I am not one for going out on vacation too much. I have not even left the state of Florida in the whole time of living on this planet. I know that sounds crazy to some, but traveling does take time and money, that which is so precious these days. Regardless, for me, any kind of vacation is very exciting for me. This one in particular was exciting considering not only was I going somewhere I personally wanted to, it was my first real vacation without my parents there.

What is this CEO 2016 some of you may be asking? Well, I have become a big fan of video games in the fighting genre over the past couple of years. The games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat that I am sure a good majority of you have at least heard of. The community in which these fighters have developed (or the Fighting Game Community, FGC for short) has heavily risen in popularity. The competitive scenes for these games have got to be the most die hard and dedicated fan base I have ever seen and I absolutely love it. This CEO or Community Effort Orlando, is one of the biggest tournaments of the year for these games. From Street Fighter to Super Smash Brothers, these games are played all weekend for the chance for players in the state and around the world to win prize money and be a champion. With this tournament being here in Florida, no way was I going to pass up the opportunity to go this year. So I saved up money, registered to be a spectator, and waited for the time to come.

Now this event was back in June, so I am a little late in expressing my feelings about it. However, it's better late than never as they say! The last weekend of June had arrived and my adventure would begin. I set off with two of my best friends Ian and Trevor the morning of June 24th. Oh also, as a quick side note, I am part of the FGC here in Spring Hill, so a bunch of our players went as well. So not only did I get to experience CEO myself, I got to enjoy it with great friends I have come to know over the past year. Here's our group photo, don't we look cute:

Anyway, when we first arrived to the venue, I felt right at home. Fellow players and nerds were walking toward the venue with controllers, bags, and televisions in hand, all ready for the weekend that was to come. The second we walked into the place, I could not help but stare everywhere. Games were being played right from the start. People were all over the place. Booths were set up with all kinds of things to purchase. Top players were just there, right in front of us and not on a monitor from watching them on a livestream. The fact that they were real people hit me and it was incredible. I got to meet so many and talk with them. I even shook hands with one of my favorite commentators of all time, IFC Yipes.

I got to do so much while I was there, by the end, it felt like we lived there for weeks. I got to know the streets and shops close by very quickly. Anyway, so I don't ramble on too much I just want to pick out some of the highlights of the weekend for me personally if that's cool with you? After having to make a quick visit to the hotel, my buddy Trevor and I returned to the venue only to hear a massive uproar from a crowd that formed. A player by the name of Prince Ramen was keeping up with one of the best players in the world at Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, TSM ZeRo. Prince Ramen was going neck and neck with ZeRo when we arrived only for him to win as soon as Trevor and I ran up as close as we could. Prince Ramen would go on to win and start the biggest chain reaction of upsets a tournament has seen in a long time. I got to witness my first crowd swam on stage and be part of my first taste of crowd chanting. You can even see my arms moving up and down in the background after Prince Ramen's victory on the recording. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9th16I2RBo

Another happy moment for me was just watching my fellow community do their best at their respective games. We did not get any really notable progress through the tournament, but I loved watching them try and learn from their experiences there. I was and continue to be proud of every single one of them as they grow and become better players and better people. One cool thing I did not know until after though is our own TGA Luxxy not only made it on stream during Pokken, but he almost made it out of his pool. That got me really excited and showed me it is possible to get somewhere even at a major like this. Now I can't wait for next year when Throwdown Gaming comes out of nowhere and shows everyone even a small town like Spring Hill has some game.

The best part of the whole weekend though for me personally, was Tekken 7. They had the demo for the game there for people to hop on and try. I probably spent most of my time that weekend in the room they put the game. It was hard to put down. I had not had so much fun getting thrashed by players who knew what they were doing until I played Tekken 7. The game felt so fluid and every attack felt satisfying to throw out. I got really fond of playing of the character Lili and almost beat a really good Feng player. Just playing the game wasn't the half of it though. Watching the Top 8 at the big stage was the best. My friend Ian and I woke up early and went straight to the venue to get good seats. We were one of the first ones there. We got to sit right next to the walkway where the players came out to their theme songs since the tournament has a pro wrestling theme to it. You could even see us on the livestream as the players walked up the walkway. The Top 8 was absolutely exciting to watch. Ian and I were constantly up and down yelling our heads off. So much so, one of the professional photographers caught us in the moment and now we are immortalized in CEO history forever. Here it is for you guys to enjoy and laugh at (My face is pretty hilarious):

There were so many moments and memories that came with that weekend that I will never forget. I am already prepared to go again next year and it is only September. I will definitely cover my time at CEO 2017 for sure. Let me know of your favorite weekend or vacation! Also, let me know if you are interested in fighting games or maybe coming by our own local scene. I hope to cover it in more detail in the future. Thank you so much everyone!