Victory for Team Victory LAP

Another Canadian laser tag adventure! I'm very proud of my Canadian/American team, Team Victory LAP (a cute acronym for Laurie, Ankur and Paul...since Jonathan dropped at the last minute we modified our team name). Side note...this may be the first and only time Ankur has called me Laurie since we met! :) We won first place in the DP Lazer Maze "Ultimate Battle" tournament out of nine teams and I ended up with the top individual score of the event.

We had signed up to be part of a Family Day tournament at DP Lazer Maze in Vaughan, Ontario and met up with friends for a visit the night before. But the tournament was scheduled to start at 3:00 on Monday, so our team began the day with a trip to Zet's (our favorite diner in Mississauga) and then Paul, Ankur, TJ (who didn't want to play, but came along for support) and I went to another location to play a round and warm up for the event. We headed over to Planet Play - Area 51 Laser Tag, also located in Vaughan.

However, I was surprised to learn that they had a private party booked on this holiday and we wouldn't be able to play unless we came back later (which we obviously couldn't do because of the tournament at the other facility). So I approached the guy behind the counter in hopes of working something out since we had come all this way. Now, I've only ever been to this place once and only played one game that time, which was about a year ago. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked up and he remembered me and greeted me by name as "Tivia". Wow...I'm international! :)

Unfortunately, any cred my player name may have had was not enough to get us into a game, so we just went over to Lazer Maze a little early.

Now, in describing the "tournament" I need to provide both some context and some appreciation. This was their first time putting together an event like this, so there were some kinks and learning curves for management. Was it a 'geddon kind of event? No. However, despite any little bumps, they worked hard and put together an enjoyable contest that would probably be better described as a "competitive gathering"...which was held at the same time they were trying to host a last minute private party group, so props to them for pulling it all together. And a special nod goes to Antonella, an employee I chatted with and saw really doing everything right to keep the players happy while rolling with a very busy event.

We had pre-registered, but signed in at the front counter before getting our hands stamped and receiving our tournament card, then we waited to go in. Our first round we were matched against a team of four players. The organizers were trying (at first) to match similar size teams against each other and break up groups to be proportionate. Later I'll explain the flaw they encountered and how it was modified midway through once I clarified the math/point problem to the organizers. But first game out we won solidly. I told my guys to go for the bases first and then (since there was no friendly fire) just keep continuously shooting at everything in sight. You see, although this was a Laserforce center, this was in no way a Laserforce (read "SM5") tournament. This was like being unleashed in a standard public game as a level one. Exactly like that...as I am not a member here they sent me, along with everyone else, into the arena as a level one. Here was the first game outcome and our first team score up for contention.

I played this round as Ironfist.

Now, the short version of the rules for this event was that you brought your team, you could purchase however many games you wanted at the special rate and then team scores would be tracked and highest team score wins. Sounds good, until (for timing, I think) four teams were sent in at once to play against each other. Again, I accept that there was a learning curve, but with four teams playing at once they all had three times as many opponents in there to target and rack up their score. It took a few attempts to convey the issue, but ultimately we were given an even opportunity to play against a proportionate amount of players in the subsequent games so that our scores had mathematical equality. We were told the scores from our team would be calculated independent of the other players and that, to compensate for imbalances in team numbers the team average would determine the results. Unorthodox, but I was ok with that.

I played this round as Shadow.

We had adopted a couch as our "home base" during the event. Many thanks for the coffee and time to chill in between rounds.

Before our final game I tried to rally my team...but to no avail, they all had their heads buried in their cell phones. But I had faith as we were called into the arena for our last round that the Laserforce would be with us...and it was. Best game of the night for us and I personally topped over 28,000 points, throwing it down.

Because this was not a bracket structure kind of event it was not necessary for us to stay until the end...which was good, because weather was turning and it's a six hour drive back home. So we let that final score stand for itself (as the tournament continued on) and we left on a high note and waited for notification of the final results.

And the results are in...it was a victory for Team Victory LAP. :)

Comments or questions? Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com