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Hi friends... This is my perspective of ACL.. It was a quick weekend and I wish it went longer. But until next time, I'll leave you with my thoughts.

What a great weekend we've just had, PvP finals in a SEA tournament and some really interesting results across the tournament.

Friday Was one of the busiest days I've had at work for months. Rearranging the entire store to a new layout and lots of new stock and customer orders coming in. it was a busy day (those of you that don't know, I run and manage a Furniture store). After that business it was off home quickly to grab my stuff and head off to my parents house for my dad to drop me off at the airport. The lucky bugger got to borrow my car for the weekend, which was hard to say goodbye to.

Luckily, I'd worked out the day before that Sam 'Fourby' Tham was flying home from visiting his lady friend in Coolangatta and would be able to drive me to the hotel from the airport once we got into Melbourne. I even had a chance to catch up with one of my oldest friends in the scene at the airport before boarding. Awesome guy, Mr Fourby and someone I always enjoy spending time with

When we arrived at the hotel, most of the guys had already crashed for the night, but we saw one of the other oldest friends I have had in the scene Nicholas 'HuT' Hutton aka Nicholas Sturgiss (yes, his really name isn't Hutton BOOM!). After some of the other guys came out to say g'day it was bed time. Sam and I checked into our room (I had previously arranged for all the guys to get upgraded to King Beds but somehow they forgot to upgrade our room. We had some dingy little double bed with half of the slats missing. Not a good nights sleep

Saturday After getting up bright and early (after bugger all sleep) we caught up with a few more of the lads for coffee and a bite to eat before heading over to ACL. Luckily I've been to this venue before so it was easy enough to find. At the venue I got to meet up with a whole bunch of sc2 nerds that I love dearly, you know who you are. And signed up for my open bracket games :/



After my games I enjoyed some casting (Rize vs Probe) and got to hang out with a bunch of awesome nerds. I even said sorry to Azz for that thread and we went back to our usual friendly banter. Supporting the fray boys was always the reason I was going to Melbourne and I feel I did my best to keep them focused on their goals and their spirits up. I am proud of all of you lads

That night, back at the hotel absolutely exhausted we got some pizza (eventually) and after getting our room moved and upgraded we had a relatively early night.

Sunday After waking up exhausted I decided to make it a late start and didn't get to the venue until later in the day. When I got there, I walked in past an angry looking Runamok who mumbled something about coming so close. I knew the groups would have basically been finalised and it seemed he had missed out Bad luck bud, you and SoundWave are the two I've noticed the most improvement out of lately and you're surely hot on the heals of the higher tier players in the scene.

Sunday was more relaxed for me, watching and supporting my mates through their games and cheering for everyone. After what I expected was a big upset in the championship bracket, Blysk asked me to go through the replays of his 1-2 loss vs Law and isolate a few issues and work out how to deal with Law's unorthodox style. Being a Diamond Zerg, I didn't feel there was much I could offer besides an ear for him to vent and talk about the games with. I think I was somewhat helpful in this regard and I was impressed with how Blysk dissected the games and together we worked out how to stop the tricks Law might have up his sleeve. Really great tournament and congratulations to the top four: Probe, Blysk, NXZ and Law.

After hangin' with my fray dudes and having a team meeting talking about our future goals, how we can work together to achieve them and what individually we need to do to reach those goals. I enjoyed watching some great StarCraft 2 and playing some Rocket League with Petrify, NXZ and a few others before heading back to the hotel for netfilx and chill. It was awesome to spend some more time with you guys after the event, even though I think we missed a bunch on the tram ride back to the hotel? Where did you all go?

