BYOC 2012 Delhi: Bringing competitive gaming back on the map

After the bad blood left by the IGC, which was hampered by blatant corruption and inefficient organization, mood around the competitive gaming community was negative, who somehow left with the feeling of being cheated. We got hold of the Street Fighter 4 winner at the IGC, who claims he hasn’t received any of the prize money, nor does he expect to in the coming future. Foreign players flew in to take part in the competition promising $100,000 as prize money, but left empty handed. IGC put a dent in India’s reputation as a gaming community, and something had to done about it. Our jobs depend on it!

BYOC, which stands for Bring Your Own Computer is held yearly in Delhi and this time its back! In this event, gamers can bring their own computers, or, rent a computer at the event. Its like your friendly neighbourhood LAN party, only at a much larger scale. Xtreme Gaming, the organizers of this event, even provided beds for gamers who’d like to play on all night. BYOC is all about hardcore gaming, or really, the true ill gaming. Come over, get your own computer, and play all night. You can enter and exit from venue at any hour.

The location of the event was one of Delhi’s most glitzy and happening malls, the Ambience Mall, making it a convenient place for gamers from outside Delhi to make base. The food was decent and cheap, a water dispenser was provided, clearly illustrating Xtreme Gaming’s intention to make BYOC a comfortable and easy going event. These are the little things done by the organizers to show gamers that they are cared for, something which really lacked at the IGC, which was the absolute-opposite.

BYOC also had significant sponsors, notably Zotac nVidia, MSI, Western Digital, Razer etc. The brands were sponsored through their distributors. All relevant and well known gaming brands. Snooping around the event, we got to know that the number of sponsors this year was lesser than the previous year, mainly due to gaming reputation dent left by the IGC. Nonetheless, BYOC was all for the good spirit of gaming.

It was a shame that Starcraft II could not be included as a competitive game at the competition. But this didnt stop SCII players from bringing their computers and playing SCII amongst themselves, unofficially. A true LAN party, the BYOC.

The event lasted three days, and throughout these days, it progressed smoothly without any hiccups, with gamers thoroughly enjoying the contest. Most gamers were present for Counter Strike, obviously. Other games being played were Fifa 2012, Dota, Need for Speed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield III. The stalls were doing a good job at keeping the mid-day mini competitions going on, giving away Mousepads, T-shirts, mouse etc.

Summing up, well done Xtreme Gaming and well done BYOC! We wish BYOC comes back next year bigger, better.