
The year 2006 has finally come to a close. I have to say it was a great year for me personally, and X3O as a whole. We are now the only gaming center (PC/Console LAN) in the Rockville, MD area; and are quickly becoming the premiere gaming venue of choice on the east coast. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the past year.
In 2006, X3O Gaming Center held 10 tournaments for a variety of games from Counter-Strike 1.6 to Madden NFL 06. We also hosted 5 over-night lockINs and a ton of new game premieres. X3O had its 1 year anniversary, and just this past December, officially re-opened our Professional Gaming divisions.
Competitive gaming as a whole has grown a lot in the tri-state area. With the emergence of new event organizers and tournament directors, we have quickly become one of the hot-spots for gaming here in the United Sates. Part of this is due to the efforts of Jesse “wb†Dedmon (DC-LAN) and Steve "Ryu" Rattacasa (RYU LAN) who have both taken it upon themselves to host 100+ LAN events in MD/VA. Unknown to a lot of FPS gamers, the fighting game community (Street Fighter 3rd Strike, MVC2, T5, etc) is also very strong in Virginia, with monthly tournaments and the support of MAGFest, a gaming and music festival.