The Fray boys
Alopex - You're a mysterious dude, but one of the nicest most manner guys I've met. You're so gosu at SC2 and I know that you'll get back to dominating once you're over CS:GO :P Otherwise, lucky we have a CS team on fray you can join :P
Crimson - It was so nice to meet you bud, you're definitely someone I see a lot of myself in. I know you had a bit of a tilt leading into your game vs Runamok and I hope my pep talk helped you prepare for that game and gave you a bit more insight into preparing for a series mentally. It was awesome hanging out with you and I really hope we can spend more time together soon!! Maybe at Uncle Ben's Invitational?!?
Rize - Jessie my man. It was so nice to meet you and hang out. I had a great time in the hall way chatting and chillin' with netflix bae. You're a super chilled dude and I can see how much potential you have seeing you play first hand. Sort out a few builds and that decision making and we might have a top 3 Protoss ACL next :P
Chase - Jackson ILY bae. You're such a nice guy and it was an absolute pleasure spending time with you!!! You put a lot of yourself into SC2 and you came so close to making it through. Don't be dishearted, I am proud of you and I know you can get better with more experience. Rome wasn't built in a day, you've come a long way and with dedication you can make it to the top!
Pox - It was great to see you and your green jumper again.. Even though I gave you a Razer hoodie, you still rocked hard in your green jumper. Once again, great to spend time with you and your quick wit and calculator brain on hand to do sums for me. I look forward to next time
Eros - Great event for you man, you sure did me proud and played awesome all through the first day.Tough group on Sunday, but you did well and I'm excited to see how you go with this new found practice and form!!
Hut - One of my favourite dudes in the world. It was an absolute pleasure and I hope Dota gets uninstalled a few more weeks before the next ACL so you can show everyone just how good you are.
Fourby - THE BLINK GOD! Sam, thank you so much for always being a mate. It was super handy to have you drive me back from the Airport and to bunk with over the weekend.
Miley - Bud, you're my ******* rock with this eSports adventure. You've always been on hand to support me and help me out. Thank you so much for that. Even saying happy fathers day to me as 'I've been a bit of a Dad to you' We brothers man, always.
Kuhn - It was great to meet you and I am really thankful of the support you've given fray. I look forward to more events with you by my side and growing fray even more.
Flux - Billy, ILY.. you're such a good laugh and I know the next ACL event if I can convince you to come, will be worth it for your company. Thank you for supporting fray and being a great part of our latest roster
Seither - Sheldon.... Why did you not come to ACL Melbourne.... Great excuse to beat everyone to top 16 NA GM and push closer to sub 100 KR GM. You're so talented and its great to have you on our team!!
Sue - You're the best!! Just being around your happy smile makes everyone feel great. It was awesome to chill with you over the weekend and I hope you can come to the next ACL event and support the guys again


The SLCN lads
We have always had a friendly rivalry with you guys, but thats about it. Friendly. Some of my favourite SEA SC2 players are in your team and it was great to get to know you all a bit more. Deth is always an awesome guy to chill with at these events. And its always been a favourite of mine to exchange some banter with NXZ It was great to see Law and Rezyn too! And every more exciting to see the old guys; Pezz, Kez and Petrify. You guys are awesome and it was great to see you again. I've often felt that fray was #1 or #2 SC2 team in Australia, but I am with out a doubt humbled to be 2nd to the great team that you guys have got. Petrify, thanks for the Rocket League games, you and I are unstoppable and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. NXZ, you're a filthy rocket league choker and I couldn't carry you Really excited for our team league matches. See you guys in the finals.

ACL Crew
Baldie, Vanzr, Abbadonz, Insano etc.. you guys do a fantastic job and I don't think you get the credit you deserve. Thank you thank you thank you!!! so so much for supporting our game and producing a better and better event every season. I know you talked about a few changes for next year, I hope you continue to support SC2 and run as many events as possible

Other Awesome duders
Ed - It was awesome to hang out with you again, thanks for joining us after ACL and always being a funny guy to spend time with.
Crescendo - It was great to meet you mate, I really like what you've been doing for the scene and hope you can do more in the future!
SoundWave - Always great to see you, thanks for the cheddar shapes, I'm a ninja of misdirection to pinch a few of them tho, right?!!
MightyKiwi - Davdavdav.. was so good to meet you, pity you were so sick. Might have been all the nuggets tho. Next time, I'll out nug you mate. ez pz.
DJVillian & Lara - You two are such awesome mates. Always good to catch up with you and enjoy some of Lara's amazing baked goodies. Thank you for being so generous and always bringing some delicious treats!!
Nem & Elusory - Thank you for making the trip over from Singapore, I hope your travels were smooth and you enjoyed yourselves in beautiful, warm Melbourne . Until next time friends.
Blysk It was so nice to spend some time with you and go through replays. You're incredibly talented and I believe you showed some of the best PvZ I've seen in months. Incredible crisis management. As someone I've watched for years (since before Flash) you have come forward leaps and bounds to have develop such an incredible talent. Good luck in the future, I know you can make it.


There are so many more I can't think of and I've been writing this for ages. Post below if I forgot you

Personally, this was possibly my last ACL event. I had even considered quitting managing a team after this event. But the passion is still too strong for me to step down. I can't do it, at least not until fray gets another win I'm not going anywhere and I really look forward to attending another ACL event in the future. to you all, you're the best.

Remember, 6-7 Bikinis is a good amount of bikini's. Thanks for the memories, I hope to make more with you all again soon

#OneLove