This last weekend was one of the most fun I’ve had in quite a while. We Frag Dolls packed it up and headed to MLG Charlotte for fun, games, and tournaments. I’d like to say that traveling went without a hitch, but alas, it was Friday the 13th and I don’t think any of us made it in when we were supposed to (along with hundreds of other people).

Anyway, I got in very late due to the travel delays and went straight to the hotel to meet up with the people I had been playing on Xbox Live with the last few months, as well as the PMS and H2O teams there to compete on Rainbow and Halo. The Frag Dolls were in another hotel the first night, but I decided to crash with my other girls so that I could meet and talk to everyone that was floating around the venue.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the setup, as everything - from the lights to the screens and the ambiance - was so well done!  All the competitors were strolling around and I forgot how many people I had missed since we didn’t travel MLG last year, not to mention the friends I had forgotten about in the Halo community.  We all stayed up late talking, chatting and being silly as we settled our nerves and discussed who was competing the next day and who to look out for.

The following day, the rest of the Frag Dolls moved to the main hotel and we all got registered and went in for free-play to try and warm up.  We met the last of the teams, most of whom we identified by their t-shirts, and got pumped up for competition. H2O, PMS, LOA, DBZ, and X were all the teams we had been playing with before the tournament, so it was really exciting to meet these people and put faces to the gamertags (especially for my PMS and H2O squads!)

In the end, almost all the teams were great people and it was nice to see how competitors in Rainbow displayed good sportsmanship and how respectful (for the most part) they were with each other. All of the teams were hanging out, being friendly and playing nice with each other; I hope it remains this way, with everyone being real and not getting thick-headed.

The refs and the organizers were very helpful, polite and professional. They managed to address the small issues quickly and efficiently; even when I was harassing them about ensuring the updates were on the boxes, they held their cool, smiled and reassured us. Kudos to Nexy and the rest of the guys for doing a great job, as I truly expected a ton of issues (which are normal in a tournament) and never saw any.

In the end XBLB took 1st place in an amazing match against TLR (both teams are great players and people). It was all very exciting to watch and participate in, and I want to congratulate and thank all the awesome people we met this past weekend. Frag Dolls ended up with only 17th place, but at least we got some wins and earned some points to carry us to Meadowlands, where I am going to do everything I can to give all these guys a run for the money!

I look forward to seeing everyone there in a couple of months! Great gaming and great stars are being built, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Rainbow in the professional gaming world.