Posted 4 years ago by
Ahmed Monsour
There is a lot that I can say about how massive CT 2019 was for the Irish FGC. I can mention how it was our highest profile event ever or how the CT Mortal Kombat tournament was one of the two EU Premier events in the entire Pro Kompetition season, but the numbers and the feats were not the only things that made CT 2019 such a special and important event to me. CT means a lot more to me than that.
CT is the fruit of the passionate CT staff. It is the result of months of hard work by the organisers and many hours of hard work by the organisers and volunteers to deliver the high quality stream and timely tournaments that the community deserves and has come to expect from our major. The volunteers come from all parts of the country to make CT a fighting game tournament on a global standard.
CT is the friendships and bonds we made beyond our Irish borders in the rest of the world and the wider fighting game community. It is the fist bumps, the “GGs”, the laughing and the bonds that we all share with each other, be they new friends or ones who have known for years. There is no bigger proof of that than the atmosphere at our now world famous CT quiz where cheering, chanting and playfully heckling between the teams took centre stage.
Or our now equally famous CT after party where people got to chill out, have fun, play some games, have some drinks and get hype at anything from Punk going on a roll and beating people in Ultra Street Fighter 4 or some friends screaming their heads off at NES Ice Hockey. The feeling in the atmosphere at those moments really shows that CT is about a lot more than who got first place in any given moment.
Even though CT now hosts tournaments for several global circuits, this has not diluted the fact that CT is a celebration of the Irish Fighting game community. CT provides the magnum opus for the IFGC. A symbol that shows that despite our scenes comparatively small size, our passion and love for fighting games and our community is unparalleled. When CT ever had a difficulty, our community stood with us and had our backs. They showed their support and together pledged everything and anything for our event. Our community is THE BEST!
For me personally, in many ways, CT is my version of Christmas. I know that sounds odd coming out of a muslim named Ahmed, but bare with me. CT is the place where all members of the IFGC, near or far, regulars or otherwise, come to support the event and the scene that we have all worked so hard as a community to cultivate. There are alot of good friends that I only get to see every year at CT. People who I would consider my CT family, hence CT being my version of christmas. To me, the event represents so many people who I love coming together to celebrate our love for fighting games. I even met some online friends who I have known for a long time before the event at CT. And nothing has made me feel quite as satisfied as sitting on Sunday afternoon and watching the people get hype while watching top 8 and enjoying the tournament we put so much love and passion into.
This is truly what CT means to me.
-Ahmed