind us now. Sure we had some trouble filling out the 64 team roster, and sure a few Alliances managed to failscade or drop-out at the last minute - but once the lasers and ammo start flying everything that led up to this weird moment in Eve history is forgotten.

And cheers to Eve-NT and +10 gaming for stepping up and filling in the void. You all did a magnificent job this weekend and put a face on the AT that we could all be proud of. Well done. I know how much work it takes to mount a production like this and I can appreciate all the small victories and challenges that have to be overcome to make it all come together. You all did a fantastic job.

Speaking of fantastic jobs, how about that A Band Apart team? We wanted to come out strong and get two victories under us this weekend (duh, like every other team!) and head into the second weekend with some momentum. First weekend can be tricky and weird if you aren't familiar with your opponent - which we were not. We didn't know Centipede Calliphate or Fraternity frankly, other then this was their first AT and they both had something going on in Null somewhere. Ok, we did know more than that. But it doesn't make the story any better. The real test of the first weekend isn't your opponent actually, it's your own team. Did you practice enough? Are your comps good, stupid, or great? You never really know the answers to these important questions until the fights start happening.

Congrats to the CAStabouts team for putting Pen Is Out into the loser's bracket yesterday. We certainly run into CAS pilots a lot on TQ, so we know each other extremely well. So we look forward to facing them on Sunday. 

It's hard to talk about details while the tournament is still going on, so you'll have to wait until it is over for all the juicy behind-the-scenes stuff.

Right now we're just a bunch of people that live in a lower-end Wormhole somewhere raiding people, but not as well as a bunch of other people do that. The confusion about who we are never ceases to amaze me. It's hard to imagine where some people get the idea that Null Sec players look down on the rest of us, y'know? In case you are wondering I'm referring to the suit wearing NCdot dude at the desk before our match yesterday. Don't be fooled however, he knows exactly who we are since NCdot was our practice partner for the past two years of the AT. Isn't Eve fun?

I promise a full and detailed recap of our matches once our run in the tournament is over. I hope you have to wait until August 20th for that.

Did I mention that the final day is on my birthday?

I know what I want.