CPL—the Cyberathlete Professional League and my very first “pro” tournament. The realization of how big this event was hit me as I walked by teams of gamers speaking German, French, and Korean. I had no idea how the competition would be. I was thrilled to hear that PMS had placed 2nd in the Gears of War tournament the night before and was hoping we could do just as well.

Our first competition was Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Seeing as how we were told of this tournament last minute, we weren’t exactly prepared as a team. We were paired in twos - Calyber was with me and Psyche was with Valkyrie. There were 8 teams and we were hoping it would be the 4 Frag Dolls in the finals. I thought we did pretty well considering the pairs had never, ever played together and had absolutely no strategies. Great way to enter a tournament, right? Well, as fate would have it, Valkyrie and Psyche were knocked out by this pair of really good breakdancers from team Black Diamonds, and Calyber and I ended up playing them in the finals. It was a very heart pounding final 2 rounds, but we lost in the end. But hey, SECOND PLACE isn’t so shabby!!

After they beat us, they breakdanced for us

Since we then had few hours before the Rainbow Six: Vegas tournament, we found many ways to keep ourselves busy. We attempted to participate in the Wii tennis tournament, talked to CPL lurkers, did cartwheels in the lobby, ate vanilla wafers, watched boys get makeup put on them and, most importantly, played in the NERF WARS! Imagine a dodgeball style game where you have nerf guns lying on the floor and with one shot, you’re out. With a no-show in one of the teams, we formed team Frag Dolls with me, Psyche, and a few boys sporting their newly acquired “I play with Dolls” shirts. The 5 of us lined up and waited for the whistle to blow. The plan was for Psyche and I to use our friend from Team Bayside as cover. When the whistle blew, I went for cover, but ended up getting knocked down by Mr. Team Bayside. I quickly got up and continued shooting my nerf gun. Psyche and I each shot 2 people, but because one of our teamates disqualified, we were automatically out. Dang those refs!!

Psyche and I getting ready for battle

Check out those moves! Go Psyche!

It wasn’t until after the match that my nose was throbbing. I turned to Psyche and she proclaimed that I was bleeding! We rushed me to the bathroom to clean up. Luckily, I only had a few war wounds on my nose, under my eye, and on the brow. Who said gaming doesn’t cause violence?! LOL.

hmmm… that’s blood alright

The past week had been hectic with the Royal Flush Series, traveling to SF, and then to Dallas, so we really had to pull it together for the Rainbow Six: Vegas tournament. Our first team practice had literally been the first day of the RFS, and Brookelyn and I had been rotating in and out for Psyche (who was studying for finals). But as it turned out, our CPL team would be Valkyrie, Calyber, Psyche, and me; hopefully, those few nights of playing together as a team would pay off.

Valkyrie preparing us for our last match

We were secretly freaking out because of team Unknown who had flown in specifically for this tournament. Rumor had it that they were the undefeated champs on XBL and the ones to watch out for. So when it came time to face them in the finals, I knew I had to keep my cool even though I was nervous as hell. Well, I guess those few days of practice really did pay off because we won 2 rounds in a row with a 10+ lead on both games! I couldn’t believe it. We had just won a pro-circuit event. A first in gamer girl history!

Lots of support from the crowd

I’m so proud of us. Not necessarily because of the title, but more because we played our best and held our strats. Hopefully, this will just be the starting ground for more pro girl gamers!

Nelly and Valkyrie celebrate